Posted by Shawna Fennell

I had the honor of interviewing CEO and Founder of WolrdwideBrands.com Chris Malta on our new radio show eCom Experts.

Our discussion: Improving the Shopping Experience & Increasing Sales

An article posted in Yahoo Tech News yesterday states,

“U.S. online sales are expected to rise 8 percent this holiday season, with mass market retailers who can offer discounts performing best, according to Forrester Research Inc.”

This is great news for online retailers. This news also means that online retailers need to make sure their website is ready for conversions.

Now, let’s discuss some other interesting information.

First - download a free copy of the white paper eCommerce Web Site Performance Today.

It is a fascinating study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Akamai Technologies, Inc.

Here are some of the findings:

• 88% of online shoppers indicated they are likely to return to a site that is easy to use
• 74% of online shoppers want assurances that their information is safe
• 57% of online shoppers want a rapid check out process

As Chris Malta discussed during our interview, you want to relate the online shopping experience the same as when you go into a retail store.

Imagine yourself in the following scenario:

You head to your local electronics store to purchase an item for your computer that you need right away. You need to get in and get out. You are not sure which item to purchase and there is clearly no help in site. You look for someone to assist you, but they all seem to have disappeared.

You decide on an item anyway and head over to check out. The first thing they ask you is if you belong to their rewards program. When you say no, they try to convince you to join and be a part of the club. You have to sign up and be a member. All you wanted to do was purchase the item and get out of the store.

The next time you need an item from an electronics store, will you go back to the members only store or go find a new store? Will you go find a new store that has placed customer service representatives where you can find them? Will you find a new store that allows you to check out quickly?

Now let’s turn this around and think about our own online stores. If a customer needs help, make sure your customer service phone number or links are clearly visible. Make sure the customer can easily find this information without having to search. When the customer finds what they need and they are ready to check out, do not require them to log in or create an account. Get the sale! Then after they have completed the check out process, offer them the opportunity to create an account and save the information.

Want more great tips on improving the customers shopping experience?

Then you have to listen to our show

It’s only 30 minutes long and you can play it in the background while you work. I guarantee you will learn lots!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 8:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: Shawna Fennell is the founder and CEO of 1Choice4YourStore, an authorized Yahoo! Merchant Solutions Developer and the host of the Yahoo Store Power Hour. Shawna has been building Yahoo! Stores since 2000 when she started her first store as a single mom with two children working out of her living room. Today she has an office with over 25 employees dedicated to helping store owners build, grow and succeed with their ecommerce stores.Check out the 1 Choice Blog for tips, free e-books, and more!