When it comes to converting shoppers into buyers, a good customer experience is the number-one indicator. Unfortunately for retailers, there’s no magic formula for ensuring a good experience. Consumer expectations vary widely depending on products; shoppers of commodities such as books and CDs tend to go online to buy a specific title, while those in the market for technical gear such as audio equipment are looking for product information and price comparisons. Shoppers are fairly resilient when it comes to sporadic performance problems, says John Lovett, senior performance analyst with Gomez, an Internet performance company. “If a customer experiences slowness or a broken page once in awhile, they’ll return to use that channel,” he says. What shoppers can’t tolerate is inconsistent performance, recurring navigation problems and unexpected mishaps, such as completing the order-entry process only to learn that the product won’t ship on time. In light of that, Kate Delhagen, vice president of retail research at Forrester Research, offers these basic elements that every retail website should include:Clear navigation that takes consumers to relevant products within a few clicks Product detail pages with all information needed to make a purchase, such as images, ratings, inventory status and so onEasy and intuitive checkout process Shipping and tax fees clearly displayed before credit card submissionOrder and shipment status tracking capabilitiesFollow-up e-mail after the expected shipping date Related content BrandPost Are tech layoffs inevitable, or can your company avoid them? Despite tech industry layoffs, one ITSM company remains committed to growth and expansion of internal teams. The company’s successful endeavor is largely credited to one difference between TOPdesk and other tech organizations. By TOPdesk Mar 30, 2023 6 mins IT Leadership Analysis CIOs must evolve to stave off existential threat to their role With LOB leaders learning tech faster than CIOs gain business-savvy, IT leaders must strengthen advisory skills, build relationships, and embrace strategic transformation before losing out to business counterparts. By Yashvendra Singh Mar 30, 2023 10 mins Roles Opinion 5 ways AI will transform CRM Recent announcements by Microsoft and Salesforce on how they’re ramping up integration of AI tools into their software offerings mark the start of a revolution in the CRM marketplace. By Martin De Saulles Mar 30, 2023 4 mins Channel Sales CRM Systems Artificial Intelligence Interview From CIO to CX SVP, Cisco’s Jacqueline Guichelaar takes a road less travelled By David Binning Mar 29, 2023 7 mins Careers IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe