7 tips on how to secure good user experience during traffic peaks

Why user experience matters?

From a store point of view, a sudden increase in interest is both an opportunity and a threat. If your organization has both a stock of goods and an adequate back-up facility, there's no need to worry. However, a poorly served buyout peak can result in customer dissatisfaction, which will trigger an explosion of negative feedback on social media.

According to 99firms data, almost half (46.7 percent) of customers who had a bad shopping experience will likely share a story about it with others. “Others” includes both friends and family, as well as people on the Internet who are looking for opinions about a given store. What's more, research related to UX shows that 32 percent. users will never return to a site that did not provide them with the appropriate shopping experience.

From the customer's perspective, the entire process creates a purchasing experience. This means that even a perfect on-site flow may be missed because of a delivery or due to other logistical issues.

Analyze previous customers behavior

The first element of preparation for an increased traffic is the analysis of data collected a year earlier. The task of the analyst in this case will be to capture relevant trends and identify the riskiest period of the year.

Moreover, such an analysis may indicate at what time customers are already starting to be interested in shopping and how many of them are waiting until the last moment. Another conclusion to be drawn from such an analysis may be the discovery of minor spikes in interest in the store, worthy of further investigation. A good example is the monthly increase in interest on certain days, related to the specificity of the goods sold.

The company should also analyze the experiences of employees - which processes worked most efficiently and which require improvement, what customers paid attention to and what they complained about the most. Collecting employees' experiences and their general impressions will enrich the quantitative data obtained from the systems with a qualitative component that will add context to the information obtained.

Remind at the right moment

According to information collected by Deloitte, 27% of users planned to buy Christmas gifts in November. Moreover, the aforementioned report indicates that this is a record value (a year earlier the same stat was at 12%).

The way to spread the traffic more evenly is to launch the information campaign in advance. Reminding about upcoming deals using social media and newsletters will allow you to activate regular customers and improve their shopping experience.

On the one hand, their stress related to Christmas shopping will be much lower, and on the other hand, in a more relaxed period, the store will handle the order much more efficiently.

Encourage to buy at another time

In addition to reminding you about the possibility of making purchases earlier, the store may decide to go a step further and offer its customers some additional incentives - vouchers, promotions or more favorable delivery terms.

Both incentives and reminders should be tested and analyzed early enough so you will know apperhand which tool is the most effective. Contrary to the reminder itself, the incentive is already an expense for the store and should bring you the maximum return on investment.

A key element of combining reminders with incentives to buy at another time is the appropriate management of information for customers. If the buyer has the feeling that they have "missed a promotion," even the best shopping experience will be wasted. For this reason, it is worth reaching for marketing automation tools that will make it possible to exclude clients who have already made a purchase from the communication about upcoming promotions.

Inform sincerely about potential difficulties

Both during the traffic peaks and before it, stores should openly inform about the upcoming difficulties. The customer should be aware that if he waits until the last day with the order, his shipment may simply not arrive on time.

Information about possible difficulties will allow, on the one hand, to protect against the flood of negative comments, and on the other - encourage clients to make purchases in advance.

Shortly before the shopping peak, the information should be clearly displayed, for example in the form of a pop-up or banner on the website.

Get the support from your partners

In times of increased customer interest, the organizational and technological side of the enterprise should also be secured. It may be a good idea to buy a larger package from a hosting provider or logistics partner.

If the store owner does not take care of the technological side of the store, even the best promotions will not achieve their goal - customers will bounce back from a broken website. In turn, blocked and prolonged deliveries will cause stress and irritation for customers.

Depending on the scale and model of operation, the company may also decide to increase promotional expenses or allocate more budget to a digital agency. If advertising activities are particularly effective - it is worth securing the budget for them in advance.

Focus on the channels that bring you the greatest ROI

Different channels may give you different returns on investment. Moreover, the effectiveness of a particular channel may change depending on the season or the nature of a given marketing campaign.

The use of a efficient product feed management tool will allow you to conveniently include multiple marketing channels in your campaigns. At the same time, thanks to the support of many channels from the level of one tool, it is possible to differentiate behavior and further optimize activities.

Depending on the experience and the scale of the activities carried out, you can invest in various channels - in this case, the key is a correctly conducted analysis of the experiences and effects of previous activities.

Make sure you are ready

Before such events as Christmas or Black Friday, everything should be buttoned up to the last button. Therefore, it is worth answering a few questions:

• Is your store properly stocked and will it be able to handle the increased number of orders?
• Will key employees be available during the period of increased interest? If not, how can this be solved?
• Are promotional budgets secured?
• Have all necessary partnership decisions been made and confirmed?
• Have key employees not planned their holidays for the indicated time? Is there an alternative action plan in the company in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as illness?
• Has a data collection and post-shopping experience analysis plan been prepared?

If the actual owners of the company feel that the organization is ready for increased interest - great. However, it is worth preparing a list of all activities to be performed and responsibilities for specific areas to be absolutely sure that the key areas of activity are not left without a guardian.

Summary

User experience is currently one of the most important and effective ways to differentiate yourself from the competition. 99sites data shows that for every dollar invested in improving user experience, return on investment is nearly $100.

During shopping peaks, when there are particularly many customers and their expectations are growing, it is easier to mishaps related to providing the right experience. This means that without proper preparation in advance, increased interest can bring the company much more harm than good.

If you want to learn more about purchasing peak management and how Feedink can help you with that, contact us today!