When it comes to ecommerce, a positive UX is the difference between a completed checkout and an abandoned cart.

Keep your audience hooked

“The most common user action on a website is to flee,” said Edward Tufte.
 
Your audience is the worst. They’re impatient, lazy, attention-deficit, proud and easily annoyed. The only way you’ll get conversions out of them is by making the pathway clear and easy to follow.

According to Baymard, the average online cart abandonment rate is 68.63%. You’re only going to add to that figure if your site is:

  • Slow. Conversion Voodoo says 47% of people expect a page to load in two seconds or less;
  • Irritating. Pushy elements are off putting. Annoying pop-ups need to become extinct;
  • Distracting. Remove clutter. Once someone’s ADD kicks in and they leave your site, they’re probably not coming back;
  • Shouty. No one likes to be told they’ve made a mistake. Rework error messages that make people feel confused or at fault (even if they are); and
  • Confusing. Design as much for new users as you do for returning ones. And don’t let anyone get lost. Breadcrumbs (think Hansel and Gretel) work wonders.

The online shopping arena is overpopulated
And it’s only going to get worse as more stores make the move to the web. To stay on top your job is to remove any barriers that stand between your customer and their final purchase.

“If the user can’t use it, it doesn’t work,” said Susan Dray.

Your UX starting point? Put yourself in your mom’s shoes. If your site’s not easy enough for her to figure out, it’s back to basics for you.
Realise that your competition is offline, too. There are tricks to closing the gap between ecommerce and brick-and-mortar, like quality product shots taken from multiple angles.

Another way is with predefined pathways. Selling homeware? Great. Ask people if they’re looking for kitchen or bedroom items right at the start. That way, they don’t have to filter through things they don’t care about.

Make yourself available. All your contact information must be clearly visible at all times. Hell hath no fury like a dissatisfied customer – especially one with nobody to reach out to.

According to this article, 44% of people will leave a company's website if there's no contact information or phone number. If yours is hard to find, it may as well not be there.

Showing all available options is essential. Why have potential buyers abandon their cart because they’re not sure what colours an item comes in? It’s unnecessary.

A large chunk of any decent UX process is planning for every outcome (read: testing, testing, testing).

“It just doesn’t feel right”

You know that feeling of looking at something and not liking it but not knowing why? Once you acknowledge that this applies to websites too and is reason enough for someone to click away, you’ll realise just how deep UX goes.

Understand that a transaction doesn't signal the end of your consumer relationship. Showing customers you still care after they’ve parted ways with their cash is crucial. It’s the little things, like keeping them posted on every stage of the delivery process.

“A good user experience isn’t necessarily that far removed from a poor user experience. It can be small, subtle differences that can have a huge impact,” said Nathanael Boehm.

Attention to detail is paramount. Get that right and you’ll win at ecommerce.

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