It’s no secret Amazon is a powerhouse in the eCommerce world, according to Cybercrew. Amazon currently has a market share of over 30% of the UK’s e-commerce market.
According to Mintel, around 86% of people in the UK shop at Amazon, with 70% shopping on Amazon at least once a month and 17% using the online marketplace weekly. Amazon has quickly become the nation’s favourite online shop for anything from large appliances to colouring pencils.
Part of what makes Amazon so successful is its commitment to ongoing development. The user journey has become so simple that customers can finalise a purchase with a single click and find the product on their doorstep the next day.
It’s no wonder that Amazon’s sales have continued to grow, causing owner Jeff Bezos to be named one of the richest people in the world. What’s more impressive is that regular users of Amazon are now so used to the ease of shopping online that they will turn away from online shops with less simple checkout processes.
With cart abandonment estimated at around 68%, it’s important to get to the root of how to make checkout easier for customer to avoid this. After all, a poor customer journey can easily put potential customers off and encourage them to shop elsewhere (probably Amazon!). Luckily, all is not lost.
There are several different ways to “Amazonify” your online storefront to be a little more Amazon- yes, even without the giant warehouses and extremely quick turnaround times.
Add buy now to your website
One thing Amazon does well is enabling a user to buy a product within three clicks (or taps). Moreover, if you have previously set up your payment details, you don’t need to use a keyboard.
A “buy now” function is enticing for customers because it means there is no lengthy checkout process, and buying is super convenient. The buy now feature also means no traditional cart, so cart abandonment is never a problem.
Although this functionality is not available out the box on WooCommerce. However the team at Laser Red have developed a plugin which allows for this functionality to be added to any site.
Buy again options
Once Amazon customers make a purchase, there is a “buy again” feature which entices them to come back for an even more convenient purchase. From emails to a personalised homepage, if you need more hairspray or another pack of sticky notes, not only will they be at your home tomorrow you don’t need to search at all.
Amazon reminds its customers when they need a refill or offers suggestions that would complement previous orders—saving customers time and not giving them the chance to even consider shopping elsewhere.
Enhance your customer journey by adding a buy-again functionality to your website. This will help drive sales by reminding your customers about products they have already purchased and help make buying them again easier.
Save to cart
With just a single click, Amazon allows users to move items from their basket to a save-for-later area. These items then stay in the basket in a section underneath so they can easily be added to the main basket later.
This avoids cart abandonment as customers can create a kind of secondary cart, which Amazon cleverly reminds them of every time they shop. It’s a great way to keep products the customer may have otherwise removed from their basket in the basket area and increase the likelihood of them buying later.
Although this handy feature is only available if the customer is logged in, Amazon has so many incentives that almost everyone has an Amazon account and even more choose to pay a monthly fee for “free” delivery.
You might not want to run a subscription-based delivery service, but encouraging your customers to create accounts by giving them a discount code for signing up is another great way to increase customer numbers. It’s also a great way to capture emails for some targeted marketing too.
Amazon also uses this area underneath the basket to show you your previously bought products again, a great way to drive up customer spending as they add items they might need as they’re buying new things.
Keep your homepage relevant
Amazon is great at keeping its homepage fresh with products relating to upcoming occasions like Mother’s Day, Christmas and back-to-school events. They also display products you’ve recently looked at and products they think you might like above the fold.
The buy again section crops up here, where you’re reminded to rebuy items that will now have been depleted. Amazon works hard to create a versatile, constantly updated website, making customers want to spend money on new things.
Offer express checkout
According to a survey by Cybercrew, 63% of people aged 16 to 24 have Amazon Prime. In other words, consumers like to receive their goods quickly and are willing to pay extra for the privilege.
One way you can emulate this is by offering your customers options when it comes to delivery. Offering a free (or much lower cost) delivery option with a longer delivery time and more expensive options with quicker turnarounds.
Subscription based selling
With the cost of living crisis, consumers have less spare time and money, so they always look for ways to save on both. Subscriptions are a great way to do both.
Amazon offers discounted subscriptions to many products consumers need to replenish regularly (like shampoo or pens).
These are great ways to encourage repeat purchases from your customers. If you want to add a subscription-based service to your website, get in touch to find out how our web development team can help.
Cross Sells
Amazon is also great at offering useful cross-sells at a product level to increase average customer spending. They utilise a “frequently purchased together” section that highlights popular combinations.
There is even an option to buy the products as a bundle with just one click. Customers are constantly gently nudged to spend more money in a seemingly helpful way.
Adding relevant cross-sells is a quick and easy way to increase your customer’s average spend. Consider having these on your website to drive up the value of each sale.
A prominent search
You only have to look at how much real estate Amazon gives to its search bar to see its importance (it takes up over half of the top bar). It’s easy to spot and even easier to use with intuitive, almost limitless results.
There are multiple ways to use the search bar, including a dropdown to select by department or free typing. Amazon also utilises lightning-fast autocomplete results, meaning you don’t have to type a full word.
Once the results are displayed, they can be organised in many different ways to appeal to individual user shopping preferences. Amazon will also never return “no results, ” giving its customers similar results to avoid missed opportunities.
Contact our team for help “Amazonifying” your eCommerce store today. Let’s capitalise on those missed opportunities together.