Online shopping is the top dog in commerce more so now than ever. E‑commerce isn’t just convenient anymore, it’s a necessity for most. This is especially true among older, more at-​risk generations who may not have shown an interest in it before. Regardless of previous online shopping experience, consumers will be selective about who they buy from this holiday season. According to a recent article by Search Engine Land, here are the features your client’s website needs to have to land more sales this holiday season.

Online Shopping: Website Must-Haves

Product Views

There are already warnings from package delivery businesses and post offices. This year, deliveries will likely take longer than usual to arrive. This means that Americans have to start their holiday online shopping early and that there is little room for error. With budgets tight thanks to COVID-​19, having to return a product and get a refund could be catastrophic to their shopping plans. So, if they weren’t already scrutinizing each product’s pictures before, they sure are now.

“Since shoppers aren’t able to touch, feel, taste or smell the products, it’s imperative that what’s displayed on the website gives them an in-​person sense of what they can expect when they receive their order,” says Search Engine Land. Here are a few ways to accomplish this:

• 360-​Degree Images: Allowing online shoppers to see the product from all angles will give them more confidence in what they’re buying. They can see every part of the product as if they were looking at it in person. And they can make sure that it’s exactly what they want looks-​wise. This can be accomplished by posting pictures of the product from every angle that the shopper can swipe through. Or, a video can be posted of the product being slowly spun around from different angles.
• Ability to Zoom In: If the image attached to the product page is taken from too far away, shoppers won’t be able to get a good enough look at it to be confident in making a purchase. If the product has finer details, consumers will also want to take a closer look at them. This is why offering consumers the ability to zoom in on product pictures is crucial to inspiring buyer confidence.

Shoppable Videos

Online videos are a great way to showcase a brand’s offerings in a more engaging manner. What if your clients took their videos to the next level by making them shoppable? “Shoppable videos list products alongside the video in an expandable product bar, enabling visitors to interact with the products and find out more details,” says Search Engine Land. “Instead of only showing the links when the video stops playing, the links appear throughout the entire video, which brings products to life through interactivity, boosting click-​through rates and elevating brand awareness.”

Promoting

It’s not enough to just have these features. Online shoppers need to know about them! Check out your client’s target audiences’ marketing profiles on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel. There, you can learn how best to promote your client’s top-​notch online shopping experience!