Day: April 28, 2022

Ecommerce has been eating up the retail world for a while now. However, if your ecommerce website has been up and going for a long time, you’re likely aware that these days, offering outstanding products is not enough for your business to thrive. If you want it to stand out from the busy crowd, you need to learn how to attract, engage, and retain your customers.

By today’s standards, your customers value the overall experience your ecommerce website delivers, and a superb product won’t be enough for you to achieve success. Therefore, you need to go above and beyond to improve their journey through your platform to boost customer loyalty and retention, which will result in extending your customer’s lifetime value. Luckily, this all can be achieved if you follow the four simple steps outlined in this article.

The advice below ranges from offering multiple payment options to making the website mobile-friendly or perfecting your shopping cart design. Read on to learn more!

Convenient Checkout Process

A convenient and easy to navigate checkout process is one of the main features that customers may expect from your ecommerce website. If it includes too many steps or there are some additional forms that people need to fill out if they want to finalise the payment process, they might feel frustrated or think that it’s not worth their time.

This can result in way too many customers abandoning their carts and leaving so they can shop somewhere else, where the same process is much simpler. It doesn’t matter if they’re in a hurry or just don’t want to be bothered by all the extra steps, as in the end, you will be the losing one.

Fortunately, you can solve this problem by making sure that your website is designed in a way that allows for saving the customer’s information and keeps the number of questions asked to the necessary minimum. Besides keeping the checkout process short and simple, you can also consider providing easily accessible information on courier comparison, so there are no doubts when it comes to shipping prices.

Mobile-Friendly Design

A site that isn’t mobile-friendly will frustrate users and hurt your business. According to Statista, in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, mobile devices generated 54.4 percent of global website traffic. This shows that these days, it’s crucial for every ecommerce website owner to ensure that their platform provides an outstanding user experience regardless of the device their customers are accessing it from.

Your website needs to be designed in a way that allows for fast load time regardless of whether users are visiting it from their smartphones or desktop computers. It is also essential for the site to be optimised for mobile screen resolutions, so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom in on content. At the same time, your website needs to be easy to navigate via touch controls so users can easily interact with the interface and fill out any required forms.

Multiple Payment Options

An ecommerce website that offers multiple payment options will instantly elevate the customer’s experience with your business. It’s vital to provide safe and secure transactions and allow your customers to choose the payment method that suits their needs and preferences, no matter if they decide to pay with a credit card or use PayPal.

As a business owner, you need to also keep in mind that different countries have access to different payment systems, so a person from a European country might not be able to pay the same way a customer from the U.S. pays for their purchase.

If you decide to add more payment options to your ecommerce website, you will increase customer satisfaction and show customers from countries all over the world that you’re open to doing business with them. To make sure that you don’t miss out on gaining more customers, remember to mention in a visible place that they can also pay in other currencies.

Live Chat

Live chat will allow you to solve the problems that your customers might face in real-time and make it much easier for people who don’t want to send emails or make phone calls to get in touch with you. It’s an excellent way to keep your customers happy and provide them with a satisfying shopping experience.

Customers tend to have many questions when shopping online, and in general, they find it very useful when they can contact someone quickly and without unnecessary hassle. Additionally, they can use the live chat to provide you with feedback which you can use to improve your ecommerce website.

If you don’t want to hire anyone to have them take care of the live chat but still want it to be available 24/7, you can have a chatbot that will reply to the basic and most commonly asked questions. This will make your live chat more manageable, and you’ll only need to step in when the case is more complicated.

In Conclusion

To sum up, if you take the time to add these elements to your ecommerce website, you will be able to provide your customers with a better experience and leave them much more satisfied with the whole shopping process. This should then result in your business gaining more traction and attracting new clients.

You can easily start out by making sure that you offer a convenient checkout process, provide a mobile-friendly design as well as multiple payment options, and have a live chat available so your customers can ask you questions whenever they need help. Good luck!

Submitted by a Staff Writer.

Online shopping has become one of the most convenient ways to buy new products while saving time and money. In contrast to a traditional shopping experience, which is usually extremely time-consuming and exhausting, the ability to shop online allows access to a broader selection of products and price comparisons from the comfort of your home.

However, with the abundance of hot deals and attractive offers on the internet, it is easy to spend more than you’ve initially wanted to and order things you don’t actually need. As such, it is crucial to be mindful of your spending habits and shopping behavior to avoid impulsive decisions and start making smart purchases instead.

Below, you will find several practical tips to help you shop online wisely. Apart from comparing prices and getting money off with coupons, you should also pay attention to the delivery fees and rules, and ensure that you’re shopping from a secure and reliable online retailer or shop. Continue reading and start making smart purchases!

Pay Attention to Delivery Fees and Rules

One of the crucial elements to consider when shopping online is the cost of delivery. Often, online retailers offer free shipping for orders above a certain amount, but there are also shops where delivery costs are calculated separately. It is essential to take into account such additional expenses when comparing prices, as they may significantly increase the final price of your purchase.

To avoid paying too much due to the delivery fees, it is recommended that you have a look at the rules and regulations of each online shop before placing your order. For example, some stores, especially those from China, may impose an extra fee for shipping to your country or state.

Alternatively, some shops may ship only to certain countries or states, or offer only local shipping. For example, in case an online retailer doesn’t ship outside the UK, you can use a UK parcel forwarding service to get it delivered to your doorstep. The key is to know about these restrictions before making any purchases.

Compare Prices

Finding the best price for a product is crucial for making smart online purchases. Fortunately, as there are numerous online shops selling different products and brands, you have a great chance to find the best offer available on the market.

To start comparing prices, you can visit price comparison websites. In contrast to general search engines, these sites will display only a list of products that are available at the lowest cost in your area. Sites like this one enable you to find exactly what you want at a lower price than you would find elsewhere.

Use Coupons

Coupons are another excellent way to save money when you shop online. By visiting coupon sites, you can discover and print out all the offers and discount codes currently available for the products you would like to buy. You can also see many great deals from your favorite brands on popular coupon sites like Groupon.

Apart from coupons, you should look for discount codes and promotional codes to receive an extra 5% or 10% off the price of your order. Another option is to look for promo codes from influencers’ or subscribe to a brand’s newsletter to get a discount. In most cases, all you need to do is enter the code at checkout and you will get a discount immediately.

Buy From a Trusted Online Retailer

Finally, it’s crucial to make sure that the website where you’re planning to buy is reliable and secure. As such, you should always look for a reputable site with a great reputation and trust rating. This way, you can rest assured that your personal information won’t be disclosed to third parties and that your transaction will go smoothly.

The easiest way to find out if a website is safe is by checking out its security certificate. All trustworthy websites use encrypted connections in order to protect their users’ personal information and keep their transactions safe. You can see if a particular site has an encrypted connection by looking for a closed padlock in the address bar of your browser.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are many ways to make smart online purchases and find great deals on the internet. To start saving more money, you should definitely take advantage of coupons and discount codes, read reviews, check product specifications, and compare prices.

Once you’ve found a product that you want to buy, always check if it is available at a lower price elsewhere and compare the final prices of different online stores. Also, don’t forget to have a look at the delivery fees and rules of each online shop to make sure that you don’t pay too much for shipping. Finally, when making any online purchase, always check the website’s security certificate to ensure that your information is safe. Happy shopping!

Submitted by a Staff Writer.

Companies across South Africa are rapidly demanding a return to work of all employees, often with very little time provided for the transition. And while there is a case to be made from the company’s point of view of getting all hands physically on deck again after the great office exodus of 2020, leaders should be aware of the consequences of a top-down approach, a leadership expert says.

The USA and a number of other countries around the world are feeling the effects of the so-called great resignation – the phenomenon whereby vast swathes of employees simply quit their jobs instead of returning to the office. But the socio-economic environment in South Africa means that while some people are indeed quitting, most don’t have the luxury to do so. That does not however mean that return to work mandates at short notice will not negatively impact workplaces here – it will just impact in different ways.

In South Africa, companies face a real risk of the rapid call-back impacting on their bottom line. We are already fielding calls daily from highly sought-after professionals who are not prepared – through choice, changed circumstance or both – to return to the way things were before Covid. So while employees might not actually resign, the reasons for them wanting to do so will remain and compound.

Companies might consider it their prerogative to mandate employees to return to work without delay, but they will be doing themselves a disservice if they don’t pause, reflect and strategise the way forward before doing so.

The reality is that after two years of pandemic fight-or-flight survival, employees are tired, demotivated, stressed, worn out, fearful of the future, straining because of the rising cost of living, and still dealing with the fallout from Covid’s impact on their lives and families, to name but a few of the issues facing most people at the moment.

One only has to look at the real-life impact of the return-to-work ultimatums on social media forums on the part of desperate employees who simply can’t adapt and change their lives with short notice, to understand that just because companies can make this demand, it doesn’t mean they should.

There are essentially three scenarios awaiting companies following a top-down approach at this stage: losing people, developing a toxic workplace, and failing to attract good people down the line.

A tremendous amount of goodwill was built up during the pandemic, with companies facilitating work-from-home arrangements. The levels of teamwork and pulling together hit impressive highs despite the stress of the pandemic, and unprecedented levels of emotional support and ‘keep in touch’ initiatives ensured the mental wellbeing and cohesion of teams.

For more than two years, companies were able to get the job done while employees continued to pull their weight and more from home. So, looking at it from the point of view of the employee who now must return to the office, it is not unreasonable for them to question why it is suddenly again necessary for everyone to be physically at their desks from sunrise until sunset. Adding resentment on top of existing stressors is a sure-fire way to turn the workplace toxic, leading to reduced productivity, absenteeism, loss of motivation and a negative work environment.

It is essential for companies at this juncture to:

1)     Communicate how the office is going to be a place of purpose going forward (as opposed to employees needing to be there… just because),

2)     Allow sufficient time for employees to make new arrangements (because circumstances and logistics have changed for many people),

3)     Consider hybrid options and continue to allow flexibility where possible and appropriate,

4)     Consult sufficiently and substantially, and

5)     Continue to provide support services and check-in sessions as was done during the pandemic.

Here and now, in the second quarter of 2022 as another shift is happening, it would be ludicrous to consider reverting to the leadership status quo of January 2020. Everyone who will be returning to the office has been changed by the past two years. For some, the impact was not majorly life-altering despite them no doubt experiencing all the fears and emotions the world shared. For many others however, their whole lives have been turned upside down.

They would have made new arrangements for childcare, they may have been forced to move, perhaps they have divorced and now no longer have the support of a partner who can help out with admin and logistics, they may have lost loved ones, they may have lasting mental or physical health issues, and so forth. The variations are legion and impossible to comprehend unless real conversations are had before one-size-fits-all rules are introduced.

Companies need to acknowledge that we are facing a period of transition, and that time for adjustment and consultation must be allowed – in the interests of their employees, but also in the interest of the company.

In addition to addressing the challenges around motivation for current employees, it is also necessary to consider the company’s ongoing ability to attract talent – many of whom now won’t look twice at a company that doesn’t consider the employee experience and which allows no flexibility. If a company isn’t considering the employee experience, they will not only strain or even fail now, but also in the future.

Advaita Naidoo is the MD: Africa at Jack Hammer Global.