It seems that every day brings the rise to thousands of new brands to e-commerce. This is good because it shows the signs of a healthy economy that is supportive of its citizen’s ideas. But it is also the harbinger of competition.
For example, as more and more brands open to the t-shirt fashion industry, consumers in that market will begin to feel saturated with options and proceed to search for the brand they like the most. As much as we wish our closets to be this infinite realm of all our favorite clothes, we’re only going to stock it with what we like best at the time.
This is probably where you’re asking yourself: how do I make my brand unique enough so that the market turns to me? Let’s start with the broad answer and the key to a successful e-commerce business: User Experience.
The world of e-commerce is VERY different from that of storefronts found in shopping malls and outlet centers. Since your website is online, you don’t have the capability to produce the “in person woooaaaaah factor” (IPWF). The IPWF works wonders for brands like Louis Vuitton, Modus Vivendi, Diesel etc… as they are famous. Seeing Vuitton’s products and elegant store design generates such a reaction of appreciation, shock, and curiosity (the IPWF).
You need to do your best to make sure that your home page is high quality, clean, and professional. The lack of these things will make your consumers raise their “Interweb Guard”. The interweb guard is an innate awareness that some consumers have to prevent themselves from getting scammed online. One of the key things this awareness looks out for is a bad-looking website.
Think about it this way, a consumer’s credit/debit card means more to them than a lot of things. It has access to their livelihood and hard work. Therefore, you should make sure your website looks professional, so customers feel safer to provide you with such information. No one is going to give their credit card to a site that looks like it was built in less than a minute and has clip art for pictures.
Why a Clean Looking Site is Important
When you walk into a clothing store that advertises fresh new products, do they have the new products surrounded by the old products? No. The new section is almost always segmented from the old so that it draws your attention specifically to what’s popping at the time. E-commerce should work the same way.
It is essential that your product pages are clean, straightforward, to the point, and without unnecessary information. This allows your customer to see the product, answer questions they may have about the product, access the point for which they can buy the product, and feel safer/more complete when the purchase finally goes through.
You can’t expect a product page with 200 other products listed to the sides and on the bottom to have much central focus. It just feels cluttered. It’s okay to have similar products/recommend products on a wheel, but don’t overdo it.
Ultimately, your website’s user experience will boil down to these two elements: cleanliness and professionalism. The more efficient you are with these variables, the more likely you are to generate sales comfortably.
If you would like an example of a website that does user-experience perfectly, check out men’s clothing online example at Differio.com. Differio men’s streetwear store looks clean, establishes brand recognition, has clean and straightforward product pages, and does not clutter their sales pages. This is a great start for you to seek inspiration for a cleaner, more responsive webpage.
