The ultimate guide to improving your digital customer experience

If you ask a passer-by on the street what makes for a good online store, he'll likely put ease of use top of the list. He might then talk about website design, product delivery times, prices, and other things, but ease of use will remain the number one priority.

We avoid sites which are hard to navigate like the plague, for one simple reason: we can't find what we are looking for and that makes our experience as customers downright unpleasant.

Nowadays it's all about creating a great customer experience. We value it more than we value money, because even paying huge money for a product or service doesn't guarantee quality service.

Delivering the best customer experience (or CX for short) has thus become paramount. 47% of users will leave a site if their journey wasn't pleasant. That's half your potential shoppers gone, likely to buy from your competitor.

And there are so many things that can go wrong on a website. Not all store owners have the firepower of Google or Amazon, to assign whole departments, or even branches, that focus on improving customer experience. Website design, product descriptions, navigation, on-site search functionality, the checkout process… It can go wrong at any junction. One slight hiccup, one false note, is all it takes for your potential customer to close the tab.

So what do you do? Where do you start? How do you reduce bounce rates, and increase conversion? We are here to answer that.

Customer experience is how shoppers feel after interacting with your brand. Everything from viewing social media ads to making a purchasing decision is an interaction, and so all of it is important to create a positive impression.

Two things form the backbone of customer experience: the products you offer and the customer service you provide. As a result, more often than not visitors will tie their experience to your online store - because that's where you sell, and chat to your clients in real time.

So you need to break down how your customers travel through your site - to find out what can potentially create friction along the way and enhance the experience.

Why is that last number so high? Simple: shoppers who use search already know what they are looking for. Their shopping intent is much more pronounced. They are just checking availability and comparing prices. They need little persuasion to buy - simply a tool to do it.

If site search fails them, your customers will bounce en masse. Search failure on the most basic level means returning no relevant results, or worse - returning a blank page. Other things come into play where a good search experience is concerned too.

Site search - or navigation - is just the top of your sales funnel. After your customer successfully arrives at a page with relevant results, he'll need to narrow them down to a manageable pool. That is the second stage of a selling process.

He or she will then go to a product page, or multiple product pages, before adding something to cart. That is the third and fourth stage of his or her journey respectively. Finally, he or she will need to click on the cart and complete the checkout process.

And, in an ideal world, you'd want your customers to return. That is the ultimate goal of any ecommerce store, to have as many loyal customers as possible, because they are the ones who bring in the most revenue.

As you can see, customer experience optimization is a long road. But don't worry: there are ways to make it shorter and much more pleasant for your shoppers. And we are going to stop on every phase of it in detail, with practical ideas on how to improve them.

When visitors come to your site, most are looking for something they think you should have - unless they are casual browsers, of course. Many of them know what they want and will go straight to the search bar.

Make no mistake: the search box is an integral part of your brand, and your shoppers' experience. Once they get past the beautifully designed home page, they need the means to find what they want, and that will be intertwined heavily with site search.

But what does it mean, having a good search? What do users expect from it? We'll walk you through it.

Speed is everything in today's world. It only takes 0.05 of a second for a user to form an opinion about your website (work on that homepage hard!) He or she in 120 seconds otherwise.

The same principle applies to loading times. Every 2 seconds that it takes for the results page to load, you lose 30% of potential shoppers, as is obvious from our piece on the search index's importance. Ideally, your search engine should come up with relevant results in just 1-2 seconds, 3 tops.

Another bedrock on which your site search should rest. A polished autocomplete function can increase sales by as much as 24%.

Why is that? People are lazy. They expect websites to anticipate their needs. The less users have to type, click, or scroll, the better they'll perceive their search experience. An ideal autocomplete offers suggestions from the very first letters you type - and updates them with every additional letter. So it should be snappy.

Autocomplete can make or break the user experience. If it's slow, unresponsive, or offers irrelevant suggestions, it'll leave users frustrated and increase chances of them bouncing, or worse - leaving for a competitor.

Done right though, autocomplete is a powerful weapon. It allows users to quickly find what they want without typing out the query in full, decreases chances of them running into a 'no results' page (we'll talk about it separately later on - the topic merits a detailed analysis) and even serves as a promotion tool for your products by displaying products images in search. Oh, about that…

78% of online shoppers want products to be brought to life via images. Consumers in e-stores with high-quality images are 3 times more likely to convert too.

Getting those product images right is paramount - and there's a lifehack which will allow customers to jump from the search bar directly to the product page: displaying images and short info in search suggestions.

Coupled with autocomplete, product images in search is the way to go. Just as your customers type something into the search bar, they get instant and relevant suggestions, see what the product looks like and how much it'll cost - and click on it. They thus bypass the need to enter a full query, or scroll through the search results page. Improving customer journey thus leads to a successful sale.

Modern users have come to expect certain functionality from search engines, and they rarely stop to think few eCommerce websites have the muscle of Google or Amazon.

Features like Autocomplete, Spellcheck and Product Previews are just the most important ones. There are many other tweaks you can make to optimize your search box, improving the customer experience as a result.

Even if your visitor found the relevant search suggestion in the drop-down menu, he might press enter on his search query to see what else is on offer. There are 2 ways this can go then.

The shopper will either be presented with all the matches on your website, which can be aplenty, if his query was generic - or else he'll be 'greeted' by the 'nothing found' page. Let's get the 'no results' page out of the way first.

The page stems from a poor-functioning search engine. 31% of all search queries ended in vain. Meanwhile, eConsultancy teaches us that 21% of users will immediately leave in frustration when their search returns nothing.

In short, few things are as disheartening for visitors as the 'no results' page. It ruins their experience to the point where they give up, leave the site, and may not be seen again.

There is a lot you can do to tackle the 'no results' page, but here we'll focus on the 2 most important things, which account for many 'no results' pages - assuming, of course, you have the products your customers are looking for in stock.

Helping visitors avoiding typos is the bread and butter of your autocorrect feature (you desperately need to have it). A single misspelled letter is all it takes to arrive at the 'no results' page - you now know it will be a dead end for 21% of your potential customers. And yet 27% of websites do not support typo-correction features.

A whopping 70% of e-commerce websites do not support synonyms functionality. That means customers have to search using the exact same terminology the site relies on: and brands like to come up with their own product names to stand out.

Meanwhile, users are left to grasp with those names, running a high risk of a 'no results' page if they get it wrong. Keep in mind that only 20% of users will refine their search if they can't find what they want from the first try. So deploying synonyms in your search box is highly important.

In simple terms, he's overwhelmed with the options at hand - and will need to narrow them down. However, just like with site search, that's an area where many e-commerce websites can improve massively: only 16% of websites provide visitors with a good filtering experience. That means you can leave 84% of your competitors in the dust if you get your filtering game on point - as top brands do with their product filters.

How exactly do you accomplish that? What things do you need to keep in mind when fine-tuning your filters and search results page?

77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that provides a personalized experience. 91% of customers are more likely to shop with a brand that offers personalized shopping experience.

Of course, you can only deliver tailored results and offers for your clients after they've spent a while on your website. But once you get past that initial hurdle, personalization will help you increase average order value and retention massively.

Do you need to clear the shelves ahead of a season sale? Is there a particular product you'd like to promote further still, or on the contrary, relegate to backstage? Searchandising (i.e. search merchandising) can help you do this.

Your consumers won't even notice, but they can massively benefit from it, because they won't have to scroll through pages of products - and just select something from the very top, shortening their path. The numbers tell us 35% of users select the top result, and only 5% make it past the top-10.

These may come as:

• labels (for example, to single out products currently on discount);
• quick buttons, which allow customers to preview something or add it to cart without clicking;
• color swatches, to only show one product variant, with all the colors tucked underneath

As much as 40% of your visitors might end up on the search results page. Those who end up there will need all the help they can get to continue on their journey. Applying the practices described above will go a long way towards accomplishing that.

If your customer navigated the murky waters of the search results page successfully, he'll boil down his choice to one or several products, and his next step will be to pick between these products, add them to cart, and then complete the checkout process. Sounds simple and straightforward, right?

Well, it only sounds this way. In truth, 30% fall off after visiting the product page - and even more do so after adding something to cart. We'll stop on the latter a bit further down the line: for now let's focus on what you can do to stem the tide of leavers from the product page.

We are talking about the "Add to Cart" button. Don't drown it under a sea of text, technical specifications or user reviews. Make it prominent, obvious and easy to find on the page. Add a 1-click checkout option too if you can - you can boost your sales by 26% annually with it.

Your images are your integral selling point: 78% of users consider them vital. So hire a professional photographer, shoot products from different angles, compress images to avoid massive loading times. If you can provide 3D images, you win: these up your conversion by a massive 250%. The same goes for videos: you can boost the conversion rate by 37% if the product page features clips.

Whether you use a chatbot or a real person, make sure you answer quickly: a lot of users expect their issues to be resolved within 10 minutes - this number can be as high as 62%.

Both cross-selling and upselling work particularly well if your specialty are complementary products, like shaving items.

Your product page is probably the most important stage of the customer journey. You need to get it just right for the shopper to click "Add to Cart" and enter the final stage of the funnel. We are hoping we've given you some ideas on how to do that above.

So you've put in all the hard work into your home page, search box, filtering system, product pages and overall customer experience… now you just need your shopper to check out. However, that's where cart abandonment kicks in: an issue which haunts store owners the most.

Let's go over the 3 most common reasons behind shoppers leaving their carts and ways to address these issues.

Many add items to cart only to discover that the price they've seen on the product page is lower than the one at checkout. Shipping costs, or maybe VAT, is the issue but it's disheartening either way. It ruins customer experience big time, just as he or she was ready to convert.

Be clear and honest about how much your customers will have to pay on the product page. Entice them with free shipping offers, at least if they pay over a certain amount. It's a great way to sell extra products too.

Another common issue which grinds your shoppers' gears. They might be first-time customers, or simply in a hurry, with no time to enter their login details.

Give your customers the opportunity to buy as a guest, and create an account later, if they want to. However, make sure guest checkout is prominent enough - 65% of sites fail at that. And keep your checkout form to as few fields as possible.

Amazon's same-day delivery has massively spoiled customers. 9% of US shoppers expect same-day delivery, 18% are willing to wait until the next day, and a further 40% find a 2-day waiting interval acceptable. That means ⅔ of your customers want to see their goods within 48 hours.

Aim to ship your products the same day, or next day. If you can't do that - because it's not dependent only on you - say when your customer can expect his parcel to arrive. And make sure it does.

When your potential customer reaches the checkout stage, you are not quite in the clear. Make sure it's optimized just as much as the rest of your visitors' journey. 7 in 10 users fail to overcome this last hurdle. Look at the checkout process with their eyes, and remove everything non-essential and burdensome.

We all revisit experiences we enjoy, so there's only one way to convert one-time shoppers to repeat buyers: enhancing their customer experience.

But how do you know whether your shoppers enjoyed the ride? Unless they write directly to you (in the form of a review, most likely), there's only one way for you to find out: relying on site analytics.

You can uncover how much time users spend in your store, which pages are the most and least popular, etc. Using site search analytics, you can easily find out what your customers look for and click on, which queries results in the 'nothing found' page, how much you sell, etc.

Pinpoint what ruins your customers' experience. Add products to your catalog to have fewer "nothing found" dead ends. Last but not least, you can segment your customers to understand which groups are your target audience and most loyal buyers.

You can then cater to these groups by offering different perks: discounts, loyalty bonuses, free shipping, etc. When you know exactly who you are selling too, it will make running sales promotions much easier too.

Measuring your site metrics gives you a deep understanding of your customers' needs. Site search analytics is a big part of your overall picture: 43% of your visitors jump straight to the search box after opening the site - and those, who use it, account for 45% of your revenue. In short, the search engine is a big part of your shoppers' journey to checkout.

Site search plays a huge role both in how your brand is perceived and how pleasant your visitors found the experience. Putting in the yards to make it efficient is the way to go. There are 2 tools we think you should use in tandem to measure how effective your site search is.

It shows how many of your visitors rely on search (or, alternatively, browse the catalog), how much revenue has been made from purchases via search/catalog, average order value and conversion rate. There are other noteworthy metrics GA offers you should pay attention to.

If you are relying on a third-party search engine, you can track how effective the app is at what it does via the analytics tab. The most important metrics you'll find there are search query breakdown, product page views, and total revenue made from browsing via the search bar.

If the analytics point to a problem with your default internal site search, then you should be asking yourself what exactly you can do to make it more efficient. We've put together a list of functions any search solution worth its salt should feature.

What do you do once you run through the checklist above and discover your site search is severely lacking - and probably harms your sales directly? There are 2 roads you can take to perfect your default site search.

It'll require a big effort on your part. Here's an approximation of what you'll have to do:

• buy/rent a server and shoulder its maintenance costs
  
• hire a team of developers to write the search engine code
  
• keep this team on a permanent basis to update and make improvement to your search
  
• expand both the number of servers and the IT specialists as your business grows
  
• deal with traffic spikes linked to holiday/seasonal sales
  

Search as a service will allow you to do away with the problems described above. All you have to do to use it is pay the price of a subscription. Here's what you get by relying on a SaaS search:

• no need for a server, as your search code and data will be stored in a cloud
  
• team of professional developers on hand: you don't have to scout the market and take risks with hires
  
• constant updates and bug fixes as part of the package
  
• ease of scalability: as your business expands, you only need to upgrade your subscription plan
  
• no worries about traffic spikes: SaaS solutions can handle the heat
  

This means your search solution should look just as sleek on mobile devices as it does on laptops. Another thing much harder to achieve if you prefer building your own search to using a ready-made SaaS solution.

You'll cover every aspect of your customers' journey described above - and you won't have to break a leg to do it either. Our flexible plans have something for everyone.

You can set the app up in just 1 click (and it will require no coding skills), and we are always on hand to help you out with any issues that might arise.

You can give us a try for 14 days at absolutely no cost: we will neither ask for your credit card details, nor charge you for the amount of searches carried out. The latter bit also applies for our paid plans.

Finally, you'll join more than 12,000 happy customers, with brands like Sennheiser, Durex and Decathlon among them.

We could go on and list another dozen reasons - but we really think you should give us a try and see the results for yourself.