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.