UX in e-commerce for a positive customer experience and lots of sales

The user experience in a shop determines whether your visitor makes a purchase or whether they abandon the process and leave the shop. User experience should therefore be a top priority if you want to increase your conversion rate and generate good sales. Learn more about the key aspects of good UX and how you can easily optimize it.

Step 1: Enter the online store

Fast loading times should be a matter of course. And once your shop visitor is on your website, fractions of a second decide whether they stay or quickly leave again.

Convince shop visitors of the offer

First impressions are crucial, and users ask themselves: Am I in the right place with my problem? Will I find what I'm looking for here? The answer must be obvious at first glance: Yes, I can find what I'm looking for here – otherwise, you'll lose your visitor in the next moment. To achieve this, you need to be able to accurately assess your target group and their requirements for your offering. How can you convince your shop visitors right away that you are exactly the right provider? A perfect interplay of communication, design, and technology will immediately show them the relevance of your offering.

Draw attention to important areas

The importance of white space should not be underestimated. White space refers to areas on a website that are free of any information. These areas do not necessarily have to be white; the important thing is that they stand out clearly from the rest of the content and make it easier to process the visual impressions on the page.

Today's e-commerce customers are bombarded with a multitude of stimuli, and their patience and attention span are correspondingly limited. By using sufficient white space, you can prevent your shop from appearing cluttered and your visitors from feeling overwhelmed. Free space also directs users' attention to the important areas of the website and gives it an air of generosity and professionalism.

Optimize page for mobile devices

And last but not least: even though everyone should know this by now, many online shops still have shortcomings when it comes to handling smartphones. Check how your e-commerce portal appears on mobile devices and, above all, whether the CTAs are clearly visible. Avoid forcing customers to scroll horizontally and stick to the essentials.

Stage 2: Search for a product

You have now gotten the prospective customer to the point where they are starting to search for the desired product. Usability tests show that users repeatedly encounter obstacles at this stage. Ensure that your prospective customers can find the products they are looking for quickly and almost intuitively.

This starts with the navigation structure. It should be so simple and well thought out that your visitors can reach their destination with as few clicks as possible and don't get lost in the depths of your online shop. A sensible division into categories is the first step here.

What a compass is to a ship, the search function is to an online shop. With an intelligent search, you provide orientation and reduce the bounce rate. Make sure that when entering the product in the search mask, synonyms and common spelling mistakes also lead to the desired results. For online shops with a wide range of products, filters and faceted navigation are also an absolute must. For intelligent filter and search functions, you also need to know what is important to your customers and what criteria they use when making a purchase.

The faceted navigation in the Gartenhaus GmbH online shop makes it easy to narrow down products according to desired characteristics.
(Source: Screenshot from gartenhaus-gmbh.de)

You should also know that information on the left side is perceived better and faster, and that clickable elements should always be highlighted so that they are immediately recognizable as such.

Step 3: Selecting the right product

Next, you should take your guest by the hand to help them make their final purchase decision. How can you do this with UX in e-commerce? First, check the textual and visual presentation of your products:

1. Look for high-resolution photos and include a zoom function that allows users to view details.
2. Incorporate videos and 360-degree animations. They are increasingly being used to make a product vivid and attractive.
3. Internalize the motto "Content is king!" When writing your product descriptions, you should be concise while still presenting all the important USPs of the item. The product description should generate enthusiasm among potential customers and convince them of the quality of your offer. Under no circumstances should you copy the manufacturer's text word for word, as this will have a negative effect on the ranking of your product pages. It is therefore worth investing a little effort here.

arouse desire

When presenting products, it is becoming increasingly important to make them appear as vivid as they would in a store. This awakens desire by allowing customers to examine an item up close, turn it around, view it from all sides, and quickly grasp the most important information from the details on the packaging. In e-commerce, too, users need strong incentives to feel the desire for a particular product among the mass of offerings. You can also offer your customers further support in selecting the right product in the form of an AI shopping assistant. This guides shop visitors to the right product recommendation in a natural dialogue.

The AI Shopping Assistant uses dialogue to help customers select the right product.
(Source: Own representation)

Build trust

In addition to desire, trust plays the most important role in the product selection stage. A shop visitor will only decide to make a purchase once you have gained their trust. The most important UX elements for trust are:

• Customer opinions and reviews: Online shoppers definitely trust the experiences of other users more than the promises and product descriptions of e-commerce professionals. Customer reviews are therefore becoming increasingly important for success in online business.
• Seals of approval and certificates: TÜV certifications or other quality seals that consumers recognize are invaluable in gaining their trust.
• Consistent transparency: Clearly visible information about shipping conditions and delivery times is crucial for completing a purchase. Does your shop offer express shipping, and how much does it cost? The product detail pages should provide answers to these relevant questions. Formulate your answers clearly and comprehensively, ideally close to the shopping cart button. A prominent link to further details helps if customers need more information.

On its product detail page, Görtz provides important information about shipping, returns, and payment.
(Source: Screenshot from goertz.de)

Step 4: Purchase the desired product

Now we come to the most sensitive part of the purchasing process. Be careful, this is where the biggest hurdle lies! Many users navigate through the online shop, add items to their shopping cart—and then abandon the checkout process. There can be many reasons for this.

As already mentioned, nothing is more annoying than seeing shipping costs only when you get to the payment process. In addition, many users abandon their purchase if they have to create a user account before they can click on the "Buy" button. Guest access for orders can help to offset some of these losses.

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There is also an element of trust that is essential in the payment process: information about data security signals to your customers that you handle their data carefully and responsibly. Information about security measures should therefore be placed in a clearly visible location.

Another basic rule is to keep the forms for your buyers as simple as possible. At this crucial stage of the customer journey, even the smallest obstacle can negate the perfect UX achieved in the previous steps. Checkout must be quick and effortless.

More information about online shop personalization →