Six Key Factors to Creating a Successful Online Store (Infographic)
A few months ago, members of the PrestaShop team created a survey in an effort to uncover the six keys to e-commerce success.
The results of that survey are in, and you can check them out below.
Functionality
When it comes to the overall performance of an e-commerce website, online merchants said the following three functions are vital to the success of their online business.
Ease of Navigation – 91.4% of users surveyed said ease of navigation is crucial to the success of an online store.
Fast Site Load Times – 91.2% said website speed is the most important factor for success.
SEO – 82.8% said search engine optimization is a key.
While ease of navigation, fast site load times and SEO round out the top three functionalities, mobile solutions, on site store locator's and multiple language options were deemed the least important.
Customer Experience
Creating an enjoyable shopping experience for customers should be the main focus of any online merchant. That said, there are a few things customers expect when shopping online. Those are...
Easy navigation – 37% of those surveyed agree that ease of navigation is the most important feature when creating a solid customer experience.
Discounted prices and promotions – 21% said discount prices and special promotions are the most important feature to consider when creating an enjoyable online shopping experience.
Fast load times – 18% said page speed is the most important factor to a customer's overall shopping experience.
Payment Processing
When it comes to online payment processing, what really matters to merchants and consumers? The results of our survey suggests the following…
Ease of use – 45% of all people surveyed said ease of use is the most important aspect of payment processing.
Processing costs – 26% said processing costs are very important when selecting a payment processing solution.
Number of payment options – 21% of people surveyed said multiple payment options are crucial when creating, maintaining or shopping in an online store.
Processing time – Only 8% of people surveyed said processing time is crucial when considering a payment solution.
Products and Catalog
When it comes to product catalogs, consumers agree that the following five factors matter most.
Additional costs clearly shown – If your product is listed at $99 but will ultimately cost consumers more, 65% of people agree that those additional costs need to be displayed up front.
Shopping cart is easy to edit – 60% of those surveyed agree that it should be easy to edit their shopping cart at any time before the purchase.
Thorough product information -- 55% of online shoppers expect detailed product descriptions.
Clear path through the catalog – 49% of online shoppers expect the catalog to be easy to navigate from front to back.
Products are easy to find – 46% of surveyed users said online products should be easy to find.
Enhance your store
If you're looking to build a better shopping experience, then consider adding the following features.
Multistore management – This new feature lets you control multiple online stores from a single Back Office.
Centralized email – This feature keeps all your business related emails together in your PrestaShop Back Office. Now available with PrestaShop v1.5.
Customized shipping solutions – Both Customers and merchants can benefit from this great feature now included natively inside PrestaShop v1.5
Advanced inventory management – Inventory management can often be a logistical nightmare. But with PrestaShop v1.5, every online merchant can effectively manage inventory at all times.
Accomplish
Every great e-commerce website has a few things in common. For starters, brand loyalty is huge. That said, both new and established online merchants should focus on staying competitive, attracting new customers, offering enhanced customer service, facilitating shipment tracking and so much more.
For a visual representation of PrestaShop's e-commerce survey results, check out the infographic below!
