Success in ecommerce is all about eliminating the pesky hurdles standing between shoppers and the products they want. Sellers know their marketing and social media efforts are only worthwhile if customers can quickly and conveniently buy the products they see. The clunkier the checkout process, the higher the chance of buyers bailing before completion.
This is precisely why contextual ecommerce removes barriers to online shopping for the makeup industry. In a world where every sale matters, ecommerce entrepreneurs who are ahead of the curve can eliminate hiccups in the purchasing process to encourage conversions.
Essentially, online cosmetics stores are striving to achieve frictionless commerce however they can. When a customer decides they want to buy a new eye shadow palette or beauty blender on the go, the last thing they want is to engage in a complicated process on their mobile phones. As Marketing Land writes, many sites require online users to first get to the seller’s website, then register. But that’s not the end of the line, because users often have to complete several more steps even after signing in or registering their personal information. This often translates into abandoned shopping carts because it tends to frustrate or confuse potential customers.
Any discussion about frictionless ecommerce must address these challenges and aim to smooth them out for an improved customer experience. In the simplest sense, contextual commerce “means meeting consumers where they have the most interest and intent to purchase, with the easiest checkout experience possible.” Instead of treating social media as promotional, content as informative and your website as sales-based, it’s entirely possible to streamline all these areas into one seamless shopping experience.
When you’re considering how to sell makeup, it’s important to note which platforms and media sources your target audience prefers. Let’s say you post product demo photographs on social media. One way to promote sales within this convenient context would be to utilize the Instagram Shopping feature, which allows followers to simply tap a brand’s photograph to find out more details and shop on the spot. This eliminates the need for users to scroll through social media, mentally bookmark products they like, click a link to leave said platform and navigate from the homepage of the website to find the specific product just to do basic research. Plus, it’s organic, meaning your company can benefit without paying for separate advertisements.
Have you ever used a one-click payment feature in a web store or app? Like most customers, you probably breathed a quick sigh of relief when you realized your payment information was ready to go—no additional forms to fill out. Amazon had a patent on its 1-Click button until its recent expiration, which opens opportunities for other companies to utilize this technology without licensing fees or infringement.
Shopping cart abandonment will always be a phenomenon when it comes to online shopping. After all, some customers really are just browsing or doing research. But in a world where 35 percent of cart abandoners do so because websites wanted them to create an account and 27 percent blame the long/complicated checkout process, it’s obvious online brands must do what they can to streamline the process and eliminate any extra steps.
This is how contextual commerce removes barriers to online shopping for makeup: it allows customers to begin the payment process from where they already are, whether it be a social media platform, blog article or mobile app. Suddenly the journey from seeing a must-have brow tint or BB cream to actually owning it is much shorter.
