Written by Lucia Manetti and Natalia Kawana
Who has never tried buying from an ecommerce platform in their life? Probably nobody. We live in the era of digitalization, where in just a few clicks, it is possible to order a product on a different country, and to receive it the day after with no effort. The e-commerce phenomenon has not replaced traditional shops, but at least it has been considered a dangerous competitor: reduced storage costs, freedom, flexibility and worldwide shipping are just 3 of the factors that increase the number of e-commerce platforms available on the web, and in some cases they have been flanked to the traditional shop activity. For some retailers, it has been perceived as an opportunity, for the others as menace, but in all cases, ecommerce has changed our concept of “buying something”. Just think of Amazon, AliBaba, Wish and others.
We all know the most important issues of a traditional shop, but do you know that e-commerce platforms also have their own issues? And they come up early in the chain, when business decide that they want to have an e-shop and have to take action to create it.
Let’s first go through 3 issues (A, B and C) faced by business when they try to set up their e-commerce platform.
- It’ll take time for them to get acquainted with the processes on the solution chosen.
- Some of these processes will be undertaken not very often, so they are hard to recall. E.g. when shops need to add discounts to their catalog.
- Customizing their e-commerce platform might turn out to be extremely complex.
Challenges don’t only concern those who are setting up the ecommerce.Once the ecommerce is own, business and customers also face issues. Let’s now go through 5 challenges (1-5) faced by ecommerce shops and their customers.
1. Complex workflows and issues which scare off your customers
Acquiring new customers and retaining old ones requires a continuous improvement of an online shop’s web and support strategies. Users want to reach the product they are looking for with ease, but they also expect to receive instant support in case they encounter an issue in any part of the purchasing process. If your platform doesn’t meet these needs, you’ll certainly lose some business opportunities.
2. Defining product information priority
It can be the case that your e-commerce platform doesn’t support effective product information uploading. Since you are not able to directly show a product, providing all useful information is a priority, but if is fairly impossible to show everything on the same level – e.g. technical details, available shipping countries. Some pieces of information will probably be hidden at first sight, and it can be challenging to choose which ones to show.
3. Complex checkout processes
Shopping Cart and checkout flows are a well-known challenge for users of e-commerce platforms. Even if they are motivated to buy your products, they can give up if the checkout process is unclear, long or complex. All important information has to be included in process, such as payment methods and security certificates, but it should not take longer than necessary to provide it. Not always the case, we know all too well…
4. Assuming that all customers are confident with the web
A good UI is designed to make users feel comfortable in your platform, but users are usually pretty different: you can have people from 15 to 85 years old on the same page, and of course, they won’t have the same perception and expectations there. In general, the final UI comes from compromises to contemplate most user profiles. Different users also mean different support needs: teenagers prefer to receive an email, while older people favour a phone call.
5. Customers can’t easily find what they want on the e-commerce
If customers don’t find what they want within a reasonable amount of time, they will leave. Navigation, funnels and website time loading should be optimized, focusing on minimizing the actions required by the end user.
Well, easier said than done. How to achieve all of this without any complex action plans and without spending too much time and resources? A Digital Adoption Solution (DAS) or Platform (DAP) can help you immensely!
Newired and e-commerce, a happy marriage
Newired, our DAS, can help all involved: shops using ecommerce solutions and their customers.
For e-commerce software vendors, if they add some Newired Journeys to their product, they will enable every business to set up their own e-commerce, saving up in support resources and providing a better experience to their customers. The 3 issues we’ve identified would be tackled like this:
- It’ll take time for them to get acquainted with the processes on the solution chosen: Not anymore, as Newired Journeys will quickly make users complete tasks, guiding them step by step, even if they are not very acquainted with the platform.
- Some of these processes will be undertaken not very often, so they are hard to recall. E.g. when shops need to add discounts to their catalog. With Newired, this will no longer be the case, as Journeys will be available to guide users through processes which are not very often carried out when they need a refresher.
- Customizing their e-commerce platform might turn out to be extremely complex. Again, not anymore, as users customizing it will use Newired Journeys to make their lives easier.
If you are a software vendor and would like to sell your solution with a Newired layer embedded in it, we offer you the possibility of becoming our OEM partner, with many great advantages. Contact us
Let’s now see how a Newired layer would help business and customers after the ecommerce has been set up, focusing on the 5 challenges presented above:
1.Complex workflows and issues which scare off your customers
If you add a Newired layer to your ecommerce, you can add Journeys which will guide users step by step on the things they need to do on the ecommerce platform: from finding a product to changing their shipping address and payment method. All crystal clear!
With Newired, you can also add tooltips to ecommerce page elements, which will make users quickly understand what they are all about.
With this, your users won’t be scared to use your e-commerce!
Journeys are also great to support your users: if they are lost and ask for assistance, the support teams and simply send them the link to play the Journey.
A successful customer experience brings to customer loyalty. By providing excellent support, you help creating positive experiences for your customers, so that they won’t leave your e-commerce too early nor get frustrated.
2. Defining product information priority
Choose what to show on top of product pages wisely, check priorities and try to find a good structure to display that information, so that it fits your customers’ needs.
It is not always possible to add all the information about a product without polluting the page. You can add extra useful information on Newired Tips and display it only when the user wants – when they hover their mouse on the Tip icon, for instance.
3. Complex checkout processes
If you can’t easily fix the checkout process, you can add a Journey to guide your users in the process. If you’re not sure whether the process is too complex (as for you it might seem super straight forward), you can check Newired analytics, showing user behavior at that specific process, and to understand what you can do for them – for example, offering more support or even change the whole process altogether.
4. Assuming that all customers are confident with the web
If you add a Newired layer with contextual support to your ecommerce, you’ll be offering a better experience for all users, also those who are less confident with the web.
5. Customers can’t find what they want on the e-commerce
With Tips and Journeys available, it’s more likely that users will not get lost. Then later on, by checking the most used Journeys, you can realise which sections of the ecommerce need most improvement and then take action.
Adding Newired to your e-commerce can help you add value to the services you offer, and also contemplate your customers better. If they’re more satisfied, they’ll naturally buy more.
Are you considering adding a DAS to your e-commerce? Try Newired now and see how it’ll look!