Many marketplaces offer their customers various sales, coupons or discounts. Incorporating a large number of possible types of online shopping offers (from coupon codes around the world to multi-item savings) can be a daunting development task. Designers should evaluate the types of advertisements that can be published on a site and develop effective approaches to their distribution.
In our research for the new fourth edition of the ecommerce user experience reporting series, we assessed the interactions of potential customers with millets discount code and discounts on various websites and identified a set of guidelines to help designers develop a presentation of discount content on websites and in e-commerce applications.
Notifications about discounts and promotions
1. List the discounted products in the “Discounts” section, as well as in the appropriate categories.
Do not limit the display of products to a separate sales section on the site. It is best to list the discounted products both on the respective category page and in the “Discounts” section. Some users go directly to the “Discounts” section when they want to find a great deal, but others do not pay much attention to this section. (Previous research has shown that there are several types of buyers with pdifferent behaviors.) Users who are looking for a particular item usually browse the category page. Sites that display discounted products along with full-price products help users find low-cost products in their area of interest. Our study participants were often interested in discounted items shown alongside full-price items, and the combination of low-price and regular-price items helped them understand what kind of items were on the site.
On Macys.com, a user went directly to the clothing designer’s page, hoping that that particular person’s merchandise would be on sale there. “If I turn to a designer I like, will this designer’s clothes be displayed on the site?” When he got to the page, he was glad to see a list of products for sale. He said, “Yes, that’s what I need. Now, I know that if I return to the site, I will simply move to the clothing sections of the designers I like. “
For those interested in saving money for their customers, it is still advisable to have a “Discounts” section on the site, but the formation of products with a low price on one page means that many users will never see these products. If you are offering discounts, then this is a great benefit that you should advertise to everyone, not just those looking for low cost items. By providing these discounts, you can positively impact the perception of your brand and site by users, which will give them another reason to buy from you in the future.
2. Show your promotions to the world.
If a company offers free shipping or other site-wide offers, show that on every page. Permanent discount reminders can help users find products based on their budget, as well as encourage them to buy something. Again, these reminders position you as a customer benefit company. By displaying promotions from across the site in specific areas, you run the risk that not all users will see them. In addition, if coupons are not advertised on all pages, people may assume that they were intentionally hidden so that they will be less used. This state of affairs reflects badly on the brand.
Methods for achieving good communication in promotions include:
Homepage advertisements
Banners at the top of each page detailing the discount or coupon code – including the shopping cart page or checkout page where the deal is usually done
Promotional callouts on the product listing page or on the right side of the screen
Banners at the bottom of the page, in or next to the footer. Although this part appears in different parts of the site, users do not expect to find offers there, so they may not see them. For this reason, the bottom of the page is best used for secondary, redundant advertising messages.
3. Make it accountable and help clients reach their spending target.
Some sites offered promotions such as free shipping on purchases over a certain amount. Such deals really attracted users, and many were ready to spend additional time and money on their registration.
In promotions with big discounts, sites must tell users exactly how much they need to spend in order to count on an offer. For example, the Lake Champlain Chocolates shopping cart page notifies users that when their purchases reach $ 95.00, they receive 8 Vermont chocolates as a gift! However, the site does not indicate how much more money a user needs to spend to receive a gift.
Users often want to spend as much as their budget will allow, so finding products that are good value for money is a time-consuming task. People are usually not lazy to find the things they want, but recommending a product that suits their needs can speed up the process.
Chewy.com can display a message in the shopping cart for users about how many more items they need to add to receive free shipping. It also provides product recommendations to help them achieve the lowest cost possible. One user commented, “Good thing he says when we are close to free shipping … So now I can stop when I see free shipping is already in effect. I wonder how much the delivery itself costs? ” This is not only a strategic way to sell more products, but also a clear demonstration that the site wants to help customers save money, while positively impacting user confidence in the company.
4. Be careful in advance about restrictions on promotions.
Sometimes advertising offers may be subject to certain restrictions. If so, make sure the proposal clearly states which restrictions apply. If necessary, link to more detailed information about these terms, but in a way that does not require users to read a whole “canvas” of text to understand the underlying constraints. There is nothing more frustrating than finding out at the checkout counter that your purchase does not qualify for a promotion while waiting for a bargain purchase. The client will begin to think that a profitable option has been taken away from him and will feel dislike for the trading organization.
One study participant wanted to buy shoes on DSW.com, and the site advertised free shipping in a banner at the top of the page. Free shipping was also shown as the default shipping option when the item was added to the cart.
Conclusion
It is often not enough to run a banner ad on the home page of a website. Sometimes popular promotions not limited to a specific purchase amount or the purchase of multiple items. Your task is to help visitors understand your proposals and to apply for them in the future. This goal may require a multidimensional strategy: not only do you need to get your messages right, but you also need to do your best to remind users of additional terms and help them take the right steps during checkout.
However, getting the correct information on stocks is only the first step. Websites are also required to ensure that these promotions easy to use and that savings must be immediately visible to the naked eye. In the next article, we will discuss additional guidelines for efficiently designing ecommerce discount functionality.