Users can struggle anywhere on the site, but this segment of users have built some level of engagement with the site. They might be a few pages in, <50 interactions deep, but might need some support along the way. Your objective here is to build this intent. It feels like it’s too early to do that with a specific product, so we’d encourage to build intent with the brand. Answer the question “why should they purchase from your brand?”.
It’s worthwhile supporting them in product discovery, too given that they are both struggling and seemingly not reached evaluation phase, meaning they need help with their product selection.
Live Assistance for product support
Live Assistance for product support
If someone exhibits signs that they might be struggling with a purchase, or item, in store and they need help, the store assistant will often help them. The same is true online. Here, though, we can also directly see if intent drops. Offering live chat or video consultation services can replicate the in-store experience of seeking advice from a salesperson. This direct interaction allows customers to ask questions, gain insights, and receive personalised recommendations, thereby reducing indecision. You might already have live chat at this stage, so consider either a) promoting it or b) changing the language to support these customers so it’s more appropriate, rather than just being a functional “thing” sitting on a website.
Execution examples:
If live chat already exists, consider promoting it, popping it up or out of it’s current format to really emphasise the ability to support the user at this stage of their journey. The adverse can be true, too, where live chat can be hidden
Alternatively, consider changing the language to emphasise what support live chat can provide. Often hesitations of “is this just a bot” or “live chat is a tool for after sales support” can arise; don’t assume the user knows what to do with live chat or it’s purpose. Tell them. Directly asking “hey we noticed that you had this item in your basket, and you’ve left it there for some time” (for example) “can we ask the reason why?” might get some response. Incentivising that response might increase the response rate itself. You’re the shop keeper trying to re-engage this person, what would you do at this stage?
If live chat does not exist, consider promoting buying guides, size guides, or helpful information at the stage of the users journey. Dependant on where the user is, consider popping up or having in-content support that’s highlighted in-flight with the user.
Product Discovery: Highlight product differentiation
Product Discovery: Highlight product differentiation
The key to assisting users when searching for product lies in clear product differentiation. Enhancing the visibility and understanding of each product's unique benefits can significantly impact eveyones decision-making process. Remember, you’re selling the sizzle, not the steak. You're not selling what the product is, you're selling what it does. Consider:
Elevate Product Imagery: For some products in a listing format, consider making some products stand out more than others. Perhaps this could be based on what the user has seen previously or shown an interest in? Some products might have more of a benefit than others be that an exclusive product or something that has a unique attribute. Alternatively, just showing best sellers or highlighting products that are best sellers also works well (tip: consider asking what does best seller mean to your audience - and do they believe it)
Craft concise benefit statements: Giving the user something beyond titles and descriptions in listing pages. Consider including elevator pitches that highlight the unique selling points and benefits of products directly within the product listing grid. Think about how you would sell the product in a single sentence?
Product Discovery: Product Quizzes
Product Discovery: Product Quizzes
Product recommendations take implicit signals and turn that into a series of options for your audience. Product quizzes, on the other hand, take explicit signals and turn that into a series of options. They’re popular amongst brands where the end product is somewhat more complex - mattresses, for example, where the attributes of a mattress are so key and, quote unquote, personalised for the end user.
The idea of securing some guaranteed engagement from the individual, to give back some contextualised recommendations is so powerful that sometimes quizzes are even secured behind email capture fields - the idea of a value exchange in full force. A report by Octane AI indicates that e-commerce stores using quizzes have seen up to a 2x increase in conversion rates.
Execution examples:
Engage visitors with quizzes that deduce their preferences, offering tailored product recommendations based on their responses. Think about the questions that you’d ask in a store. It’s less about the attributes of the product, and more about the outcomes. If you’re selling a mattress, whether you’d like a hard or soft mattress is one thing (attributes) but how important sleep is to you is another thing (outcome)
Reprioritising quizzes on the page as a method to encourage engagement can be useful. If momentum is decreasing or the user is showing some signs of decreasing intent, whilst still trying to refine their products, using a product quiz at that time could really help push them through the refinement barrier. Consider the location of this.
Consider the context of the quiz, too. If the quiz is on the page already, despite a user showing signs of slowing down, reminding the user that it’s there, think about using language to persuade or encourage engagement. How many of your audience use the quiz every month, and how successful are they? Use social proof to give confidence in product quiz utilisation.
Having a value exchange at the end of the quiz; according to Klaviyo, brands that send personalized emails based on quiz results see a 60% higher open rate and a 50% higher click-through rate compared to their average emails.
Product Discovery: Product comparison
Product Discovery: Product comparison
Enhancing the user experience with tools that facilitate easy product comparison can significantly aid decision-making. Features that allow customers to compare products side-by-side, focusing on key attributes and benefits, can help clarify their choices. Ask - when making product decisions, what are the core differentiators between products? Often on a listing page, the answer is the image, the description and the price. But really, you know it’s so much more than that. How can you streamline your basket page, for example, in a way that really highlights the differences of the products they hold in their basket? Can you offer a different view on your listing page that highlights those differences in a more readable format?
Execution examples:
On a listing page, consider a different view for products where users can easily compare features or outcomes in a more readable way than just “a tile” (or card). You could offer the ability to change the entire listing page in a new readable format, or you could highlight two or three products in this format to break the page up. These products, too, could be those that the user has already shown a level of interest in
The same could be true on a product detail page, in lui or addition to recommendations. Alternatively, try for a similar feature on the homepage that shows product comparison in an easy to scan way.
Consider adding in testimonials to elevate the comparison, as product comparisons can often be stale and feature-orientated. But adding in a review component to add a level of social proof can elevate desire.