Online shopping has changed the way that businesses approach selling their products across the world. Spinning arrows signs and violently waving cylinder air dancers have fallen out of the marketing spotlight, while the importance of SEO and eCommerce marketing has increased exponentially.
So what is Urgency and how do successful eCommerce agencies use it to increase conversions. In a business setting urgency is a technique used to prompt a customer to quick action and emphasize that buying your product is a time sensitive matter. Building urgency helps prevent dreaded buyer hesitation, the kryptonite to any business selling through eCommerce platforms.
According to a study done at Baymard Institute, about 70% of people who add something to an online shopping cart leave it there.
The consequence to not promoting product urgency on your shop is that your customers can possess a “maybe later” mentality. Our team of eCommerce web designers here at Border7 have compiled a list of urgency tactics in regards to your product pages, inventory listings, and sales deadlines that will turn hesitation into quick action.
Using Deal Deadlines for Immediate Action
The fact that there is a limited number of hours in the day means that how you spend each of those hours matters.
The time frame initiates action, this is the same when it comes to your online shop. Setting deadlines for your discounts is one of the most important eCommerce solutions to preventing buyer hesitation.
You want customers to take immediate action when they see your product, here are a few of our favorite techniques to do so:
Today-Only Deals: Extremely time-limited promotions that vary every day is a great way to get immediate conversions and get customers consistently coming back.
Offer Free Shipping for a Limited Time: This a great method to make your free shipping offer more effective at getting conversions. If it’s always offered then the deal loses its ability to create urgency among your customers.
Countdown Clock: They’re not just reserved for doomsday, countdown clocks displayed in an email or on your homepage is a great way to grab the attention of your customers. Having the visual of a ticking clock registers faster among customers than a bulk of text containing the same information.
Popups: Popups are a great way to get new shop visitors to stay or to prevent potential customers from leaving. Providing an immediate discount to new visitors for that day only gives an incentive for the customer to act quickly.
An important thing to keep in mind when coming out with promotions is frequency. An overload of deals and sales can have the adverse effect on building your online shops urgency. Make your promotions infrequent so that they hold more value for your customers.
Creating Urgency for the Product
A customer considering to buy your product at a later time isn’t that harmful if you are the only one selling that product in an isolated community, but in the online community your potential customers have an entire world of buying possibilities.
This means that if a customer hesitates to buy something on your site, the chances of them coming back are slim when they have so many other choices just a click away.
Here are some common eCommerce solutions to boost urgency for the purchase of specific products.
Limited Stocks: Giving your customers the impression of scarcity can increase the urgency and value directed toward your product. Even when your product is not necessarily limited in quantity, providing low stock warnings on both the product pages and shopping cart can help your visitors understand they might not get another chance. Also, having products mixed into your inventory that are labeled “Out of Stock” helps legitimize your claims of limited stocks.
Offer Limited and Unique Products: A fixed quantity of a limited edition product is another method that can boost interest and associated value with your product. Diamonds have a high value among consumers because they are slowly dripped into the market, this method can be applied differently in a variety of industries.
Social Proof: Showing what other customers are viewing or buying in real time is a great way to give an impression of quick dwindling supplies of high demand. Having notices of how many other people are viewing a product or have that product in their cart can give the extra push needed for a conversion. Having the number of purchases listed along with your product can also be effective depending on how large of an eCommerce shop you are running.
Ecommerce web development involves a lot more than just having a functional shop, it requires you to design with intentionality and thought.
