Conversions are the result of a myriad of factors

Let us explain why some E-Commerce sites convert, while others don’t

Selling online is not easy. The internet is the biggest shopping mall on the planet. That’s a lot of shops. It’s also a lot of shoppers. And they are getting smarter.

The reasons why e-shoppers hesitate at the checkout (or don’t even make it that far)

Research into the possible reasons why e-shoppers buy (or not!) is not necessarily all focused upon the actual look or functionality of the actual E-Commerce website itself. Human nature and psychology can also play a huge part…

Different types of e-shoppers

E-shoppers can be categorised by type:

1. Window e-shoppers – no intension to buy at all, ‘just browsing’, idly surfing without a focus upon comparing prices or perhaps narrowing down choice before buying at a later date.
2. Cost-Conscious Considerers – some intention to buy, but only if the product and price meets certain criteria and other aspects such as speed of delivery and postage costs are also acceptable to them.
3. Wish-listers – stronger intention than considerers, placing items into virtual shopping baskets for later (perhaps across several sites) but not actually intending to purchase today or soon.
4. Last minute mind changers (true abandoners!) – e-shoppers fully intent upon purchasing, but then for some reason, change their mind at the checkout at the last moment.
5. Purchasers – the best kind of e-shoppers! These users arrive at your site, find the product they want, place it in their virtual shopping basket and follow through completely with purchase at the checkout – all this taking place during one visit rather than them returning to your site the following day or week.

Returning to the psychology of why some e-shoppers place products in their virtual shopping basket, proceed to checkout, but then abandon the sale (or not), our research has highlighted the fact that it is not only price that influences a ‘last minute mind changers’ behaviour at this stage of the shopping process. Other influential factors include:

• Whether they feel reassured during the process that the payment process is 100 per cent safe and secure
• Whether they feel an affective commitment towards your brand (having bought your products before and found them to be reliable and of the same standard in reality as they appear on the site).
• Whether they feel positive about the site through having been courteously guided through the ‘see-choose-decide-proceed to checkout-purchase’ process, without having felt rushed or bullied to do so, and through pricing being transparent from start to finish (i.e. no hidden costs kept from them until the checkout stage).

Delivering E-Commerce websites that address these needs

The adeo group takes all the aforementioned factors into account when designing and delivering E-Commerce websites for clients large and small across the UK. The in-depth research into e-shopper behaviour is not static, but an evolving aspect of our overall approach to every design we create – to ensure your site from us will always remain up to date with changing trends in e-shopper behaviour, helping you to convert as many customers as possible.