Must-Have Features For E-commerce Sites in 2023
Certain elements are essential for every e-commerce site to stay relevant and competitive. Read about 21 features that are must-haves today.
1. User-Friendly Navigation
The key to helping customers find the products they need quickly is to offer a user-friendly navigation system.
2. Site Search
Site search is a feature found on most of the top E-commerce sites.
It allows customers to bypass the navigation and search for exactly what they want.
3. Footer Navigation
Try a list of links to the top products, services, and information that customers want to find.
4. Product Videos
Adding video to your product pages can increase conversions.
According to to Think With Google, over 50% of shoppers said that online video helped them make a decision on which brand or product to purchase.
5. Product Reviews
The most popular form of user-generated content found on e-commerce sites is product reviews and ratings.
This section of an e-commerce product page is crucial to providing social proof to shoppers that a product will fit their needs.
6. Generous Return Policy
Want to increase consumer confidence in the products you sell? Offer a generous return policy and include it on your product page.
7. FAQ For Products
Another way to incorporate user-generated content into your e-commerce store is by adding a section of the most frequently asked questions by customers.
8. FAQ For The Store
In addition to the FAQ for your product pages, consider adding a FAQ page for your main store.
9. Order Tracking
Once your customer places an order, the top question on their mind is when will my order arrive?
Make it simple for customers to check their current order status on your website.
10. Email Opt-In
According to Mailchimp benchmarks, emails sent by e-commerce businesses have an average open rate of 15.68% and a click rate of 2.01%.
11. Push Notifications
If you want to bypass spam filters and social media algorithms, the next best way to capture your e-commerce store visitors as subscribers is through push notifications.
12. Chatbots
One of the benefits of running an e-commerce website is its ability to generate revenue, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the year. That also means providing support to your customers during those hours as well.
13. Coupon Codes
We know that consumers often search for coupon codes on Google when presented with a coupon or discount box on a checkout page.
14. Product Availability Filters
Give customers the ability to quickly find the products that are available with their preferred pickup or delivery option.
15. Mobile App
In addition to having a mobile-friendly store for shoppers to make a purchase from any device, also consider having a mobile app for your store.
16. Gift Registries
According to The Knot 2020 Wedding Registry Study, 80% of respondents set up a wedding registry.
CNBC reported findings from Baird’s 2022 survey that Amazon leads as the top wedding registry provider with 45% listing penetration.
Target offers gift registries for babies, weddings, and charities. You can also create a custom registry to celebrate any occasion you choose.
17. Multilingual Support
If your e-commerce store caters to customers in a specific region, you have two options to support the top languages spoken in their region:
Content can be switched from English to Spanish using the En and Es links in the main navigation bar.
18. Loyalty Program
Do you want to increase customer retention? One way to encourage people to shop from your e-commerce store again is to offer a loyalty program.
These are typically free or paid programs where customers get private or early access to the best deals.
19. Carousels
While marketers may not agree on the value of image and video carousels on the homepage, you will find many e-commerce brands use them.
Major retailers such as Walmart, eBay, Home Depot, Samsung, Wayfair, Lowes, Costco, Sam’s Club, and Kohl’s have carousels with their latest promotions and sales.
20. Local Store Information
If your e-commerce brand also has physical store locations, you can boost offline sales by adding details for the nearest store to your website’s header.
This would allow customers to shop online, reserve for in-store pick-up, or browse their local store inventory before going to make an in-store purchase.
21. Personal Data Policy
Depending on where your e-commerce store is based and the customers that it serves, your site may need a policy that notifies visitors of the data that is collected about them on your website using cookies from the website and other analytics tools.
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