What Makes or Breaks an Online Purchasing Decision?

We tend to think of a purchase as being one moment in time, a single action that is dependent on circumstance arising from a specific need, and that’s it. The reality is more complex than that, never more so than online.

This digital phenomenon is known by many names; the buyer journey, buying cycle, buyer funnel, and the consumer purchase decision process. As the names imply, it’s not simply a moment, indeed it is described as a journey, a cycle, a process, etc. It is a string of factors that lead up to the decision to purchase that may or may not look different to every persona that visits your shop – whether they’re young, old, what gender they identify with, as well as what their lifestyle is like. Knowing what that journey is for your clients will help you understand what their frustrations are, so you can offer them a seamless, safe and fun experience.

The journey

So what does a typical customer journey look like? Although we said it tends to be different according to demographics and other characteristics, it’s quite simple to draw out the main steps that everyone goes through, whatever their traits.

1. Awareness – or rather the realization that the customer needs a specific product or service. This is the first step that will decide the direction the customer will take.
2. Research – or the hunt for information that will tell the customer what their options are.
3. Consideration – or the comparison that the customer does between alternative products.
4. Conversion – or the precise moment that the consumer takes the decision to buy and checks out.
5. Re-Purchase – or the aftermath of the sale. If the consumer enjoyed the product or service, they are more likely to buy again, recommend, and give positive feedback on the experience. The opposite is likely to happen if they were dissatisfied with the service.

The factors

We already hinted at the string of factors that influence a certain decision over another. Now, we’re going to delve a bit deeper into what these could be and how much of an impact they have on the outcome.

Situational Factors

These relate to the specific shopping experience of the customer. How was the experience? Did they feel safe when inputting credit card details? How long did it take to navigate to the wished item? Very often, the more options are given, the harder it gets to narrow down to one choice. All these factors will sway the customer towards one choice or another, or even let their need go unmet if the task gets too hard.

Personal Factors

Age, gender, the customer’s lifestyle, and all the traits that make them unique will shape their decision. It is crucial for any marketer to know their audience, so they can cater with the right products and the right experience.

Psychological factors

For there to be a purchase, there needs to be a high enough motivation for it to take place. Marketers can use tactics that appeal to a consumer’s sense of urgency. Likewise, because often customers are not able to try the product or service before buying, it’s important to use non-experiential learning cues to help the client’s buying process. These could be testimonials or influencer reviews that confirm the buyer’s inclination towards your products.

Social Factors

Society also has a hand in directing your consumer towards one decision or another. This relates to the specific groups or communities that your customer comes in contact with often. There are also other social influences like sub-cultures (ethnicity for example), social class or reference groups, that will exert pressure on their decision-making process.

Serving your customers

We’ve come to the crux of it all – what are the things you should or shouldn’t do to ease the customer’s journey and to make sure they buy from your online shop?

1. Audit the User Experience on your site

User Experience (or UX for short) has become quite the buzzword for anyone with an online presence. It attempts to answer questions such as; Who is my customer? What do they find appealing? What pushes them away? How can I make sure that they convert in as few clicks as possible? How do I strike the right balance between giving them enough information and not overwhelming them? This can be done by researching, taking a leaf out of websites that do it well, and getting to know your prospective customers through simple surveys.

2. Promote trust signals

It’s useless having a secure gateway if it looks like it could very easily be a scam. Therefore, other than ensuring that the payment gateway is secure, frame it in a way that looks safe and trustworthy. Reassure the clients by giving them information on what is stored and what isn’t and give them ready contact information should they have any doubts or questions before they purchase.

3. Promote loyalty through flexibility and frequent promotions

People expect a decent after-sales, whether they have issues with their purchase or not. Make sure you have a clear refund/exchange/return policy. Don’t include charges that are not clearly stipulated at the checkout process. Run scheduled promotions on sections of the sites and inform your customers about them using different methods (email, socials, etc). Give your customers different options of how they can contact you. Not everyone prefers the same medium.

4. Offer complete visibility on the delivery logistics

There is only one thing that people love more than a fast and efficient delivery – and that is knowing exactly which stage their purchase is at. Knowing how many days are left for the package to reach them gives them reassurance and peace of mind. This is exactly where we at Miles Express step in.

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Brands that use digital tools and data to create a personalized shopping experience increase revenues two to three times faster than brands that don’t. Offering a detailed and personal tracking experience for your customer will push them further to stay loyal to you, especially if the experience up to that point was equally exceptional. Having a logistics partner that can help deliver this type of excellence to your customer helps you retain your customers and the knock on effect of that, is that it will help grow your audience through favourable testimonials and rave reviews.

Talk to us today – let us help you personalize this final bit of the customer journey so it’s level with the rest of the awesome experience you offer.