 Simplicity is a major element in eCommerce website design because customers want to get things done quickly. A great UX of your online shops are supposed to fulfill people’s desire and meet company’s goals. But every online retailer should understand that online shop with too many elements on a page may confuse visitors and decrease conversion rate. In this article, we want to share tips that will help you increase conversion rate with UX improvement, such as: - Revising design elements; - Reviewing whitespace utilization; - And outlining additional tools for great first impression. Are you ready to increase conversion rate? Here we go! Revising design elements First of all, you will need to start off with paying special attention to your shop’s home page, because this will be likely the first page new prospects will see, and whether they will continue drilling down your content and ultimately convert or bounce off will heavily depend on what they see on your home page. This is especially relevant for direct traffic and affiliate related marketing action, the home page should pitch, promote and encourage visitors to drill down your content. According to comScore report 60% of all traffic in the US is mobile, therefore your eCommerce store should utilize mobile friendly UX in order to improve and steamline interact with your website. It is essential to ensure that your content is well integrated with clear Call-To-Action elements. Make sure to run A/B or multivariate tests on color, content, size and form of each element to ensure you are getting the most out of your traffic. High-quality imagery of your products is another critical consideration. Ideally, you would want to invest in professional photo session or at least purchase a camera and lighting to produce high quality content. Alternatively, you may hire a freelancer to make your product images done properly. There is a general eCommerce principle, the more product images you show, the higher the conversion rate is. However, keep in mind while quality of individual visual look and feel element you have to balance it against page loading speed. In other words, high res image will do very little for your store if it takes more than 1.5 second for the page to load. Effectively, your UX should not only look great but also be as functional as possible on both visual and technological basis. If you want to improve your visitors’ online experience and simultaneously Search Engine Optimization (SEO), make your online store more user-friendly, and better structured, clear site navigation should be realized. The most common tools that steamline website’s navigation are listing and re-listing product categories, breadcrumbs usage and keeping site logo as the door to a home page. Reviewing whitespace utilization Whitespace in eCommerce if done properly normally extends online shop visits and increases conversion rate. It is known that users pay less attention to the site overloaded with elements. Whitespace can be used as a volume knob, so it will be easier for users to focus on main elements, texts, icons and images. At the same time filling in the “gaps” and “waste space” is not always a great idea, and not a great whitespace utilization. Pay attention that too much white space, especially for mobile website version may decrease conversion. In some cases, a lot of whitespace between website’s elements may trick your visitors into thinking there is nothing more to see. Outlining additional tools for great first impression According to research, visitors form their first impression about a website within 0.05 seconds. It consists of such factors as spacing, speed, structure, colors, fonts, symmetry and many others. To increase conversion rate, your website should be loaded in 1.5 seconds or you may lose about 40% of your prospective clients. Remember, that eCommerce field is not the best sphere to test innovative and inconvenient layout. Users generally are expecting a particular online shop layout. So, try to apply familiar design patterns in your layout and test individual elements. Try to emphasize your message with visual hierarchy. Visitors always pay more attention to the biggest element first. You can make the supporting your conversion goals message larger in size than others and people will definitely see it. Using colors works great in drawing visitors’ attention to specific areas on a page. You can also use colors to convey visual hierarchy and draw their attention by establishing a relationship between elements. “UX for eCommerce is like gas for a car. If you make a wrong choice, your car may be driven for some time, or it can break down immediately. While making a purchase, the visitor should not think about how to locate cart. Ideally, website functionality should be intuitive and drive your visitors to checkout. When visitors face difficulties in using different website elements or interfaces, they will be very likely lose interest quickly and leave the website.” Aleksey, Dinarys art director. Here are several UX examples created by Dinarys for actual customers which resulted in improved UX and ultimately improved conversion rate. Lucidera (cover photo) Lusidera website utilizes clear and user-friendly design on both desktop and mobile devices. The website has effective user cart, call-to-action elements and nearly perfect utilization of the whitespace. Altaurus For this project Dinarys developed website design which included special offers functionality and UX, news and products video reviews sections on the home page. Primary aim of this project was to focus visitors’ attention on products.  Sisters Market For this project, Dinarys created effective UX solution which incorporated product section and special offers directly on the homepage.  Well-thought UX design is a key to higher conversion rate and is essential for the success of your eCommerce store. The main objective is to provide your customers with a fast and simple shopping experience driving them to checkout.
Author: Dinarys
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Tech Open Air (TOA) enters its 7th and largest edition to date with four days, more than 200 speakers, 200 satellite events and 20.000 expected participants. The unique festival meets conference format has been an integral part of the international tech and startup scene for the past six years and unites the most diverse branches of technology, music, art and science.  This year, the event will be extended by another day and will take place from July 11 - 14 in Berlin. Satellite events will take place on the first and the fourth day as well as on the evenings of July 12th and 13th. These will be hosted and organized throughout the city by national and international corporations, startups and scientific institutions, among others. Confirmed organizers and hosts will include Kayak, Marley Spoon, Trivago, Fanmiles, Quandoo, Kickstarter, DB Labs, Deutsche Börse, Bitbond or the Startupbootcamp Demo Night among many others. Like last year, the conference days will take place in the unique Funkhaus Berlin on the Spree bank. Besides the outdoor area as well as the former broadcasting halls where panels, keynotes and workshops will take place, we are happy to introduce our newest edition: The Haus of Tech - a 3.000sqm exhibition space located in a former industrial warehouse that will be divided into five theme areas focusing on AR/VR Entertainment, Mobility, Energy/Cleantech, Life Sciences/Social Impact, Data Infrastructure and Fintech. The clear focus of this: B2B Matchmaking.  “We have certainly taken one of our biggest development leaps forward with TOA this year which is not least thanks to our World Tour stops in L.A., Tokyo and Austin.”, states TOA founder Niko Woischnik. “I am very happy to say that our Berlin edition in 2017 will not lag behind in diversity and internationality among speakers and participants. Hereby, we are taking a further step in our vision to create a global platform for interdisciplinary technology exchange. Our new B2B formats as well as the larger exhibition space and our new format for small and middle sized companies “Family Affairs”, which will make its debut this year, will contribute towards this progress.”, Woischnik explains. The first speakers are confirmed This year’s edition will again feature top-class speakers like Soundcloud founder and CEO Alex Ljung, NASA Image coordinator & Social Media Specialist Rebecca Roth, Hector Ouilet, Head of Design, Google Search, Damian Bradfield, President, CMO, WeTransfer , David Eun, President, Samsung NEXT, Tom Hulme, General Partner, Google Ventures, Jake Lodwick, Co-Founder, Vimeo, Dan Zakai, Co-Founder & CEO, Meetup and the self-made Cyborg and founder of Cyborg Nest Liviu Babitz. Babitz developed a chip that turns people into compasses for merely 350 US-Dollars. Additionally, the Federal Minister of Economy , Brigitte Zypries, has confirmed her participation. Further speakers and partners will be announced shortly. Furthermore, interactive formats like the TOA Hardware Pitch or the new Chatbot Pitch will take place during the conference . This year’s B2B focus will be complemented by the new TOA “Family Affair” format that aims to connect medium-sized family-run companies with startups. Already over 30 national and international partners like BAYER, SAP, Airbus, hubspot, KPMG, BCG Digital Ventures and AWS confirmed their participation at the Haus of Tech. The ticket pre-sale is already in full swing: http://toa.berlin/tickets/  TOA goes Global
While Berlin will always remain crucial for Tech Open Air, it is currently aiming to connect the startup world beyond Berlin. The goal is to build new bridges in the international startup and creative industry and thus integrate further aspiring tech and digital hubs into the network and to connect them with Berlin. In addition to the first stops in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Austin, other editions are planned for the upcoming months. As Berlin and Los Angeles celebrate 50 years of city partnership, TOA will go back to L.A. in October and then to We will be on TOA too and we have a special 15% OFF discount code for you here: https://goo.gl/svsCoC  Promoting your online store via social media is an absolute must if you as a merchant want to be found by customers and grow your clientele base. Regular posting and investing in ads are just the drops in the ocean in comparison to possibilities that social media can offer. So, how can you take advantage of your social media presence? Here we look at a strategy involving one social media platform and how you can benefit from it in 5 different ways. 1. Social Media As A Marketing Tool The content you post and the way you present your brand around social media will convey to a wider audience what your business is all about, your philosophy, and what your brand means both to you and to them. Your commercial presence on social media itself can help you manage your marketing much easier and naturally for the users. There are a few areas where marketing on social media works really effectively:
There were over 6 billion active users over the most popular social media in the beginning of 2017. It’s a great audience to expose your product to, isn’t it? Of course, you can’t reach them all but the chance of boosting your sales grows rapidly the more you can connect with. One place where free platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube help drive their traffic is in allowing visitors to buy directly from their page via integrated “buy button, shop now button, buyable pins, etc”. If haven’t applied this method to your own online store, don’t wait any longer - find out how to adapt buy button in your page. What’s more, selling directly through social media also helps your SEO! Sharing links on highly ranked sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest can boost the search rating of an individual eCommerce site. Selling successfully through social media means paying attention to the quality of the content you spread, using professional and attractive graphics with detailed descriptions, the same as you would normally do on any other website/online store.  Sharing links on highly ranked social media helps ranking your site. 3. Social Media As A Reference Channel Are you aware of your store’s online reputation? Chances are you might have an inkling, but often our reputation is out of your hands - but that doesn’t mean you can do things to improve it. First of all, it’s a good idea to get control by starting to use tools such as Mention or Brand Embassy that report your references from social media. You can then manage these comments by thanking customers who were happy and trying to solve the complaints transparently of those who were unsatisfied. But it’s important to remember: never delete it or attack the person who gives the negative review. More than 80% of buyers use social media reviews to make a purchase decision. Support your happy customers to give a feedback. Encourage them to take pictures with your product and to use tags connected with your industry. Collect the best references and share them on your site as a demonstration to others that you take your business seriously and are devoted to solving problems. Additionally, think about investing in tools such as ReferralCandy that actively raises recommendations of your product based on a referral program. Ask about the feedback via chat and seriously take it into the account when you’re improving your business. All of this is easier when you can reach your audience fast and personally via social media. Proper managing of the references also increases the customer experience. 4. Build Communities On Social Media Creating a community that will talk about your product is a big win but it’s not an easy process and there are a number of steps. First of all, try to find the communities and forums connected to your product and join the conversation. Try to solve the problems they deal with. Don’t necessarily push your product, but gain users’ attention first and build trust - remember, your brand says everything to a customer, so make sure you’re communicating what you’re all about. Next, engage your followers. Some people are likely already talking about your products. Scale them! Find unique representatives of different customer groups so that you can easily get to know your real customers. Bring your offline customers to the online world. Track your sales and find the customers who buy regularly from you, who attend your events, or who represent offline markets. Talk to them personally and invite them to become a member of your community. If they like you, and your product, then it can be a two-way street, with both businesses benefiting. Develop your own system for rewarding loyal members and hold them up as an example of what other potential or new customers should strive to be.  Social media is an ideal place for building community. 5. Use Social Media As A Customer Care Tool When a customer needs help, they need it immediately. The sooner it’s solved, the faster your product can be purchased. According to Nielsen Social Media Report, almost half of U.S. consumers prefer social media to ask questions, give complaints or report satisfaction, so it’s a great way to get free feedback in real time that can allow you to react flexibly and punctually to problems. If you use live chat on your site and consider using messaging apps at several social media you may get easily overwhelmed by all the questions. If on the other hand you feel it’s not yet the time to hire a customer care person and don’t want to get overwhelmed by the questions, you can still use your data to manage this situation. Find the channels that your customers use the most for asking questions, then determine the busiest times for when feedback comes in. Putting these together gives helps you to make a decision about your customer care tools and hours. If your audience requires attention on several platforms, try Sparkcentral. Customer service tool that lets you communicate with your customers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in real time. To make your work easier and to enhance customer experience you can also keep step with the newest trends in automation and start using conversational bots. These are great for responding to questions that customers ask repeatedly, they’re extremely fast, and they also offer a hint of humor into their interactions.  Use messaging apps for live chatting with your customers. Summary Active and proper use of social media gives you a lot of advantages in terms of becoming successful with your online business and following the five steps we’ve gone over will help you to capitalize on the potential of whatever platform(s) you decide to integrate. “Use social networks in the context of eCommerce transactions. If you want to be successful with your business, never forget to be social!” Jan Lastuvka, MonkeyData Remember to track the performance of each social media you use. You’re investing the money and your energy into them so don’t let it all go to waste. Almost every social channel has its own analytics, but wouldn’t it be more comfortable to see all the results in one dashboard? Set KPIs that will inform you about the success of your activities and overall business. Go ahead and raise the base of your happy customers!  In the beginning and in the end of making your business decision - follow your data. Don’t overlook a special gift! Download this Social Media Guide for SMBs for better understanding the characteristics of each social media. It can help you create your social media strategy from the ground up and give you an idea of what to expect and how to succeed across platforms.
The most important metrics to monitor in your online store (and how to improve them) - Part II  Raising AOV raises your overall revenue (Part I of this article you will find here) In our previous post we introduced the three most important metrics of your online store worth monitoring. Let’s move forward and take a closer look at your business performance. What do specific statistics actually indicate, how do we measure them, and what tools can help us make the work easier? In this post we’ll cover the following metrics:
1. Average Order Value You may guess from its title that AOV stands for the average customer’s spend per order (i.e. the value per transaction - note, not the customer!). This is calculated as Total Revenue divided by the Number of Orders. AOV supplies very valuable information for driving business decisions such as product pricing, store layout, shipping costs, and how much is spent on advertising. It also lets merchants see where their investments are paying off the most for each order. You want to see your AOV rise relative to the amount spent by each customer - the more they spend each time they visit your site, the better. Average order value, as one of the critical ecommerce metrics, is usually reported in each online store’s analytics and Google Analytics, and is therefore one of the main statistics that comes up on any dashboard. How to raise your AOV?
While we talk about the AOV and products, you don’t need any special tool except from your online store reports. When it comes to loyalty programs, there’s no better expert than SweetTooth which is one of the top platforms for eCommerce. Read more about how important watching your average order value is. 2. Rate of Returning Visitors (also known as Repeat Customer Rate - RCR) This stat is displayed as a percentage of how many visitors come back to your store to shop repeatedly. This metric is also monitored in your online store and Google Analytics. The group of returning customers is very important for your business because it shows customers’ preferences and is also a good measure of how loyal they are to your brand and how much they trust it. Additionally, this demographic is also important because they can supply desired reviews and spread your brand by word-of-mouth. The share of returning customers compared to new customers is usually slammer and this is quite natural, whether you’re a small up-and-coming store or one with name value. The important thing is the care given to both the groups and the effort spent on converting new visitors into loyal customers.  Returning visitors become an evangelist for your brand. How do you make that transition?
To keep your customer database under control it’s also a good idea to find a good CRM tool. We can recommend Salesforce and Insightly for small online stores. Other apps that easily integrate with emailing protocols include MailChimp or GetResponse. Sometimes CRM, emailing, and loyalty tools don’t give the whole picture for a proper understanding of correlations between specific numbers. To make your offer more accurate you might need to add some detailed analytics to know what campaigns drive the most visitors, which of them make them purchase, and what the busiest shopping days and hours tend to be. Consider using a reporting app that provides detailed stats about your online stores. 3. Traffic by Sources This metric has a bit different character than the previous ones. It is used to identify from which sources your visitors are coming to your store. There are 3 basic types of traffic sources: Organic Search, Direct traffic, and Referrals, which are sites or social networks that incorporate links back to your store. Foremost, it helps eCommerce merchants to understand how well their campaigns are performing. Google Analytics provides only basic traffic analysis, so if you want to work with your traffic and campaigns wisely you should know which channel and campaign generates the most leads and revenue. Kissmetrics, Compass, MonkeyData and Vantage are best in the field. Each serves a slightly different purpose so it’s up to your needs which tool fits you best.  Which channel bring the most visitors to your store? How can you improve your website traffic? We could devote a whole article or e-book to this topic. To sum it up, we recommend focusing on organic searches - it’s free and much more effective than paid searches, especially if you’re just starting out. There are a few key things to keep in mind:
 Summary Tracking and understanding the metrics from of your online store can take you to the next level as an entrepreneur. Accurate and easy-to-understand data can give you confidence and ability to make educated business decisions. And the increasing availability of eCommerce tools allows you to outsource some work to professionals, allowing you to focus on the things that matter. Good luck and enjoy doing your business! Author: monkeydata.com
The second edition of E-Commerce Berlin Expo took place on 2 February 2017. The event attracted the most important industry representatives from areas such as: Online Marketing, E-Shop Software, Hosting & Cloud Computing, Cross-Channel Technologies, E-Payment, Digital Marketing and Logistics.  The building of the former Dresdner station – currently Station Berlin – hosted 80 exhibitors (including DHL, Idealo, Rakuten, PrestaShop, Meet Magento Association and Lengow) and 3,000 international visitors. Industry experts shared their knowledge and insights on four stages, giving a number of presentations on the most up-to-date e-commerce trends, challenges and solution.  Many discussions revolved around entering new markets, with the Chinese and the Russian markets in particular. Karl Wehner (Alibaba Group) and Dominik Johnson (Yandex) characterized these markets. There was also a special panel session on China and Russia, with Roman Decker (Schneider Group), Dominik Johnson (Yandex), Nenad Cetkovic (Lengow) and Steven Morell (AX Semantics). The session was chaired by Oliver Prothmann, the President of Bundesverbands Onlinehandel e.V.  E-commerce in social media was another widely discussed domain. Kamil Glenszczyk from Google Ireland covered the topic of YouTube and e-commerce, while Peter Podolinsky from ROI Hunter focused on Facebook and e-commerce. Apart from that, other speakers focused on: Sales Channels (Thomas Ficht, Idealo), Performance Marketing and Programmatic Marketing (Bjorn Espenes, FINCH), SEO tips for e-commerce businesses (Fernando Angulo, SEMrush) and Data-driven e-commerce (Moritz Corbelin, Otto Group)  The second edition of the E-Commerce Berlin Expo was a large success. The next event will take place in 2018. Exact date will be announced soon.
For more information, please visit: ecommerceberlin.com |
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