{"id":24532,"date":"2020-03-27T08:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T13:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=24532"},"modified":"2020-08-17T10:08:01","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T15:08:01","slug":"improve-online-store-navigation-customer-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/improve-online-store-navigation-customer-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Improve Your Online Store Navigation for a Better Customer Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want more customers to buy from you? Help them find what they\u2019re looking for fast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s customers expect a frustration-free experience when they search for products in online stores. Sixty-five percent of them say finding stuff fast is their top priority<\/a> when buying online. But many stores-even those with websites that cost millions to build-aren\u2019t giving shoppers what they want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution? Better site navigation<\/a> and product search tools. Before you yawn, consider what the Baymard Institute learned when it tested user experience with the product listings and filtering functions<\/a> on 19 eCommerce websites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

'Despite testing multimillion-dollar sites, more than 700 usability issues <\/strong>related to product lists, filtering and sorting, arose during testing.'\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s an average of 37 ways to frustrate customers on each of the sites they tested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when customers get frustrated, they leave. Baymard\u2019s testing found that eCommerce sites with 'mediocre product list usability'\u009d had abandonment rates ranging from 67% to 90%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, sites that were just a little bit better at helping customers find what they wanted had much lower abandonment rates, ranging from 17% to 33%. This is good news for smaller online stores, because clearly, a huge budget doesn\u2019t guarantee a good product search experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you need instead? A good understanding of how customers look for products in online stores now is the place to start. Then you\u2019ll know if you need to reorganize your product categories and add new tools to your site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"start<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How Online Shoppers Search on eCommerce Sites Today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Back in the olden days of the internet, product lists, menus and category tabs were the primary ways to find specific items. This was fine on a desktop, and there was a novelty factor to online shopping that made it kind of fun to see how categories and lists were set up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lists and categories are still useful, but a store that only offers those navigation tools is going to lose customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What changed? Smartphones, for one. Mobile screen sizes required an alternative to scrolling through sidebar lists and product filters. The other big change is that eCommerce companies like Amazon poured resources into developing new ways to search in their store, and customer expectations for speed and convenience have been rising ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shoppers now expect easy mobile site navigation. And some would rather use a search bar, voice search or a virtual shop assistant to find what they want. Here\u2019s a quick example of how many ways customers can search a store now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"amazon<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Every element at the top of Amazon\u2019s mobile homepage offers a different way to search, including<\/p>\n\n\n\n