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Reducing friction in customer experience: 6 strategies to boost online retail conversions

Embracing innovation in the customer experience has become a critical determinant of success in today's competitive retail market. Here we share six key strategies to help retail brands increase online conversions and stay competitive by reducing friction in their customer experiences.

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December 1, 2023

In spite of economic fluctuations, consumer spending often experiences peaks and valleys throughout the year, especially during holidays and other major shopping events. To realize maximum conversions, retailers need to proactively enhance consumer interactions, striving to make them as frictionless as possible.

1. Simplify the Buying Steps

An experience that feels complicated can deter potential buyers. By reducing the number of clicks or pages involved in making a purchase, retailers can significantly enhance the user's experience, promoting a higher conversion rate. Regular analysis and benchmarking of customer interactions can pinpoint areas causing consumer frustration, making them prime targets for optimization.

2. Personalize Customer Experience

According to a McKinsey & Company report, 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from the brands they interact with. Personalization can act as a powerful tool to remove friction from the buying process. Leveraging customer data effectively allows brands to offer individualized and proactive services, reminding customers of their previous purchases and making tailored recommendations.

3. Be Proactive

Brands that proactively communicate with and engage consumers often enjoy increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Emails, promotional offers, and personalized recommendations not only show customers they're valued, but they also secure attention before customers start shopping elsewhere. This approach is also applicable to unknown prospects, who can be enticed by personalized, proactive customer engagement even before their first purchase.

4. Implement AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a game-changer in managing large volumes of customer interactions. It helps retailers extract valuable insights that can considerably improve the customer experience. Harnessing the power of purpose-built AI for customer experience can lead to significant enhancements in customer satisfaction and increased conversions.

5. Enhance Feedback Management

Effective feedback management throughout the customer journey is critical for a successful retail business. Implementing a holistic, multi-touch feedback solution allows you to measure satisfaction at each stage, providing valuable insights to improve the user experience.

6. Don't Ignore Customer Journey Analytics

Applying Customer Journey Analytics can help brands identify areas of friction and work to eliminate them. These powerful tools can bring to light valuable insights from your data, helping you understand your customers' needs better and proactively enhancing their experience.

Implementing these key strategies can significantly increase conversion rates and provide consumers with a seamless shopping experience. Focusing on designing a frictionless customer experience will secure not only immediate sales, but also lifetime customer loyalty and value, becoming an essential part of a brand's ongoing strategy.

Discover how retailersare taking friction out of their consumers' journeys by leveraging the latest consumer experience technology with NICE andCXone, the world's #1 cloud native customer experience.

For the original version of this blogon the NICE site, visit here.

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With NICE, it’s never been easier for organizations of all sizes in retail and other major markets around the globe to create extraordinary customer experiences (CX) while meeting key business metrics. NICE is a worldwide leader in AI-powered self-service and agent-assisted CX solutions for the contact center—and beyond.

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