Testing of over 900 Ecommerce sites shows how 'cleaner' designs can increase ecommerce sales
What can the fastest-growing eTailers teach us about visual design? Anyone involved in the design or marketing of ecommerce sites has had the discussion at some point: 'is this design too busy? Too cluttered?'
As it turns out, it probably is. And you can probably make more money by cleaning it up – at least according to our latest research here at EyeQuant, a German neurotechnology company that specialises in quantitative user experience metrics.
A classic debate put to rest by data
To examine the role of visual clarity in user experience, the EyeQuant team took a sample of 960 ecommerce designs and showed them to 500 users in pairs, asking which design felt 'cleaner'. After collecting responses from several hundred participants, the team ranked every design in the study and used this data to train an artificial intelligence that can…
Examples and research showing why content marketing is now key for driving Ecommerce customer journeys
Ecommerce is constantly evolving alongside the development of new digital media and technologies, yet one aspect has not changed. That is, the importance of search intent in the buyer journey. Consumers continue to use search to find, research and buy the products that they want.
However, though this basic fact may not be changing, the way search works is. Search algorithms and in particular those by Google are regularly updated to focus more on quality and relevance of content. So now ecommerce businesses have to think differently about content's position in the buyer journey.
Long gone are the days of keyword density, link farms and ghost pages. Want your products to rank well for search? You need quality content.
The intersection of content marketing and ecommerce
How are ecommerce businesses using content marketing? New research from Econsultancy…
What Makes Great Ecommerce Website Design? Part 2: The Category Page
In Part Two of my series of blog posts looking at the factors that help make different parts of an ecommerce websites more effective in experience, merchandising and SEO, I review examples of category pages. In Part 1 I looked at 5 Ecommerce home page best design practices.
You can think of Category pages serving as the 'Departments' within your website like they do in a department store - the ladieswear department, childrens wear department and so on.
These areas in a department store are typically demarcated by very visual merchandising, such as mannequins dressed in the types of clothes that you'd find in that department, visual posters/ signage showing branding or imagery depicting the section you are in - smiling children on posters indicating that you are in the childrens' section.
These subtle visual prompts are often un-noticed yet serve to ensure that…
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August 4, 2014
How to structure a successful e-retail strategy
The Internet has made it easier for new entrants and existing retailers alike to set-up, launch, re-platform and update online stores. But the speed of change in e-commerce also presents its own challenges, and the temptation is to adopt a tactical approach to online in order to adapt to the ever shifting landscape. However, the importance of a robust e-commerce strategy should not be under-estimated.
'A more tactical approach to e-commerce may seem ‘cutting edge’ but in actual fact may mean that firms are simply making changes to their e-commerce approach because that is what their competitors are doing or because new technology or designs are trending,' warns Kath Dawson, Creative Director at Strategy Digital.
'Businesses looking to make a success of their e-commerce efforts should ensure a robust e-commerce strategy is central to all activity. Without a strategy which clarifies and defines…
5 examples of retail home page good practice
Great ecommerce websites are likely to be based on personal preference. But many would agree there are common practices for persuasive design that should be tested, if you're not using them already.
In this post, I take a look at a range of less well-known small to medium business ecommerce websites where I have deconstructed the practices to suggest a shortlist of 'must have features' for the homepage. It's part one of a series of posts, next I'll be looking at category pages. Of course, in a blog article there is a limit on what can be sensibly covered. See the relevant Smart Insights guide for more details.
Recommended Guide: Ecommerce Design Patterns
Use our wireframes and examples to test and create more persuasive Ecommerce designs to boost retail sales.
Download our Ecommerce Design Bible.
Home page feature…
Examples from big brand Ecommerce sites which smaller businesses can test
The web has transformed the way people compare and buy everything from fruit to flat-screen TVs. The demand to be able to shop online has fuelled a race to join the likes of Amazon, with small independent e-commerce retailers springing up on a daily basis. But it’s important to remember that increasing sales doesn’t necessarily have to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds; small improvements can make a big difference, and even the biggest organisations may be losing revenue unnecessarily.
This post features eight of my top tips for maximising e-commerce sales and includes good practice examples from some of the most successful e-commerce sites.
Tip 1: Remove dead ends
Your site should have no dead ends. Full stop. This should be the first rule of thumb. Every page should be designed to channel visitors to the right product, service or sales representative, even…
4 online appliance retailers rated for the best overall online experience across 150 mobile and desktop touchpoints on the customer journey
Simple Usablity recently reviewed the UX from 4 leading e-commerce sites (Currys, Argos, Appliances Online and Appliances Direct), to find out how they are focusing on the customer experience. The companies were assessed across 120 touchpoints along the customer journey from homepage to checkout, and 30 touchpoints to rate their mobile experience.
PET Assessment - Persuasion, Emotion and Trust
Retailers were assessed on this and other criteria including social proof, salience and gamification. Appliances Online ranked the highest on 'Emotion', Currys on 'Salience' (how they influence what visitors pay attention to and how they interpret the meaningfulness of the information) and Argos on 'Social Proof' (customer reviews and ratings).
Mobile Strategy
All three retailers, except Appliances Online were evaluated across 30…
A book review of Age of Context: Mobile, Sensors, Data and the Future of Privacy by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
This book provides a summary of current thinking in providing effective customer experiences to support commercial goals. It's not a "how to" guide, but summarises current thinking which should inform digital strategies. So what exactly is context marketing? Essentially, it’s about combining insight about customers and prospects combined with personalisation to deliver the right content to the right audience of users at the exactly the right time to satisfy the users requirements and as Hubspot states:
'A decade ago, making personal connections with people on your website was no more than a pipe dream — the technology simply wasn’t available. Today, we have the technology to truly deliver the right message to the right person at exactly the right time. It will fundamentally change…
How to use personalised product recommendations to increase Ecommerce sales
The importance of effective product recommendations cannot be ignored. When done correctly they can heavily contribute to the success of a website, both by increasing the quantity and the size of orders being placed.
Studies of personalisation have revealed that, when recommendations are made intelligently, those products being recommended can enjoy conversion rates over 900% higher than sitewide averages. Amazon have famously leveraged this technique to attract a huge customer base and vast revenues - a look at their homepage will reveal a site committed to personalising its shopping experience around the needs of each and every individual customer.
Today, the importance of website personalisation as a method for boosting conversion rates is recognised by most digital professionals. An Econsultancy report recently named website personalisation as 2014's top digital priority by…
Techniques to encourage more use of personalisation
The topic of web personalisation continues to be a priority for Ecommerce marketers. In addition to this Forrester says that personalisation is now the top priority for 55% of retailers.
However, website personalisation comes in many different formats; it could be about better use of a CMS to change user experiences on the fly; it could be product recommendations; it could be linking your CRM database with the website.
The key is that whatever format you are doing it in, it’s a big driver for e-commerce in 2014 and beyond.
However, the big question is, are you in a position as a business to maximise the effectiveness of web personalisation? I wanted to just put down in this blog a few things I think are critical from a company structural perspective to ensure that you can get the most from this exciting technique.
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