Did you know that? According to study conducted by Insider Intelligence, “Worldwide Online retail Sales may surpass $7 Trillion by 2025”
From the above quote, it is evident that the trend of online shopping is only going to increase in the near future. To capture this opportunity, online retailers must come up with solutions to cater to the needs of customers. One way of finding out what your customers need is understanding the psyche of your customer. A customer’s psychic plays a critical role in deciding what to purchase or what not to.
Let us Discuss some of the factors which govern the decision making of a customer:
1. Social Proof: It is a psychological fact that before deciding to buy or not to buy, any individual looks out for validation from a third person. Here, social proof helps to build a sense of trust between the seller and the buyer. Below are some of the many ways by which online retailers can win the trust of their customers:
- Online retailers can put their customer’s reviews on the product page. It serves as social proof for your potential customers. A high number of reviews on your product page can help to attract a large number of customers.
- You can also use influencers to promote your product online. It is a psychological fact that people want to look like the people they follow or admire.
2. Urgency and Scarcity: You might have heard of the phrase “Supply and demand.” It states that if you decrease the supply of a desired product, its demands shoot up automatically. It is an excellent psychological trick that marketing experts use to make their customers act quickly.
It can also be understood by a real-life example. Suppose you have two products listed on a website, one with limited stock and the other full. Now tell me, which products will you buy? It is simple, right? The one with limited stock. The idea of a limited stock comes with a sense of credibility to the customers. Below are some of the ways how you can create a sense of urgency in the mind of your customers:
- You can add a ticking clock which signifies the time left to the customers to make a decision. Below the product images you can also put messages like”Only 2 stock” left.
- A limited stock product can help to convey a feeling of urgency in the mind of the customer. How?. It conveys to the customers that the product is in high Demand and trusted. This makes them act quickly; if not, they will miss out on a great product.
3. Cart abandonment: Did you know? That “cart abandonment rate is 69.99% in online shopping” according to Baymard institute. This is one of the key reasons why online retailers are losing a lot of revenue. Let us discuss some of the reasons why this happens:
- UX- User Experience is such an important factor while shopping online. A complex designed website which is non responsive to the request of the user will see a high cart bounce rate. So, it becomes essential for online retailers to have a website which is user friendly.
- Check-out Process- A lengthy and slow check out process is one of the main reasons for cart abandonment. Users want their check out process to be fast with minimal information filling.
- Payment options- A limited payment option on an online shopping website sees a lot of cart abandonment. You want to make sure that your customer is provided with a range of payment options.
4. Realistic approach: It is a well known fact that people buy products they can relate to. A realistic approach to showing your product, especially clothing, can increase your online sale. You want to make sure that your models look like your customers. By going the realistic way, online retailers can instill a sense of confidence in the customer to buy the product.
5. Way out: People tend to buy products that come with a guarantee or a return policy. An easy to return policy helps to build a sense of credibility in the mind of the customer. Customers will be assured that their purchase will be returned if they do not like the product. So, it becomes critical for online retailers to provide a proper return policy for their customers listed on their Product Page.
6. Reciprocity: It is a psychological fact that people will be more likely to shop with you when you provide a favour in return. This can be understood by a simple example. Suppose you have two local shops in your town dealing with groceries. One provides goods at a discounted rate, while the other doesn’t. Whom will you choose? The answer is simple, right? The shop that values the loyalty of its customers by providing them with a discounted rate. You can provide free shipping or free coupons to your customers to make them shop with you.
Final Words!!
To sum up, knowing how customers think before buying any product can help to increase Ecommerce sales. Be it the user surfing experience on your website or providing rewards to the customer, making them feel special goes a long way. If you build a great experience for your customers, they tend to tell each other. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool to spread the word about your business.