As brick-and-mortar stores across the country were forced to close as a result of COVID-19 risks, shoppers have been turning to online shopping in droves. In response, online retailers are scrambling to improve their online user experience and upgrade their eCommerce sites to meet the new demand and turn the recent sales surge into long-term growth for their companies.
Online sales up 68% across all categories
As grocery store shelves were emptied, it was no surprise to see people turn to online shopping to meet their basic needs like food and personal care items. But the food industry is not the only area to see substantial growth in online sales. In fact, for U.S. retailers across all categories online growth is up a whopping 68% through mid-April compared to the same time period last year, according to Louis Columbus, senior contributor to Forbes.
“Stay-at-home orders will eventually be lifted state by state, but in the interim, there are millions of consumers creating and reinforcing new online buying behaviors and habits, Columbus said. “In many families, online grocery, apparel, and entertainment shopping will replace store and mall visits permanently until a vaccine is available.”
Taking steps now to make sure your eCommerce sites user experience is optimized is key to turning COVID-19 short-term gains into a long-term growth strategy.
Effective subscription strategies = lasting impact
Conversion rates in February jumped almost 9% over February 2019, according to a recent article by Quantum Metric.
QM expects the COVID-19 impact to continue:
“We believe, however, that the biggest upside of the COVID-19 shopping surge will be felt by retailers who have already built excellence into their digital products. Shopping trends are moving towards higher frequency, lower revenue shopping carts, so retailers are increasing their focus on building loyalty. Without a doubt, the digital retail experiences customers have been having these past few weeks, good or bad, will have a lasting impact on their ability to build much-needed loyalty into their consumer-base.”
Read the 2020 benchmarks on subscription.
Improving User Experience for new online shoppers
Long before COVID-19, clients turned to us to help improve their customers’ online experience. But now more than ever, implementing proven best practices for UX Design is critical as much of the growth in online shopping comes from consumers who are new to the experience of online shopping. As certified Shopify and Shopify Plus experts, we remove the friction from online shopping so new customers keep coming back for more including:
- Making sure your site is optimized for speed
- Keeping your navigation simple and direct
- Making your products and shopping calls to action front and center
Next Steps
With a combined 20+ years of experience, we bring big agency expertise to our no-frills virtual firm – providing everything you need to launch, grow, learn, and enhance your online store. Learn more about our services and contact us today to schedule a free strategy session and eCommerce store audit today.
