Real Time Options Lifting Your eCommerce Store Usability

15 November 2012 Helga Moreno

It’s too early to assert that e-commerce will completely exclude traditional stores in the nearest future, but it’s obvious that online business continues to develop and makes tangible competition to the realistic analogue. Nevertheless, such outcome is totally probable. The standards of education are getting higher, technological process is being implemented into all spheres of our life, so the new generation grows up in the circumstances where the things like online stores, virtual worlds, social networks, online games are common, natural and even routine.

Have you ever notices that now when you need to buy something, the first place to search for the desired product would be internet. Why not? Nobody can blame us for our healthy choice, as we tend to comfort, velocity, service and diversity. As a matter of fact, demand creates supply, and some quite successful online merchants begin to sense not very friendly competitors breathing right into the back of their heads. New beautifully designed, extremely functional and user-friendly e-commercial projects appear every day. It’s impossible to stop the process, but surely you can take some efficient steps to trim the sails to the wind.

Today we will speak about some real time options able to increase the usability of your online store and scale up its conversion rates. Here they follow:

Now let's get a clue of what has being mentioned:

Real time shipping

Undoubtedly, delivery terms are very essential for most of the customers. Some of them insist on reputable carriers, the other ones have nothing against custom choices. It's a great idea to intensify your store with an option enabling real-time shipping via FedEx, USPS, Canada Post, Australia Post, DHL and EMS, for instance, and saving the possibility to set your own custom shipping methods either. The price will depend on the number of ordered products, their price, weight and delivery destination.

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Segmentation and filtering

A smart merchant always strives to know his/her customers personally, their preferences, inclinations and needs. For instance, it’s evident that the user visiting your website not for the first time and having a list of purchases in the past is much more likely to buy again in comparison to the newcomer having an empty shopping cart. Of course you can’t release your customer, on the contrary you will try your best to keep him\her and prolong your mutually beneficial partnership. Real time segmentation helps you pick out and prioritize the most promising users in order to engage them immediately during their visit on your website. Filtering technique bases on user’s previous or current searches. Due to it, you are able to offer the items potentially fitting user’s needs, cutting down his/her time and efforts and making the shopping experience easy and enjoyable.

Real-time Scoring platform switches on segmentation and filtering on your store

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Real time tracking of ordered items

As soon as the customer completes the check out process, the infinite hours of waiting begin. Show your clients that everything is under control, give them the possibility to track the order status and save their nerves. Real time tracking feature gives the possibility to view the current status of the ordered product any moment a customer wishes to.

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Live feeds

It’s difficult to deny the fact that people are social beings and nobody is absolutely indifferent to what others think, do or like. The burst of social media sites proves the theory completely. All of us subconsciously search for community members’ approval and support. Add a little bit of “social commerce” into your online store and watch the staggering results! Life feeds tell the users about other customers’ experience, i.e.: they prompt which item is the most popular this hour or how much more did other users pay for the selected product at different online stores.

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Online text, voice or video chat

Online communication usually works well for many e-commercial projects. During shopping a user may come across the issue demanding urgent help, which sometimes can prevent website leaving without a purchase. Use this powerful strategy to reduce shopping-cart abandonment and promote your special offers. Such interaction provides essential assistance necessary for simple and pleasant shopping. You may also arrange chat between users viewing and going to buy the same product; such approach can also stimulate the shopper’s activity and provide them with helpful advice from the neutral third party.

Olark's software provides uninterrupted live chat with your customers

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TokBox application is used for trouble-free video chat

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Recently bought items or added items

Showing recently bought or added items can be a hidden unobtrusive marketing move for your online store. You can also display the customers products purchased by other users in addition to the selected item as their needs and interests may coincide. Advertising is never excess, especially when it comes in such confidential form.

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Money Savings

It’s normal when users browse multiple websites in search of the best price for the same product. Surely they don’t want to pay more than the item actually costs. Let them compare, show your clients how much they saved having purchased the product from your website. Such matching will make your customers happy and guarantee their come back to your store for the next purchase.

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Live tracking of user activity on the map

This brilliant feature adds action and dynamics to your e-commerce website. The users can observe what is happening on the website they are visiting right now. Actually they see the map and track the activity of other visitors from different countries, that is, who’s viewing, adding items to wish lists or ordering them. The feature is rather entertaining and persuades the customer that the store is popular and reliable enough as so many people from overseas also trust and use its service.

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Deep real time analyses

Speaking about real time options that are worth adding into your e-commerce store, it’s impossible to avoid analytical tools as they help you handle large data volumes, web traffic, warehouse data, CRM, competitor prices, and many other information that can be 'sliced & diced', and presented for analysis and decision support. This provides you with real-time insight into the e-commerce operation, and helps in taking awesome decisions affecting web conversion, marketing success, competitiveness and ultimate profits. Agree that real time analytics tracking and audio alerts upon every sale is a cool feature to add to your e-commerce store.

ActivePivot is a powerful data aggregation and analytics platform

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ShopStream lets you monitor your store in real time

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Real time personalized experience for each shopper

At the end of our entry we would like to acquaint you with one more excellent, easy to set up tool able to give personal experience to each customer and increase your sale rates. Here it is - a floating personal footer bar containing brand name, support, site search, social buttons, chat, reward info and checkout blocks that boost your store and let you automatically offer a real-time personalized experience to each shopper.

The Personal Bar is a floating footer that lets you automatically offer a personalized experience to each shopper

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This brief article has thrown a small ray of light upon the numerous issues of e-commercial stores usability enhancement. Here we tried to analyze, illustrate and provide some small real time options and their impact on web projects efficiency. Maybe they are the missing bits of your online business success. Please share your personal view on the point in the comment section.