How to encourage a customer to buy your product online?

The Internet trading market will grow by 33.2% in the next 5 years. In 2024, customers will pay more attention to prices, reviews, and delivery to small cities. Such conclusions were made by the Data Insight agency in the research, which allowed them to determine the future of online trading, how to encourage a customer to buy online and to understand how customer reviews help to increase sales.

The virus and crisis made serious corrections to the forecast. The transition to remote mode and quarantine strongly stimulated sales. During the forced isolation, online stores attracted more than 10 million new users, many of whom continued to store online even after strict quarantine measures were lifted.

How to avoid typical entrepreneurial mistakes during the crisis you can read here: Anti-crisis solutions or how retail business adaptations to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also turned out that some employees working remotely plan to leave big cities. This will also affect the increase in the number of online orders with delivery to remote locations. As a result, it will be difficult for people to accept the fact that the usual range of products is no longer available.

The volume of the e-commerce customers that can buy will grow even as the “boom” after coronavirus.

People who leave feedback themselves, are more likely to focus on someone else’s comments.

In another study, Data Insight together with AliExpress found that social commerce, which involves the use of social networks and online media for communication between users with each other and with the seller, has acquired particular importance. As part of this study, the agency has analyzed the actions of users in an online store.

Affects the trust in the products feedback:

• the integrity of information;
• photo availability;
• odds of the match;
• recall date;
• reviewer’s photo;
• the author’s rating or profile on the site;
• product review rate.

People read reviews to get a personalized description and check if the reported characteristics are valid.

It became clear that 99% of online buyers are focused on online customer feedback. Of these, 67% themselves leave feedback to share their opinion (32% of respondents), get a bonus from the seller (31%) or a fee (24%). For instance, it is interesting that people who write reviews, often focus on the recommendations of other people while shopping.

Rating of goods that require feedback:

1. Electronics;
2. Products for children;
3. Cosmetics;
4. Home Products;
5. Goods for sport;
6. Clothing;
7. Shoes;
8. Pets goods.

9 out of 10 users make the purchase decision through feedback and for 1 buyer out of 5 other users’ comments are crucial. 

How to motivate buyers to leave reviews and encourage others to buy your product online?

Despite the fact that the majority of users read reviews, less than half (42%) leave their own comments about the purchased products. At the same time, young buyers from 18 to 29 years old are the least inclined to spend time on this (32%), while among consumers 45-60 years old, 49% write reviews.

Even those who leave reviews do not write them for every product purchased. On average, 31% of them send one review for 4-14 purchases. Between 3% and 10% of buyers who write reviews respond to a seller’s review request.

The task of the seller is to make it as fast and easy as possible to leave a review both from a desktop and a mobile device. Simplicity and speed are especially important if the target audience of the store is millennials.

Customers rarely leave reviews without a reminder from the store – unless they are seriously unhappy with an order. Customers wrote  80% of reviews after email asking for their opinion on the purchase.

More than half (55%) of non-review buyers say they lack motivation. Manufacturers and retailers should implement dedicated loyalty programs for reviewers.

Luxury brands should pay special attention to this: 69% of consumers who shop for more than $ 150,000 a year indicated the need for motivation to write reviews. For comparison, among those who spend less than $ 25,000, this reason was mentioned almost twice less often (36%).

Reviews appear to be working – what can you do to encourage a customer to buy?

1. Collect Feedback – This should become one of the permanent activities.
2. Ask for feedback, do not hesitate.
3. If you are too lazy to write reviews, try to motivate customers with bonuses.
4. You should work with negativity, but don’t be overwhelmed if you have a few negative reviews.
5. Set up a demonstration of reviews from review platforms and markets on the site. You can even invite customers to leave reviews not on your website, but for example directly to Google.
6. Submit reviews – select the blocks “Advantages”, “Disadvantages”, leave a free field for self-expression of the buyer.
7. Collect reviews on a wide front – it’s better to get 3-4 reviews for each product than 20 reviews for the flagship and not at all for other products.
8. Make reviews personalized, enter registration for this, encourage active buyers.

Check also: Retail 2020: marketing & sales. Where are the clients? (Case example and solutions)