E-commerce upgrades are in demand at the moment as managers scramble, trying to update systems accordingly. As website traffic soars and we observe a significant increase in online transactions over the past three months, companies need to adapt their systems to the new reality. Post-social distancing, it is clear that legacy systems will not meet the current expectations of customers. After in-house conversations, here are a few DigiCommerce tips to help you with your e-commerce upgrade decisions.

Customization

In e-commerce, customizing your chosen technology is the most effective way to tailor your digital enhancements. Using the technology out-of-the-box is usually wholly inadequate and rare for that matter. Customization is part of the value added digital agencies like DigiCommerce provide. This ensures systems are responsive to business conditions and the overall strategic objectives. It maximizes desirable features and makes adjustments to others accordingly. The right third party integrations gives an added layer of customization to an e-commerce upgrade. For example some vendors might need specific third party payment apps like Paypal or Lightspeed integrated into an eCommerce solution. Figuring out these conundrums is how digital agencies really justify their value.

Site Speed

A website is the new customer facing arm of businesses and speed has become part of customer service. Amazon has said every second delay the website loads, they loose 1% of revenue. Nearly half of customers expect a website to load in 2 seconds or less. About 40% will log off completely if loading takes up to 3 seconds. These are the demands of today’s customers and businesses need to pay attention to them. Failure to act here can prove to be an expensive oversight. This also affects SEO as customers become reluctant to spend time on the site. Website speed must be regularly tested and companies need to insist on this. Issues noticed after tests can be fixed by your digital agency or development team.

Discount Tactics

Many of the most popular e-commerce platforms come with different types of discount features. All vary in many ways but have essentially the same objective. The post-COVID era provides good opportunity to test out discounts, promotions, coupons etc. The idea is to convert as much website traffic as possible into sales. However, this tactic needs to be part of a larger overall strategy. Event based discounting is also quite popular. Many businesses see increased sales with Christmas discounts or Valentine’s day deals for example. Segmented discounts is another effective tactic in this regard. It allows businesses to target specific segments for discounts or promotions. For example, repeat purchasers or even first time buyers.