With the rise in popularity of online shopping, consumers look for brands that stand out from the crowd. One powerful way to offer an elevated shopping experience is to make the whole process as convenient as possible for your customers. 

In this article, we’ll look at why your brand should focus on offering convenience for your customers and 5 proven ways to do it. 

Why is convenience so important in e-commerce?

Understanding the vital importance of providing a convenient shopping experience for your customers will help you get a competitive edge over other brands. 

It’s an expensive mistake to only pay attention to the quality and pricing of your products. Now more than ever, focusing on offering a convenient buying experience is essential. There are a number of reasons why convenience should be prioritized. 

Life is increasingly fast-paced

The world is getting increasingly fast-paced, and because of that, customers are turning to e-Commerce for their shopping needs. People are busy and don’t want to use up their little spare time with a slow and complicated shopping experience. 

Consumers are on the lookout for buying experiences that will save them time. The beauty of eCommerce is that customers can shop whenever they want and wherever they are, at the click of a button. 

Convenience is becoming an expected norm

As online retail brands become more aware of the perceived value of convenience, a simple and fast shopping experience is becoming the industry norm. Consumers have come to expect a speedy and convenient buyer’s journey. 

If your brand doesn’t keep up with this growing trend, you’ll fall behind your competitors. Potential customers will turn to competing online stores after being disappointed with yours. 

Here are the stats to back it up

Let’s take a look at some numbers that highlight the growing importance of offering a convenient buying process to your customers. 

• 83% of shoppers say that convenience is more important to them than it was 5 years ago. 
• 21% of consumers abandoned their online shopping cart after being put off by an overly complicated checkout process.
• 52% of consumers stated that at least half of their purchases were influenced by convenience.
• 97% of consumers have backed out of a purchase because it was lacking in convenience. 

5 ways to offer more convenience to your customers

Now that we’ve seen the value of providing a convenient shopping experience to your customers, you might be wondering how exactly to make your buyer’s journey easier. Here are 5 highly effective strategies you need to try.

1. Simplify your checkout process

The moment when your potential customer reaches the checkout page is a critical point in the buyer’s journey. This is when it’s most likely that the shopper will change their mind and abandon their cart. 

One significant feature that will influence your customer’s likelihood to finalize their purchase is the number of form fields they are asked to fill in. A study from Baymard Institute showed that consumers become overwhelmed by too many fields to fill in at checkout. 

2. Offer convenient payment options

Be sure to give your shoppers more payment options than just their credit card. Offering alternative payment methods at checkout eliminates the hassle of making a purchase, and speeds the whole process up. 

Paypal is a payment method you should definitely offer because it eliminates the need for buyers to enter their credit card information and makes them feel more secure. Many consumers keep funds in their Paypal account for online purchases, and you don’t want to force them to spend the time transferring those funds to a bank account. 

Apple Pay, another payment option that online shoppers often prefer, is about to release a new feature called Apple Pay Later. This highly convenient payment method allows customers to “buy now, pay later”, splitting the customer’s purchase amount into 4 equal payments. 

3. Connect with customers through video live chat

Online shoppers feel more comfortable making a purchase when they feel like they’re dealing with a real human rather than a robot. Showing your brand’s human side increases the level of connection your customers will feel with your brand. 

e-Commerce live video chat is a powerful solution for putting a human face to your brand’s name. This feature allows customers to quickly get the information they need and resolve problems they have. It also reduces the number of shoppers who will be put off by the idea of leaving a message on a contact page. 

Live video chat’s benefits include:

• Personalizing the shopper’s buying experience
• Building an authentic connection with the shopper
• Offering immediate solutions
• Increasing engagement and the length of time shoppers will spend on your website

4. Make things easy to understand with video product demos

Another strategy that effectively increases perceived convenience for your shoppers is offering video product demos. Interactive demonstrations of your products build your potential customer’s confidence in making a purchase and educate them on how the products work. 

Live video product demonstrations are a more powerful alternative to generic video content, largely because they directly aim to answer the individual shopper’s questions. They solve problems faster and in a more human way. 

5. Build a team of online sales staff

When a shopper walks into a brick-and-mortar retail store, their first impression is critical to their overall buying experience. The normal process in this situation would be for a sales specialist to approach the shopper and let them know they’re there to help with any questions or recommendations. 

Why should the online shopping process be any different? Prioritizing online sales staffing will impress your potential customer by adding a human touch to their buying experience. It will also simplify their shopping experience by offering guidance at every step of the process. 

In the e-commerce world, convenience is king

The most common reason that consumers choose to shop online is the convenience that it offers. That’s why convenience should be prioritized as one of the most important factors of your e-commerce strategy. 

At Storey, we offer virtual retail solutions that improve the customer’s online shopping experience and make their buyer’s journey simpler, faster, and more convenient.

Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can level up your e-Commerce game!