The footwear industry had to adapt and innovate its operations to deal with the crisis during the pandemic. With production falling and sales dropping, many brands and manufacturers saw the internet as an opportunity for growth.
Footwear e-commerce is growing with this migration of many companies that used only traditional channels for sales. Most of these companies are discovering the facilities and benefits of e-commerce, while others have already matured to the point of thinking about online innovations for the sector through features that add value to the customer experience.
In this article, we will talk about some indispensable UX and UI features and functionality for a footwear e-commerce to offer the best customer experience and consequently boost its sales.
Show that you know your customer
Personalized experiences are increasingly appreciated by the consumer, who feels good to know that his favorite brand knows his preferences.
You can collect valuable information about your customer through their login profile, previous purchases, and site searches. If your customer is logged into your shoe e-commerce site, provide product information using the last size they purchased from your store.
These preferences are sure to be noticed by the customer and are a good way to drive repeat purchases.
Remember, any data collected from your customer must have their consent and follow the rules established by LGPD.
Show last units of shoes notice
In footwear e-commerce, a good portion of purchases are made by impulse, a way to trigger this urgency trigger is to add a warning on the product page after the customer selects the desired size, showing the quantity that remains.
The most common messages used in this feature are "Only x units left", "Take advantage! Last unit in stock". All of them are capable of awakening a sense of urgency, increasing the chances of finalized purchases.
It is worth remembering not to use this type of trigger frequently, or in products that in fact are not in limited stock, if the customer realizes that this argument of urgency is not true, the experience may be associated with bad feelings and even the search for competitors.
Content marketing in footwear e-commerce
People are after information before they even make a purchase. They want to know if the product they are buying is exactly what they need. For this reason, more and more consumers are looking for content about the product, reviews from other consumers, and in the case of the fashion and footwear market, about the current trends.
Your footwear e-commerce can use content marketing to add value to your purchases, inform about styles, compositions, and trends, and while doing so, attract the attention of consumers who do not yet know your brand and influence them.
Besides being an effective strategy, the content marketing will consolidate your brand as reliable in the eyes of the consumer. Of course it is a strategy with medium to long term results, but it enriches your brand and your e-commerce.
Use advanced search filters
Filters in your footwear e-commerce will play the role of a salesperson. They will help you find shoes of a certain color or size and styles, or for special occasions.
If your shoe e-commerce has a large variety of products, it is interesting to use filters with specific details to help your customer find what he is looking for. Therefore, identify the relevant characteristics of your products to facilitate navigation.
Another tip is to use the content present in the product pages, to make the navigation more natural, with information such as materials, origin, unique characteristics.
Suggestions for similar footwear or accessories
Your e-commerce can increase the average purchase ticket by suggesting products similar to the one the customer chose, or even accessories or complements for the product.
This strategy is used in several segments and brings interesting results, for the company and for the customer.
Footwear niche marketplace
In some cases, transforming your e-commerce in a marketplace can be one of the advantages to improve the revenue and increase your product mix through other sellers.
This concept is called marketplace in, when your e-commerce opens the doors for other partner retailers to sell through your domain, in exchange for predetermined conversion rates.
It is widely used in the niche market, and brings advantages to your brand that will position itself in the market as a specialist and the other retailers will be able to count on a new sales channel.
To apply these features in your footwear e-commerce, it is necessary that your platform has such resources, and also has the structure to transform it into a marketplace if necessary.
One of the platforms on the market that offers an interesting structure and high customization features is VTEXbut it is necessary to understand if it is the right option for your operation.
Contact our experts to understand how we can help your brand to innovate in the footwear segment.
