Considerations when focusing on international customers
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The time that Europeans spend on choosing and pondering before shopping online
It was a nice small article I came across when researching for something else, and it did stick in my mind. As it seemed so outrageous. Why do French people take so long when buying a pair of sneakers, when the European average is only 2 hours? Why do they take 8 hours?
There was another item that seemed mind boggling. The time that a Swedish girl would spend before she decided which lipstick or mascara to buy online. Well, it was lightning fast, just under ten minutes. Whereas their Danish counterpart could well take up to 2 days. It just seems so wrong… But then I thought, “Hang on!…” What we do not know with regards to these statistics is if all these Europeans were looking at the same websites. Chances are they were not. And this would most certainly create a distortion of sorts.
So this again made me think what is it that makes people buy or retreat from a desired and intended purchase?
Abandon a shopping cart or go ahead with it?
This was my point of departure and I thought about how I often – having felt annoyed and frustrated – had given up shopping carts. Either the terms and conditions were hidden, or the delivery options crazy expensive. Sometimes not even understandable or hidden until the very last step of the purchase. Even though I had often tried to get hold of this particular product ages ago. Therefore, let us take a deep breath and step back from the world of E-commerce. And let us think how it used to be in the olden days. Remember, when people had nothing but stationary retail options: There was the shop or the tradesman that would literally knock on your door.
Of course, these days are long gone, but something still remains, and that is certainly our wish for quality. Also we wish to be taken seriously and also treated with a certain type of commercial sense, but also with a friendly smile. So how do these (type of) common sense gestures translate into the digital era that we live in today?
Here are some considerations that may seem general consensus when doing E-commerce and wanting to attract as many customers as possible.
- Clarity of the offer
- Terms and conditions visible and understandable
- Delivery options at one glance
- Free delivery
- If you are really very convinced that your customers will love the product: Free returns
- And this is for the masterclass – loyalty programs
But beyond that, there are also some other considerations that have more recently sprung up and they relate to the changing landscape of E-commerce. The maturity of E-commerce has actually reached a new level and therefore let us introduce these “nice to have”‘s that will soon become “must haves”:
- Don’t only focus on national customers / think and present internationally
- Think mobile first! The mobile has clearly overtaken the laptop. And therefore any good website will have to show that it is fit for purpose and has understood this trend
- Make marketplaces an opportunity and don’t leave them outside
- Try to work towards a true omnichannel experience where you fuse both e-commerce, traditional stationary retail and also marketplace experience together
In my mind, I have a fair picture now of all these Europeans who are all trying the same thing. They all want to have that good old fashioned shopping experience online. Think about what made our parents and grandparents buzz. Especially when they used to shop in one shop that gave them such a good feeling. Yes, Doctor Feelgood, he is still around. Also in the digital age.
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