The way you present your eCommerce products on your website can have a significant impact on your conversion rate. Customers generally decide whether to stick with you or go to your competitor based on how they perceive your website and brand. In Statista’s Online Shopping Survey, 60% of respondents stated that website usability is important for them in an online shop.
If you’re still not convinced that UX and UI are important for your ecommerce business, consider this meticulous two-year study from the Baymard Institute. It states the following:
“Only 18% of the 60 top-grossing US and European ecommerce sites have a “good” or “acceptable” product page UX performance. The vast majority of benchmarked sites – 82% – have a “poor” or “mediocre” performance. And no sites have a “state of the art” product page UX performance.
Best Practices to Display eCommerce Products
With all this in mind, we’ll go over five ways to successfully design your product page and provide examples for each. Let’s take a look at what good practice is and give you some suggestions for implementing it on your website.
I’ve been using Cloudways since January 2016 for this blog. I happily recommend Cloudways to my readers because I am a proud customer.
1) Establish a Sense of Urgency
We all know how it goes, but nifty marketers still manage to buy us with this tactic. When we see that there are only three items left in stock on Amazon, our brains tell us that we should act quickly and buy.
There are various techniques you can use to persuade your customer to take the final step. Among them are the following:
- There aren’t enough items in stock. Put a note next to your product image stating that there’s only a certain number of articles left. If a customer is interested in that particular product, they should purchase it as soon as possible.
- Some sizes are currently out of stock. If you are selling clothing or shoes and a certain size is no longer available, cross that size out. This is not only necessary information for people who need that size but also a great reminder for others that their size could get sold out too if they don’t act quickly.
- Offer perks for a limited time period. Offer discounts, promotional eCommerce products, or even freebies for a limited time, such as three days. Aside from telling customers that the proposal expires on a specific date, you can set a timer to show how much time they have left.
- Free delivery is only available for a limited time. You can include it in the proposal or do it separately; in either case, the same rules apply.
Take a look at GetSafe, for instance. They displayed their limited-time offer in a section that remains at the top of the screen even when you scroll. As a result, you will always be aware that there is a proposal. They included discounts and free shipping in their offer and focused on the expiration date.
2) Show Off User Reviews
Social proof is a powerful tool for promoting your product. According to Nielsen’s global survey, “the majority of people (70%) will trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know.” In other words, seeing other people’s reviews will make people feel better and more confident in their own judgment.
That’s why you’ll want to showcase the reviews from your customers front and center on your ecommerce site. Put your average star rating next to your price, like Impossible did, and be transparent about your reviews. Notice how Impossible placed them after the product description and images so you can read them all.
3) Feature High-Quality Images and Videos
Effective product representation in ecommerce relies on evoking emotions and telling a story through the image or video of a product. You can achieve this by taking high-quality photos of your product from various angles. Some of the images should depict real-life scenarios so that customers can imagine how the product would also find its place in their own lives.
If possible, you might also want to feature an instructional video for using your product. If it doesn’t demand particular instructions for use, you can get creative with video marketing and immerse your audience in a story involving the product. Video is unsurprisingly one of the biggest 2022 marketing trends, and it fits so well with ecommerce. You can incorporate it not only on your eCommerce product pages but also on your homepage and social media accounts to paint a clearer picture of your brand and inspire conversions.
Bellroy is a great example of how it’s done. They have images with cards in them to show how they will fit your wallet and a video so you can see how it looks in your hand. But the best feature is their ability to determine which size wallet you require based on your currency.
4) Showcase Bestsellers
You simply cannot pass up the opportunity to show the customer more of your product and make it easier for them to find what they like. However, you’ll need to ensure that they are properly displayed. There are typically two ways to accomplish this:
- Include a “You may also like” section that displays relevant suggestions based on what customers were looking at on your website.
- Include a “Customer Favorites” section, where you can highlight your best-sellers and add social proof to your eCommerce products.
Stelladot did an excellent job with this. They have all of the elements and a lovely presentation.
5) Improve UX With Good Navigation
Confusing navigation on ecommerce sites is often an issue for customers, especially if there is a large number of products. The key to getting it right is proper categorization. Determine the main categories of your products and display them immediately so people can go straight to what they want. Then, go through each categorization and create subcategories to make it even easier. A properly constructed product hierarchy can work wonders for your online store.
Flipkart did exactly that. Instead of browsing the entire website, you can go directly to the type of product you want, thanks to their clean hierarchy.
In Closing
These are the top five essential ways to display your products in your online store. Go through your site and see if there’s anything you can improve with the tips we covered here. By utilizing the right tactics, you’ll increase your chances of keeping your customers on your website longer and going through with those purchases.
