5 tips: How to make users feel right at home in your online shop

Put yourself in your customer's shoes: what impresses you the most when you walk into your favorite brick and mortar store? Is it the salesperson that knows your name, the personal advice with the perfect recommendations, or maybe even the birthday discount?

Either way, it's the way the shop piques your interest and prioritizes your needs. If you're greeted personally, you definitely feel valued and in good hands. One of many reasons why we like to buy in brick-and-mortar stores. And that is exactly what your online customer has come to expect, too. If you do not meet their expectations, 44 percent are willing to switch to brands that do personalization better.?

To keep users from switching to another brand, it’s time to ramp up your personalization and optimization efforts. Today I’ll show you which shopping situations from the offline world can be replicated online and what shops should pay attention to.

1. Communication is key – Especially when shopping online?

More than 70% of consumers cite convenience (77%) and free shipping (72%) as their top reasons to shop online. Shopping should be quick and easy – without any surprises. Especially when it comes to delivery and payment.

To prevent customers from leaving the website frustrated by a lack of communication, retailers need to clearly communicate their delivery and payment options. Different banners, tickers, overlays and in-page elements are ideal for clearly indicating potentially extended delivery times (e.g. due to COVID-related supply shortages) and other changes in the ordering process. Enrich your product detail pages with the different payment options your shop offers - users can see at a glance whether their preferred one can be used.

The same applies to other ordering options that have gained popularity, such as click and collect. These options should be highlighted when available – via geotargeting, you can also show the user the nearest option to pick up the order. If click and collect isn’t available at the moment, hide the button!

2. Experience is everything – From beginning to end

If you want to retain your customer's loyalty, you will have to score points by offering a convincing and individual customer journey – right from the start.

Retailers should start by adapting the homepage (i.e., the digital shopfronts) of their shop by showing the preferred category, the favorite brand, last seen products or recent searches and current promotions from the user’s favorite category. This is easily accomplished for returning visitors and loyal customers, as the shop already had the opportunity to learn more about them. What if the user isn’t known yet? You can still personalize their experience, for example, by showing promotions and recommendations based on the weather condition at their location. You should make use of homepage personalization: Personalized homepage promotions influence 85% of consumers in their buying intention!

Another way to score points with your customers: A fun and playful experience. As per some recent studies, game-based motivation increases user-engagement by 48%. For example, you could offer a virtual scavenger hunt. The elements to be found (depending on the season, these could be Easter eggs or Christmas baubles) are displayed at various spots in the shop. The user must first click through the assortment. Perhaps by searching for these elements, a few additional products will then even end up in the shopping cart. Once the scavenger hunt is completed, a voucher awaits – for example, for the next purchase.

3. No need to see each other in person – Greet your customers personally

What many people love most about brick-and-mortar stores is the personal interaction with the salespeople. A personal interaction can also be integrated online. Especially with logged-in users, the name is mostly known. But also, returning visitors can be greeted appropriately. Perhaps they had filled their shopping cart the last time and left it behind. This can be pointed out in the shop, combined with an incentive to convince them to make a purchase.

The same applies to customers who have already made a purchase in the shop. The beauty-affine users could be reminded that they may soon run out of foundation and offered the chance to buy another one. Or the craftsman who has bought a new drill – he may be pleased to receive a recommendation for suitable drill bits or dowels for the next project.

With toys and baby supplies, it's rewarding to let recommendations evolve along with the baby. After all, the baby may have already become a toddler and the parents are happy to receive inspiration on educational toys, larger diapers or clothing. Shops can very easily obtain this kind of information from preference queries among their users. 83% of consumers are even willing to share their data to create a more personalized experience. If the user realizes that the data is being put to good use, both sides benefit.?

4. Distance is not a barrier – Provide personal advice

Brick-and-mortar stores have one major advantage over the online shop: the service staff that are on hand to offer advice and assistance. It is particularly difficult to replace them. But advisor functions can also be integrated in the online shop and help guide users through the oftentimes huge assortment to the right product.

For example, furniture shops can integrate a mattress advisor. The user simply clicks through a short questionnaire that asks for potential back problems, sleeping preferences (warm or cold) and preferred sleeping positions (back or side sleeper). Answering each question further narrows down the range of products, and at the end you are left with a clear recommendation for a suitable mattress as well as alternatives. Of course, this advisor function is not only suitable for mattresses, but also for gifts, jeans, sports equipment, closets and much more.?

Personalized product recommendations are also a very important part of advice online. If they’re adapted to the individual needs and interests of your users, they will feel like you’re offering them added value. Want to read more on suitable product recommendations? Take a look at my article series on effective product recommendations. A further service is the inclusion of real people in the consultation – via chat windows or even video chats.?

5. Don’t leave yet – Convince users that show signs of bouncing off

Of course, there will always be users who browse the shop and various products, but eventually leave without buying. Here, too, you can ensure better customer retention. Websites are able to detect if users want to leave the page (for example, once the cursor approaches the browser's address bar or the cross at the top right) and display an exit intent overlay.? The overlay can e.g. contain a newsletter signup form – maybe even combined with a small discount. This increases the chance that the user will become aware of other interesting offers via the newsletter – for example, by sending them personalized newsletters with interesting new products from their favorite category or brand. Thus, this quickly creates the impression of being a regular customer from brick-and-mortar retail.

Should the user still hold products in the shopping cart, this too can be pointed out via exit intent technology and also easily be combined with time-limited vouchers, for example. The user may decide to not leave their shopping cart, but make a purchase instead.

A positive shopping experience turns users into loyal customers

As you can see, there are many ways to show appreciation to your customers in the online shop and even make them feel like being a regular, as known from brick-and-mortar stores. Especially now, it's important for shops to offer customers a positive shopping experience online, too, and thus encourage them to return. After all, 87% of customers who say they had a great experience will make another purchase from the company!