Pimp your Shop: five tools for a greater shopping experience

A lot of todays online-shops appear very technical, unemotional and tidy. But online-shoppers ask for more fun and a greater shopping experience. Since people spend more time on websites when being entertained, retailers should fulfill this desire of their visitors and become more creative in presenting their products and enhancing the shopping experience of their online-shop.

We present five ideas to make your shop more exiting.

1. 3D Product animations

The picture of a product says more than any description. But when a user can rotate and zoom a product, he can get a completely new impression of it. This shopping adventure attracts more interested cutomers, the session length in the shop increases and so does the sales prognosis.

2. Product videos

Product videos are not useful for every product, but they provide more information and recommendations for the customer. They can also describe the product more detailed than a simple image. Ask your suppliers for video material. Or maybe you can call up your customers to create user animated videos of products they’ve purchased. That is much more authentic and credible than a professional product video.

3. Product configuration and product search

More than 50 % of the customers use the search option to find the product they are looking for. When you promise a better shopping experience start here. The catalogue of the shop should have a search function and categories so that the user can narrow the search results.

A product configurator can be used as an important advisor when customers look for the right product. With it the user enters his or her needs and specifications into the configurator and receives suitable products. That way users find the products easier and faster and the sales prognosis increases.

4. Live shopping

Live shopping is not just a trend anymore. More and more shops integrate bargains on a daily basis at a limited quantity and thus raise the frequency users visiting the shop. This new way to present bargains adds more fun for the cutomers and provides sales advantages for the retailer.

5. Shopping community

Customer feedback is still one of the most important Marketing-tools for online shops. But a blog or a product forum can add some fun to the shopping experience of a shop. Adding user generated content to your site should always be a goal- it’s not only authentic, gives credibility but can also help to improve your ranking in search engines like google and add some emotions and a personal feel to your shop.

The German version of this article by shoplupe blog can be found here.