Lower the barriers between making a decision and submitting their payment.
Amazon Removes Barriers to Purchase
With crystal clear “Add to Cart” buttons, wishlists, and painless shipping options, Amazon positions itself as the front-runner for the best online shopping experience.
“Add to Cart” buttons that remain in-view offer shoppers a manicured path on how to proceed. “Wishlists” encourage customers to explore and discover products before they make their purchase decision, enabling them to curate a shortlist before they are ready to buy. Additional charges on top of the product cost are never fun for customers and can often stand in the way of completing a purchase. With programs like Prime, Amazon takes the pain out of paying, and waiting, for shipping.
Make it clear to your customers what to do next. Give them ways to collect products without the commitment of a cart. Where possible, try to minimize the additional costs they can incur.
Amazon has Extensive Customer Reviews and Q&A
Amazon knows the importance of user generated content and relies on it for heavily to drive conversion. They continually collect massive amounts of reviews and answers to questions by following up with customers after their purchases.
Reviews, questions, and answers are instrumental in putting a shoppers’ mind at ease. User generated content provides a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of a product, from the perspective of their peers. This content acts like a magnet, enabling customers to consume and generate content directly on the product page, removing the need to search for answers elsewhere.
We are big believers in collecting reviews and questions by emailing past customers to write reviews on products they already purchased. Employ this tactic on your end and use their experiences to answer the questions of potential customers. The authentic nature of this content adds credibility and validation to your product description, which can lead to a bump in conversion.
Amazon Doesn’t Hide Content Behind Tabs
One of the hallmarks of Amazon’s product page is its scannability. Content groups are not placed behind tabs, but instead are stacked on top of one another, enabling the shopper to scan and scroll at their own pace.
Scrolling is cognitively easier than focusing on a button and clicking, and shoppers are more likely to explore content when you reduce this cognitive load. It also enables your organization to control the order in which content is consumed.
Shoppers don’t give aways clicks easily, so save clicking for the “Add to Cart” button.
Amazon Displays Customer Images
Amazon makes it easy a point to collect and display customer images of the products they have purchased. They display these images close to reviews, questions, and answers to add color to the user generated content that is already there.
Beautiful product photos supplied by the brand are enticing but customer images tell the real story. Setting realistic expectations and delivering on them enables you to build a relationship around trust. Close-ups and alternate angles can show the scale of a product, which in-turn build upon this trust, reducing hesitation to buy.
When asking your customers to review products, make it easy to include photos they’ve taken. Be sure to include these images as part of the product page—usually near the other product images toward the top of the page, or closer to customer reviews.
Amazon Helps you Compare
On its product pages, Amazon will show you related products that people have considered purchasing, which help narrow down their choices. They also present shoppers with comparison charts to compare products side-by-side.
Shoppers are shopping. Sounds dumb right? They may have one product in mind, but will explore others, to ensure they are buying the best one to suit their needs. Product pages without related products or comparison charts force users to navigate back and forth between multiple product and category pages, often across various retailers. This can be frustrating and time-consuming for the shopper, which may lead to a lost sale.
Bottom Line
Remember, your shoppers are real people looking for products. They want to be able to see and understand exactly what it is they are buying. They are often worried about spending too much money or buying a low quality product. The goal of your product page should be to soothe their concerns by providing relevant content that helps them make their purchase decision. So put their mind at ease and give them a clear path to purchase.
