5 Main User Experience Barriers to Sales Conversion and How to Overcome Them

Posted by usabilitysciences on February 13th, 2013

A website can be said to be efficient only when it is able to convert a sizeable amount of visits to actual sales. Website usability tests have indicated a few obstructions when it comes to sales conversion for various retail websites. 5 such major barriers are:

1. Insufficient product information and poor imagery –

In case, the website does not provide complete details of a physical product, or does not give adequate views of it from different angles, the customer is generally dissatisfied and leaves without making any purchase.

2. A complex returns policy with jargons –

On websites, where the returns policy for goods is not easy to understand, conversions are rare. The policy should be capable of convincing the user that the process of returning the goods is convenient so that they are assured that even if they are not satisfied with the goods that they buy, they need not worry.

3. Tedious guest checkouts –

The website should have an easy and quick checkout option. Users are generally not interested in registering themselves before making any purchase as this is time-consuming. Lengthy checkout usually diminishes the user’s inclination towards buying goods.

4. Poor localization -

While extending their operations overseas, retail websites generally go with the basic process of translation of language, the change in currency, and availing international size charts. However, in most cases they overlook the imperative aspects such as the demographics of the area, the tendency of the customers and their preferences in terms of tastes, mode of payment, return policy etc. Web page usabilitytests have proven that such a practice can be lethal for a website’s business and lead to barely any sales conversions.

5. Incompatibility of Websites with Devices -

The usability in website design should be such that it can operate as efficiently on mobile devices as on desktops and laptops. Studies have indicated higher sales conversion rates for devices such as the iPad and some Smartphones in comparison to that of the non-mobile devices.

Overcoming the barriers to sales conversion

The retail websites need to look beyond usability and functionality and understand the importance of user experience. This can be understood by giving due consideration to the following points:-

1. Providing better content in terms of product details, text, pictures etc.

2. The website design should make it convenient for the user to search the products that they want, also known as Findability.

3. The website should be constantly tested and updated to meet the users’ expectations.

4. Process of purchasing the goods as well as the returns policy should be made as convenient and simple as possible.

5. The credibility of the website should be highlighted so that users have no hesitation while making any purchases.

A company that specialises in website usability testing can prove to be of good help for a retail website that is facing problems with sales conversion. If you have any such website, simple go online and search for a reputed company to see the wonders it does to your website.

About The Author:

The article has been written by Ben Bishop, the Marketing Manager at Usability Sciences. Usability Sciences offers various Usability Testing services like – Website Usability Testing, Mobile Usability Testing, Website Design Testing, Remote Usability Testing, and Rapid Iterative Testing. They also offer Eye tracking, Web Usability, Card Sorting and Intercept Survey services to improve your web experience. Besides these they also take a keen interest in various online research and competitive usability research study and analysis.