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5 eCommerce design mistakes that are killing your sales

Added 02.11.17
by SUKHBIR

Have you invested in an eCommerce website but have been disappointed in its success thus far? If your site isn’t performing as you expected, it could be because you’ve made a serious design mistake that is killing your sales.

Here, Zeemo has taken a closer look at 5 eCommerce design mistakes that we most commonly see when online shopping:

5 Ecommerce Design Mistakes That Are Killing Your Sales

  1. Lack of Clear Value Proposition
    Your value proposition is the number 1 thing that determines whether customers will continue reading about your product or whether they will hit the back button. It is your argument why customers should buy from you when they could buy from one of your competitors.

    Unfortunately, not only do many ecommerce websites have poor value propositions – many actually have difficulty communicating exactly what it is they sell! If customers can’t figure out what it is you do, they’re likely to leave and take their business elsewhere.

    Essential elements of a clear value proposition include:
    - A headline (possibly with subheadings) that uses clear, simple language
    - Body copy that explains why you are the best choice
    - Additional benefits and social proof (ie free shipping)
    - Images that create desire by showing the product in use
     
  2. Misguided Product Descriptions
    Whilst the general consensus is that product descriptions are important, it seems that ecommerce store owners include and/or remove them at random. In actual fact, descriptions mean different things when you’re selling different products.

    For some products, customers care about their appearance and want to know how they’re going to look in the room (such as a bookshelf). For others, customers are more concerned with the product’s specifications and details (such as a television).

    Think about your product and how your customers shop for it. Do they care more about how it looks or what it’s capable of? Adjust your image use and product descriptions accordingly.
     
  3. Failure to Utilise Quality Images
    If you happen to sell products that are mostly dependent on looks, it is clear that the visuals you use are incredibly important. Not only should images be present, there is also the matter of image quality.

    The best way to sell a physical item is to get it into the customer’s hands. Since this isn’t possible with online shopping, the next best thing is to get customers to imagine it in their hands. High quality images help with this.

    “Action” shots, for example, often work well for fashion items (such as clothing, shoes and even jewellery) as well as any product that is using aesthetics as its big selling point.
     
  4. Lack of Visual Hierarchy
    When you have a visual hierarchy in place, it becomes easy to navigate your website because actions start to become recognisable due to their design. All accent coloured text is clickable, for example, and base text is unclickable (used only to complement the background colour).

    Fitt’s Law
    The law states that the eyes are drawn to larger items, which makes them more clickable. Therefore, the most important elements should be larger and stand out from the rest of the page. Colour accents can also be used to help offset common background colours.

    On-page viewing patterns don’t automatically mean more sales, but it can help to draw their attention to specific elements that you want to highlight and that customers feel are most important.
     
  5. Website Doesn’t Look Trustworthy
    When competing with big name brands, the number 1 thing that you need to realise is that their brand recognition means that they don’t have to prove to customers that they are trustworthy.

    Just because you’re trustworthy doesn’t mean that customers will believe you.

    Your website has to reflect your willingness, ability and track record for delivering on your promises. But how can you do this? You need to take a customer-focused approach.

    Some elements that you could include are:
    - Customer testimonials
    - Notable press (ie a feature in a notable industry publication)
    - Interesting information about your company (ie years in operation)
    - An up to date design

If you have noticed any of the above mistakes in your ecommerce website, it’s time you give the team at Zeemo a call. We can build you a shopping cart site that is as functional as it is attractive – your traffic will improve, as will your sales.