Is your Online Shopping Store doing well? Test with these Quick Tips

Since the turn of the century, the E-commerce industry has witnessed a significant rise in demand. It is harder to find someone who has not made a purchase online than vice-versa.

E-commerce/Retail is a business that tends to thrive on its online customers. Time-saving, convenience, easy access to products worldwide, etc., are a few reasons people prefer to shop online rather than in-person.

The quality of the website governs the success of an online shopping store.

When someone goes to a physical store, they are more inclined to purchase from that particular store as they committed themselves to visit that brand. However, in the online world, there are several choices.

Unless you engage the customer from the beginning, he/she might leave within seconds.

Types of E-Commerce Websites

Based on who is selling and who is buying the product, online stores get divided into FIVE types-

B2C (Business to Customer)

The primary focus of a B2C business will be on direct customers. And when people about an e-commerce store for the first time, this business model instantly comes to their minds. Instead of a physical store, customers can buy products from an online store. Example- Amazon.

B2B (Business to Business)

This business model intends to provide goods to another business through an online platform. Wholesale sellers of products such as computer tables, desks, chairs, files, etc., fall under the B2B category.

B2B e-commerce is entirely dependent on its inventory for supplies.

C2C (Customer to Customer)

In this business model, an individual sells his/her products directly to the customer. For example, when a person sells cakes online. All the necessary things that need to get done, such as product listing, website maintenance, shipping, etc., will be maintained by the person who is running the online shop.

C2B (Customer to Business)

In C2B businesses, an individual sells his/her products to big companies.

Freelancers, artists, web designers, etc., fall under this model.

However, C2C models are not scalable or flexible. Therefore, C2C sellers often convert into B2C, and the transition cost can be costly.

C2A (Customer to Administration)

In C2A business, the transaction occurs between the individual and a public administration.

For example, when you book an appointment with a doctor using an online portal, it becomes C2A for you.

Testing: An Integral Part of E-Commerce Success

For the success of any online shopping store or any e-commerce business model, maintenance is necessary through regular testing.

Here are the main factors to test for the long-term success of your online store-

Keep Track of the KPIs

Performance testing is a crucial part of judging whether your investment is resulting in fruitful results or not. Here are some of the critical KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to keep track of:

• Sales – Total number of sales by the hour, day, week, month, quarter, or year. Regularly monitoring the sales will indicate growth and can help you plan your inventory for high-traffic periods.
• Conversion Rate – The percentage of how many visitors convert into buyers.
  
  A healthy conversion rate signifies that you possess a highly engaged customer base, which is a sign of success and growth. If the conversion rate is low, analyze your user journey mapping to see where you’re losing website visitors.
• Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate – The percentage of visitors who abandon their cart during the checkout process.
  If the cart abandonment rate is HIGH, this is a sign of responding and optimizing your checkout process.
• Traffic (New vs. Returning) – The number of people who visit your website indicates new vs. returning users.
  
  If you gain a lot of new traffic, it is a sign that your marketing strategy is reaching new people. On the other hand, if the returning users are large in number, your customer loyalty and engagement is high.
• Site Speed – The overall speed of your website and specific landing pages.
  
  
  Fast load times are essential to the success of your online business.
• Mobile Site Traffic – The number of visitors who come to your website via a mobile device. If you experience high traffic via mobile devices, ensure that your site is fully optimized for mobile use or consider developing a fully-functional mobile app.
• Bounce Rate – The percentage of users who leave your website after viewing only one page. If you witness a high bounce rate, it indicates that your website content does not resonate with your target audience, and an immediate change is required.

Test Functionalities

An online shopping store consists of four major elements in its structure-

• Main Pages – Homepage, About Us page, Product page, Special Offers, Sitemap pages, Press Releases page, etc.
• Product/Category Type Pages – The product page contains options such as product size, type, and color. A sorting feature that filters out products based on a model, size, price, etc. There is also the “Add to Wishlist” and “Add to Cart” features present in the category pages.
• Shopping Cart/Payment Gateway Page– Contains Products list view, removing the product from the list, cash on delivery option, Select delivery option, card payment, etc.
• All these functionalities must get tested through functional testing to enhance user experience and trace out any bugs.

Web Browser Compatibility

An online store must work without an issue on all web browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, etc.

Browser compatibility of the website must get tested to ensure that your customers can make purchases without any hassle.

Marketing Success Factors

Digital marketing is also essential when it comes to growing your online business. Here are the main factors to measure to judge the success of your marketing campaigns-

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) – The traffic you drive towards your website through a paid search campaign. Helps you determine if the keywords that you are targeting are even accurate for your business or not.
• Click-Through-Rate (CTR) – The percentage of users on a page who click on a link. CTR is a crucial indicator to determine if your content is driving engagement or not.
• Social Followers – The number of followers your brand garners across all social media platforms. Social media following indicates how large your customer base is and whether they engage and enjoy your content and overall brand.
• Product Reviews – The quantity and quality of product reviews help with your website’s SEO. They also offer valuable feedback for your business and indicate your customers’ overall satisfaction.
• Blog Traffic – Helps you evaluate your content’s quality and if your blog is a potent driver of overall site engagement.

How Can I Measure these Factors?


Tools like Google Analytics, Google AdWords, and Google Tag Manager help you keep daily tabs on chosen KPIs through dashboards and reports, making your work easier.

With these tools, you can set up customized reporting, daily dashboards, and even see your site activity in real-time.

In Conclusion,

Without measuring and testing, success cannot get achieved. Studying key metrics can provide your online business with information regarding customer behavior, website shortcomings, and what’s working and what’s missing the mark.

If you plan to venture into the e-commerce industry but are not technically sound, look no further than 6DegreesIT. Our professional team of web developers possesses years of experience in using modern technologies to create a feature-rich, regularly tested online shopping store.

Contact us today!