[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”FACTORS WHICH MAKE AN ONLINE SHOP SUCCESSFUL” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center”][vc_column_text]Central to the marketing is the experience of visiting your online shop. There is one chance to impress a shopper enough to stay and browse and ultimately purchase. More importantly, the experience must be such that they recommend your online store to friends and talk about it on their social media.

StoresSA is competing in a global market-place and therefore needs to offer the same experience as a shopper has at any other online mall. This is why creating this experience is important for your success and that of StoresSA.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”1. ENGAGING WEB DESIGN”][vc_column_text]It doesn’t matter if you have the best collection of items—the design of the landing page and online stores has to reflect the brand and make the shopping experience fun and rewarding. According to a Kissmetrics study, 93% of buyers consider visual appearance to be the most important factor when making a purchase. According to Neil Patel of KISSmetrics, some 42% of online shoppers base their opinion of a website on overall design alone. Whereas 52% did not return because of overall aesthetics.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5753″ img_size=”350×250″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5754″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”2. FAST LOADING TIMES”][vc_column_text]Research by Google has found that 53% of mobile website visitors will leave if a webpage doesn’t load within three seconds.
The report, “The Need for Mobile Speed,” found that mobile sites that loaded within five seconds performed much better than those that took 19 seconds to load: Sites that loaded within 5 seconds boast 25% higher ad viewability, 70% longer average sessions, and a 35% lower bounce rate.
It is clear that shoppers do not hang around waiting for a website to load. This is a technical challenge for StoresSA due to South Africa’s relatively low bandwidth speeds and the cost of data. By its nature the site is image-heavy.
The average load time for sites is 19 seconds on a 3G connection and 14 seconds on a 4G connection, according to Google

This is a challenge we’re actively looking into and will have a solution to shortly. Rest assured.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”3. EASY STORE NAVIGATION”][vc_column_text]One of the simplest ways to make the online shopping experience pleasant is to ensure that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. What this means is making your online shop easy to navigate through with an effective categories, filter and search system. Since people shop online for the convenience, this just makes the whole shopping experience faster and easier for everyone.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5755″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5756″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”4. QUALITY IMAGES”][vc_column_text]Fashion needs high quality images. This will be addressed by StoresSA which will have a pool of photographers available for shop owners.

Increase interest
Images are all the shop owners have to sell their products. They need to tell their story and connect with users through imagery. Good images help shoppers to remember the content, as they can match the image to the content they were just reading, making the trip to the site memorable.

Enhance your SEO
With the growing popularity of using search engines, like Google, to find images online has meant it’s been a necessity to have the addition of images on a website.
By adding relevant and high-quality images to your website will increase your connection with organic ranking for your website and will increase your online visibility.

Raise social media visibility
High quality images have the most potential for being shared, liked and commented on by visitors. Therefore, be sure that what you are uploading is of the highest quality as that will help boost your business further on social media platforms.

Convert leads to sales
Without good quality images there will be no sales. For your online shop it will not be enough to show the garments or accessories – they must be shown in context, being worn.

High quality images will help convert your leads by;
• Increasing user engagement
• Decreasing bounce rate
• Forming a link between your customers and your company
• Earning more views to your site[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”5. ENGAGING COPY”][vc_column_text]Fashion is all about hype. The copy needs to be written by a person or persons who are passionate about fashion, and African fashion in particular.

The designers/shop owners should provide the descriptions and what inspired them, but these need to go through an editing process to ensure there is consistent quality and a single style. Copy should be descriptive and convey passion and excitement about the designs, as well as tell the story of the designer and the creation – people buy into a story as much as a product[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5746″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5758″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”6. AN AWESOME “ABOUT US” PAGE”][vc_column_text]If a visitor goes to your “About Us” page, that means they are already interested in you and are giving you a chance to prove to him or her why:
• If they are a shopper, they should support your shop in the mall – this means they need to know their money is safe and that you will provide support.
What you need to do is clearly spell out what you are, what you do, and, most importantly, what you offer to the clients. All testimonials, achievements, and any kind of social proof is welcome there.
Make sure you don’t waste this opportunity as it may lead to gaining a shop owner or customer. Your contact information should be clear and easy to find on your about page and throughout your website as well.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”7. EASY PAYMENT PROCESS”][vc_column_text]Your checkout page is the final stop on people’s shopping journey. And one of the best ways to increase conversions and sales is to make it hilariously easy for folks to pay you.
After all, it’s the place where visitor finally become your customers. To help make your payment process as easy and simple as possible, follow these tips:
• Have several payment methods available
• Don’t force people to sign up
• Make sure your checkout page matches the rest of your store
• Don’t redirect people
• Make errors easy to fix
• Don’t ask for unnecessary information
• Reassure folks with security certificates
• Keep distractions to an absolute minimum
• Have clear calls to action

For your convenience, StoresSA has made the payment process easy for both you and your customers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5748″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5749″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”8. OFFER FREE SHIPPING.”][vc_column_text]Thanks to Amazon Prime, free shipping is now an expectation of online shoppers. The added cost of standard shipping can easily dissuade buyers today from completing their purchase at checkout. You should find ways to build the cost of shipping into the product price. Deals should also be negotiated with courier companies to obtain discounts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”9. PRODUCT REVIEWS”][vc_column_text]The best advocates for the online shops will be the customers.
You should encourage reviews and ratings of the products being offered. Online shoppers can’t meet sellers in-person, so they rely on other buyers’ feedback to assess merchants. Ratings on product pages save consumers time by quickly showing what other customers think about the product.
Allowing customers to review products they’ve bought lets them express how they felt about the overall experience and the product itself. Plus, it’s the perfect way to get products validated by a third party.
The following studies show the power of reviews:
• Reviews produce an average 18% increase in sales, and having 50 or more reviews on a product can increase its conversion by 4.6% (Reevoo)
• 58% of consumers prefer sites that offer reviews (MarketingSherpa)
• 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site which has user reviews (iPerceptions)
• Consumer reviews are nearly 12 times more trusted than descriptions that come from manufacturers (EXPO Communications)
• Visitors who read reviews have a 6% higher average order value than those who don’t (Bazaarvoice[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5751″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5752″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”10. RELATED PRODUCTS”][vc_column_text]This is upselling at its finest. On your product pages show visitors other items people have bought together or items that are complimentary to each other. For instance, customers may need a belt or handbag to go with a new dress.
This is your opportunity to increase revenue because it shows items visitors may not have otherwise been looking for.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”11. CUSTOMER SUPPORT”][vc_column_text]Your consumers need to know they will have support after they make a purchase, if needed. Guaranteeing troubleshooting after the purchase and consulting before the purchase can convert potential buyers into loyal, returning customers.
The most comprehensive, helpful type of support is a live-chat feature that works 24/7. This tool can increase your site-wide conversion by 10% or more. If you don’t have the resources to offer round-the-clock support, you should still provide some type of service to help people during working hours.

This is why we have integrated Whatsapp with your online. This is so customers can have direct support with you after the purchase. Utilizing this tool build trust and produce returning loyal customers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5744″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row]