Last week we shared the fears of online shopping and how to overcome them. This week, let’s continue exploring the topic, build confidence, and help you how to overcome online shopping anxiety.
Fear 4: Will I like this product?
Buying online may seem scary for some customers, as they are unable to actually inspect the product that they are about to purchase.
Offline stores have the advantage of offering their customers to touch, smell, taste, or feel the product that they are about to purchase. Often customers go to standard brick-and-mortar shops to inspect the item, however, buy it online.
Ways to overcome this fear
- You should have clear terms and conditions, where you state that returns are accepted so that people would feel more secure to buy from you, as they wouldn’t be losing their money in case they end up expecting the items bought to be different.
- You need to have full product information, high-quality images, and videos of the product so that customers can assess the item properly. The material should well represent the item and be as descriptive as possible.
Fear 5: Will I receive a low quality service?
Even when your customers know that your store is legit, real, and most importantly safe, they still might be afraid of getting a low-quality service.
Maybe they expect that the communication with you will be complicated, or that the shipping and delivery may not be smooth and will require extra from their end.
Ways to overcome this fear
- Give clear shipping policies and guarantees
Ensure that your customers know when their purchase is sent out and delivered. In order to achieve this, you should partner up with reputable logistics companies that would complete their job spotlessly.
It is advisable to offer your customers to track their order delivery, so that they could know where it is and when it should reach their door.
In case you are unable to ship or deliver on time, always notify your customer and offer some sort of compensation, such as a promo code or free shipping for their next purchase.
- Communication between you and your customer
Always ensure that you communicate with your customers efficiently. For example, do not delay answering emails or responding to phone calls.
Always display your contact details on your website and make it easy for your customers to keep in touch in case they have a question.
You may also use social media platforms such as Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter) to ease your communication and speed up the process.
Fear 6: Is my knowledge of how to use the Internet enough to shop online?
As millennials are controlling the larger proportion of the total consumer market in online shopping, there is still quite a number of customers who are not tech-savvy or find it difficult to buy things online.
Besides, there are lots of e-commerce websites that are available on the Internet out there, however, some of them may require too many steps to complete the purchase or be hard to navigate, which would have negative consequences on the overall shopping experience.
Ways to overcome this fear
- Have a community group within your customers, who are interested in your brand. Such group would help people exchange experiences and information regarding shopping at your website, which could also potentially help those who are less tech-savvy.
- Keep your explanations simple, use plain English, and skip the jargon as in most instances your customers will come from different backgrounds and would not be aware of a specific terminology related to you. Simple wording would bring them to a better understanding of what you have to offer.
- Share resources that customers might not even know about. In case you cannot avoid the jargon, you may provide them with a glossary of unfamiliar terms, and share infographics that would explain various tasks or steps in the buying process.
Conclusion
Given several examples of the fears that your customer may have while shopping online, it is important for you as a merchant to address them.
Communication is a powerful tool to actually break all suspicious and build trust, that is why it should become a key priority in your business. Nevertheless, you should also look at security of your website and partners that you entrust to grow your business together.
As stated above logistics is pivotal, however, a trusted payment gateway is a must as well. If you are interested in knowing more about how iPay88 could help you in business building, feel free to drop us a line for a free consultation.
