What Customers See When Picking an Online Store

https://www.fabglassandmirror.com interview

Ahmed Mady

Run a search for any product on the web and you will end up with hundreds of stores offering it. At times, several of the stores would be selling the same product at the same rate. So what is it that customers look at when picking a store, especially when everything looks identical on the front?

“There are several factors that come into play,” suggests Ahmed Mady, CEO at Fab Glass and Mirror, an online store offering glass products. Mady has been a part of the industry for years, and understands customers and their mindsets well.

We spoke to him about what helps a customer make this important decision, and here are the takeaway points.

1. The SEO Matters a Lot

According to reports, most users do not go beyond the first page, and even on the first page would like to try the first few options with the #1 search result getting 33% of traffic. If you are among the first three search results on a specific page, there are higher chances of you making a sale. However, this is only half the battle won.

“SEO can help you bring customers to your site, but it will not make the sale,” says Mady. He continues, “you need to take care of other factors to ensure these potential customers turn into customers.”

Here are some of those factors.

2. The Layout

“The layout should be friendly, a customer should be able to find whatever he is looking for without any trouble,” suggests Mady. While customers will not exactly mention the layout among the pointers they consider when picking a site, the truth is that a messy layout can make it difficult for them to browse a site, making them lose interest and also increasing bounce rates.

You must make it easy for customers to search for products using filters such as price, type etc. Additionally, the website should be mobile friendly with attractive colors. This is very important with more people now using mobile devices to browse the web than ever.

3. The Prices and Products

It goes without saying, you will not be able to make a good profit if you do not have high quality products.  In addition to this, the prices need to be competitive as well.  

“We have a 10% Easy Price Beat policy, which allows us to offer competitive rates to our clients, preventing them from trying other stores,” says Mady highlighting the importance of low prices.

The best way to highlight your product’s quality is by having reviews from real customers. According to reports, 80% customers read reviews before they purchase a site, and reviews from real clients appear more reliable.

4. Free Shipping

Customers love free shipping. According to a survey, it is the most attractive offer a business can make. Customers hate paying for shipping. They consider it an ‘extra charge’ which they are not willing to bear.

In fact, most customers are willing to purchase more to qualify for free shipping if a business has a minimum threshold to avail this offer. With proper planning, businesses can actually make more money by offering to deliver products for free.

5. Ease of Buying

Customers hate websites that make it difficult to make a purchase. You need to make sure the whole system is simple and works with just a few clicks.

“There are several things that need to be taken care of,” says Mady. He further goes on to name those things:

• Payment Methods: You must make sure to offer various payment methods including PayPal, debit and credit cards etc. This way customers have more options to choose from.
• Security: Internet is a risky place, and many buyers are afraid of giving their private information. You must make sure to secure your site and also to have a secure payment gateway. You may use a trusted name like PayPal or 2Checkout as these are used globally and enjoy a good image.
• Date: Customers do not have the time to feed information such as name and date of birth. You should allow them to checkout via guest login as it saves time.

You can never tell what a customer would pay more attention to. To make sure you get a big share in the pie, you must be willing to go the extra mile and provide customers with a great experience.