What Consumers Want from Their Online Shopping Experience

When looking to effectively sell to consumers, you must understand what they’re looking for you from your brand and the eCommerce experience overall.

The following are the specific items that matter most to consumers when it comes to eCommerce and online food sales.

Speed of Delivery

At one point, you could easily satisfy consumers with two- or three-day shipments. However, people are less patient and expect faster service than ever, making next- or even same-day delivery more ideal in most cases.

In the food industry, fast delivery is particularly crucial. The temperature, quality, and safety requirements of food products demand efficient delivery that doesn’t exceed two days. This is mandatory when shipping perishable foods.

A Good Price

The price point of online products also matters to consumers, but they’re willing to pay a bit more if they can benefit from increased variety, uniqueness, and availability.

In many cases, people are eager to increase their shopping cart value for food products because of the ability to buy a wider variety of foods online. It might be cheaper on their end to buy these types of products from their local markets, but the convenience of online ordering can trump buying local.

Free Shipping

One of the most effective ways to increase sales for foods and other eCommerce products is to offer free shipping. People don’t want to pay a high shipping fee, a fee that often comes as a surprise when ordering online. A person could be on board to make a purchase but quickly turn away because of steep shipping costs.

It may not be possible to offer free shipping in every case, but you can offer free shipping or lower shipping costs under certain conditions.

For example, you might offer free shipping for new customers, through periodic promo codes, or for orders over a certain dollar amount.

Personalization

Personalization is another critical factor when selling to online shoppers. However, you need to strike a balance between personalized experiences and creepy intrusiveness. Because of the increased emphasis on user privacy, Google and other businesses are dropping third-party cookies. This leaves online businesses with less data unless they can get around this change.

While it may get harder to personalize the user experience for every customer, it will still be possible using first-party data collected through user behavior and zero-party data that people willingly give in contact forms, during account registration, and through other channels.

Personalization can help make relevant product recommendations to customers based on their past orders and interests, which can also apply to various food products.

Discounts and Deals

You’ll see increased engagement among your audience if you can offer occasional discounts and deals. When people see their favorite products go on sale or they receive the occasional discount code because of their loyalty, they’ll be far more likely to stay with your brand.

People will often come back to you to find out what kinds of deals you offer, particularly if products frequently go on sale.

Responsiveness and a Brand Community

Consumers also want to feel as though they belong to a brand and its community. They want to know that their favorite brands hear them and truly value their input. Additionally, they tend to want to feel like they’re able to connect with others in the same community.

Brands can develop a community by actively engaging with their customers via multiple platforms, including their social media channels and forums. Members of forums could also connect with others and feel like they’re a part of a real community.

Real Product Reviews

While businesses want to maximize the number of positive reviews for their company, it’s important to allow for independent reviews from customers regardless of their opinion. Around 79% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, making them critical.

If you’re worried how negative reviews might impact your company, you can show that you’re working on improving by responding thoughtfully to these reviews. Indicating that you value your customers’ input will go a long way in helping win over new customers who aren’t sure about you yet.

A Navigable and Responsive Website

Your website should also look and perform its best. The website is your company’s online hub and will serve as the main point of interaction for new and existing customers. If it’s hard to navigate, doesn’t work well on mobile browsers, or is otherwise unappealing or hard to use, it will turn people away. A bland website can also make your brand less memorable and keep you from standing apart in your industry.

All of these elements are important to consider when developing any type of eCommerce brand, including those selling food products and more. To discover other ways to grow your online presence and develop your brand, turn to Gray Growth Consulting.