Globalization has brought people different perceptions of the world. In the last decade, technological changes increased productivity, fastened websites, and made it easier for even the most ordinary person to purchase online.
In 2020, there were more than two billion people ordering goods and services through online channels. This means that, assuming that the world population is around 7 billion people, almost 30% of them preferred at some point purchasing online and not in-person. This phenomenon has been even amplified by the pandemic. When lockdowns all over the world started, most stores with non-essential products shut down, and most of the companies invested in online campaigns and marketing to minimize losses.
In June of the same year, there was a record of monthly visits to global retail e-commerce traffic, fixating at 22 billion. Clothing, groceries, and other everyday goods had an extraordinarily high demand throughout this period. The supermarket industry was considered the one with the highest positive change in online traffic.
With all this going on, many firms adopted a few nudging techniques to smoothly make people change their behaviour and to increase their shopping.
BE’s Contribution
1. The frequently bought-together technique
One technique that has been very positive for companies is the frequently bought together with one. On the one hand, it makes the search for complementary goods easier for customers since the products will most likely appear with just a click. On the other hand, people are more likely to choose a second good if they think it complements the first, and if they think they will be better off.
In 2006, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, stated that around 35% of the companies sales came from cross-sales, showing the returns these types of measures in a website can have on the overall profit of a firm.
2. Customer Feedback
One always likes choosing a good most people trust in. If an individual sees a good being sold and it has a lot of positive reviews, then that person is more likely to buy the product. Although it is a very hard strategy to adopt in on-person shopping, it is quite easy to let customers give feedback on previous goods they bought online.
On the one hand, positive reviews can boost your company. 93% of customers stated that online reviews have influenced their decision about whether to buy a product or not. On the other hand, negative comments can ruin a firm. Almost four out of five consumers said that they wouldn’t buy an online product if it had bad reviews.
However, a problem comes along with that for the customers. Most people normally look for the cheapest brand in the market, forgetting about the poor quality they might receive. This being said, a good or service with the best reviews may not be the best one in relative price-quality terms.
3. Sense of Urgency
If you are thinking about buying a good, and if suddenly you see that there is only a very limited quantity of it, then you’re most likely to hurry to buy it. You will buy faster and more urgently.
This happens due to the idea of scarcity. When the goods are not available to everyone, one thinks himself should have it. This increases more impulsive decisions, system 1 is triggered.
Giving another example from Amazon, all merchants selling goods on that website know that, if the available quantity is below 20, then the number of remaining goods will automatically appear on the screen of all customers.
4. Reminding emails
A lot of people around the world put goods in their “card” on online stores and, for some reason, do not finish their purchases, abandoning their basket. On average, around 69% of customers do it.
Since most of them have the idea to come back and finish their purchase, companies started sending some friendly emails, with the purpose to remind people to do so.
This type of measure has had very positive effects on sales, increasing attention to their website with just one simple email.
Conclusion
The pandemic changed perspectives. Although restrictions are softening once more, online shopping may be, for a lot of industries, the future. People have learnt how comfortable it is to buy goods and services without leaving the comfort of their sofa, and most of them is not ready to give up these achievements.
So, if you are an online seller, using some of these ideas, and many others that exist, might help your company increasing sales.
Author:
Joana Alfaiate – Research Analyst
References
Kaemingk, D. October, 2020. Online review statistics to know in 2021. [online]. Available at: https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/online-review-stats/
Coppola, D. April, 2021. E-commerce Worldwide – Statistics & Facts. [online]. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/#dossierSummary
Essentia’s Top 10 Online Shopping Nudges. Essentia Analytics. [online]. Available at: https://www.essentia-analytics.com/behavioral-nudges-for-online-shoppers/