What are the best ways to boost online sales?

E-commerce is an ever-growing sector, with consumers becoming accustomed to this mode of consumption that allows them to find everything they want without leaving their living rooms.In this article, I won't talk about the so-called "sales tunnels" - I'll save that for a future article. Here, we'll talk about the e-commerce store itself.

Site ergonomics

To begin with, the days when people mainly consulted the Internet on their computers are over. In fact, on average, between 70% and 80% of e-shops are consulted from a smartphone - by the way, which terminal are you reading this article on? (I'm not interested in where you are, though, haha).

The store must therefore be perfectly adapted to this type of terminal, with interfaces designed to facilitate navigation on small terminals. Since less space is available, the right information needs to be visible at a glance, so that customers don't have to zoom in all the time to find the information they're looking for.

More generally (for all terminals), the interface must be kept simple, with everything easily accessible and clear.

An efficient search engine is a big plus. To convince you of this, I'd ask you a very simple question: "How do you use Amazon?

The answer wouldn't be "I type what I'm looking for in the search bar" by any chance? Did you know that a search engine similar to Amazon's is available to SMEs? That's right!

Speaking of ergonomics, yes, I know, there's a counter-example that has poor ergonomics and does a lot of selling, "impots.gouv.fr", but hey, we're obliged to buy from them, it's different.

Site speed

This goes hand in hand with ergonomics: people don't like to wait. On average, if a page takes more than 3 seconds to display, the user will be annoyed and may leave your store.The right software (and hardware) optimizations and your customers will be able to browse your virtual shelves at lightning speed... they'll enjoy browsing your catalog and be more inclined to buy something.

Having a relevant search engine is all well and good, but if you have to wait 10 seconds to get the results, it's pointless.If you want an idea of what I call a fast, relevant search engine, take a look at the " maitrise-orthopedique " search engine I designed a few years ago.

Going a step further, Google is a fast and relevant search engine. Is its success still to be proven?

Countering the fear of paying online.

For some, paying online is a daily habit, for others it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. That's why the act of paying online must be both secure and fun.It may also be possible to securely record customers' means of payment, so that they don't have to hand it in each time they place an order.

Apple Pay, for example, according to statistics from a major online payment provider, increases a customer's chance of conversion by 2.5 times.What's more, Apple Pay users are used to it and already trust Apple to process their payments.

Ah, you thought a technology like Apple Pay was exclusive to the big group? Then why can Maitrise Orthopédique customers use it? That's me too.

In the Android world (and Chrome on computers), Google Pay offers pretty much the same payment experience, so why deprive yourself of it?

Your customers don't have a bank card? No problem, in the euro zone it's possible to make SEPA direct debits...

Yes, normally you need to have a large file and be a "large structure" to have access, but there are solutions... I use SEPA direct debits with my own customers and my company is a TPE.

Conclusion

This was a short article covering a few points that are sometimes neglected in e-boutiques. Taking the time to manage these points can significantly increase the conversion rate of your online store.