Top 10 ecommerce Website Success Factors

** We’ve updated this with our latest recommendations and best practice for 2023. ** 

Consumer ecommerce now accounts for 30% of the total retail market in the UK (up from 20% in 2020), says the International Trade Administration of the USA, although ecommerce is growing, it is also fiercely competitive with Amazon, Tesco and Argos alone dominating 30% of online consumer sales in a market where consumers are in “a relentless pursuit of value for money”. To run a successful ecommerce store in this environment you need to engage a digital team that is not only technically savvy, but also highly specialised in digital marketing. 

First and foremost your team needs to know what it takes to make a sale online; which includes designing a website that is very user-friendly, conveys trust within the first few seconds of a visitor landing on the site, presents the customer with high quality product images and optimises the customer journey to make it easy for customers to make a purchase and get what that want, with just a few simple clicks. This all ensures that shoppers are able to find what they want, and pay for it in just a few simple clicks.

The bottom line is that an ecommerce website should be optimised for sales. To ensure that yours is, implement these 10 ecommerce Website Success Factors updated for 2023. 

1. Free delivery over a certain basket size 
   Customers are put off by additional shipping costs when they reach the checkout. Services such as Amazon Prime have set the bar for free shipping in customers’ expectations. Customers will even add more to their basket to qualify for free shipping., therefore orders with free shipping average “30% higher in value”. Check your Google Analytics to see what the average basket size is and test a free shipping incentive that is just above that cost. 
   
   
2. Buy now pay later options at checkout 
   Klarna and similar services have grown in popularity over the last 12months. These services help increase online sales of larger ticket items by offering consumers a way to spread the cost in more manageable chunks, therefore helping to increase your checkout conversion rate.
    
3. Apple Pay and Google page on mobile 
   Users don’t want to fiddle about on mobile, completing lots of text boxes to provide their cards details, so use convenient services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay to allow users to purchase items from your store with a simple click. This will increase your website’s conversion rate at checkout. 
   
   
4. Offer first time customers a discount  
   You’ve most likely spent ad budget to drive a new user to your store. To optimise conversion rates and so it’s not a wasted click, entice the user to convert to a customer by offering a 10% discount on their first purchase. If you do this using a pop up which asks for an email address you can start an automated Welcome flow series which not only helps with the first conversion, but also gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with the customer by sending personalised emails (learn more about email automations in an upcoming blog!). 
   
   
5. Balance your cost per acquisition of a new customer against their life time value to your store 
   It's important to find the right balance between CPC and life time value so that you make the right decisions for the growth of your ecommerce store. A client was concerned by cost per click (CPC) prices of certain keywords which were driving traffic to the site and ultimately sales, as their margins were small so profits were being eaten into. However the average customer purchased from the store 4 times a year so although the initial price may have felt high for one purchase, this quickly became profitable once the customer returned to purchase again and again. 
   
   
6. Quick Load Time
   It’s a sobering fact that you could lose 40% of your shoppers if your site takes more than three seconds to load. This means you have to be sure your digital team know all the tips and tricks for designing a site that will load quickly. Not only does a slow site discourage buyers, but it can also hurt you in Google search rankings too. Regularly check your site speed with tools such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights to make sure that large images haven’t been uploaded to your site or a plugin isn’t causing trouble in the background.
   
   
7. Mobile Responsive
   In 2022, 66% of users now choose to shop from mobile devices. This makes mobile user experience crucial to your sales performance. Your website must be easy to view on any device, and include a responsive design with resized text that’s easy to read on smaller screens, fewer images to boost load times, and enough space around links so thumbs can click them easily.
   
   
8. Easy Check-out
   A study by MarketingSherpa estimated that 60% of customers abandon their shopping carts before checking out. One reason for this is a complicated check-out and payment process. One-page check-out is the solution to this issue. Conversely, if you require customers to have an account before buying, do that step first. Don’t let them get to the end of the buying process and then ask them to go to an account set-up page. Last but not least, make sure all fields in your forms are clearly labelled to help buyers avoid error messages, if customers feel they’re being led in circles they’ll give up quickly. 
   
   
9. Secure Shopping
   Customers will always check for the security of their confidential information like credit card data. It’s therefore critical to the success of your ecommerce website to ensure that their transactions are safe and secure. Make sure your website has a valid SSL certification so that customers can carry out safe transactions. Google will also rank your website lower without an SSL certification.  
   
   
10. Product Reviews
    Customers want to feel confident in their purchasing decisions online. Ensure you have TrustPilot (or similar) setup to gain customer reviews and showcase these on your website as individual testimonials and a 5 star rating on your homepage and checkout page.

*Bonus Tip* Make sure you're ready for Black Friday by reading our Top 5 Tips To Smash Your Black Friday Sales Targets blog

Embarking on an ecommerce project can be a daunting task. That’s why it’s important to find a digital partner you can trust to help you grow your business online. Here at Web Bureau, we have a proven track record in helping our clients move into the world of ecommerce and grow their sales online having worked with brands like Gordon’s Chemist, Harry Corry and Candles Direct to create successful online stores. 

Our team will work with you to ensure your ecommerce website is manageable and profitable. This is not only achieved through creative design, up to the minute development, and innovative digital marketing, but by helping you plan all the behind the scenes aspects of your online shop too. 

Get a free ecommerce consultation today from one of our experts by calling 028 9073 1190 or email us info@thewebbureau.com