5 ways to improve customer experience for eCommerce

eCommerce competition is at an all-time high, and everyone is stepping up their strategy to keep up and stake their claim. Shopify reported that global eCommerce sales are expected to top $4.8 trillion in 2025. The company also points to Statista data that suggests that eCommerce will represent nearly 23% of total retail sales by 2027.

But as many eCommerce experts note, it takes a particularly seamless customer experience to make sure buyers hit that checkout button and keep coming back.

What is eCommerce customer experience?

Customer experience, or CX, in eCommerce refers to how consumers interact with your brand — particularly during the online shopping experience — and the impression those interactions leave. It encompasses all interactions along the customer journey before, during, and after a purchase.

A positive and seamless eCommerce customer experience can enhance customer loyalty and differentiate your brand in a highly competitive marketplace, ultimately driving business growth. Conversely, a clunky or frustrating eCommerce customer experience may leave consumers with a negative impression of your brand that can be difficult to overcome.

Why is customer experience for eCommerce important?

Ensuring consumers have a positive experience navigating your website and online store isn't just smart business. It's critical to your survival. The better the experience, the more likely they are to not just become loyal customers but also to recommend your products to others.

For globally minded eCommerce businesses, eCommerce localization is, therefore, a must. When you localize your website and online store using a robust eCommerce localization and translation management platform like Smartling, you can create personalized experiences for all your customers, no matter where they are in the world or what language they speak. That, in turn, will build customer loyalty and trust — two essential ingredients for sustained global growth.

5 best practices to improve customer experience for eCommerce

Are you searching for ways to improve your CX strategy and help your brand stand out during and far beyond the eCommerce boom? If so, there are plenty of tools to make your eCommerce site more compelling at various touchpoints to attract more visitors and transform them into loyal and repeat customers.

1. FRICTIONLESS PAYMENT

Frictionless payment is probably something everyone can appreciate as long as it is secure. The idea is to make the payment process so simple and organic that shoppers can quickly and easily make a purchase amid natural environments and everyday activities. That helps to remove a purchasing barrier and perhaps minimize shopping cart abandonment for online stores.

Apple Pay, one of the most popular digital wallets out there, is a great example of a frictionless payment experience. Users say it's easy to use and like its security and privacy features. Overall, digital wallet transactions in eCommerce are expected to grow at an annual rate of 15% from 2023 to 2027. Therefore, companies would do well to consider accepting payments from Apple Pay and other digital wallets during their checkout process.

2. CONSIDER TRANSCREATION

There is translation, and there is transcreation. The difference between the two comes down to creating an authentic experience for your audience. Transcreation means that you take extra steps — beyond the strict translation of words from one language to another — to convert your advertising or marketing copy from one language to another.

This type of translation emphasizes maintaining the original copy's context, tone, style, and intent, which will help maintain your brand and product message to convert multilingual visitors to enthusiastic and loyal shoppers.

It's also important to work directly with your translators to develop the most authentic, personalized content possible. Smartling makes it really easy to get in touch with your translators and even respond to any issues in a Slack channel. Translators are your cultural experts, well-versed in personalization for different markets, and can help you transform your content for a completely new audience.

3. AUTHENTIC PHOTOS

Most consumers can spot a stock image pretty quickly, which may or may not deter them from exploring your product further. Especially when you're considering localizing content, you want to include authentic photos to highlight your brand and each product you place in your store. 

You don't have to go overboard, either. You simply have to provide customers with realistic photographs that put your brand and offerings in the best light. Here are a few considerations for authentic photos:

• Focus on eCommerce localization with local models, locations, and styles.

• Concentrate on putting your product in the best light since consumers can visit any vendor for a competing product. Provide a clear basic image of the photo, then add the option to see images of it from all angles with the option to zoom in to see small details.

• Use a plain background for your product, which further emphasizes the item.

 If you take a look at Nike's homepage for the U.S., there's a prominent feature on Michael Jordan and his sneakers.

Yet when you flip to Brazil, there's a feature of a new popular shoe in that market.

This is just a quick example of how brands should be tailoring their experiences for different regions. Utilizing one single blanket website, just translated, doesn't always come across as authentic.

4. MULTILINGUAL SEO

If you want to bring in traffic, your website needs to be easily found. Simple as that. And that carries even further when we’re talking about selling globally.

Search engine optimization is the key that will unlock that door for you, but more specifically, multilingual SEO. In a global market, it is crucial to understand where your traffic is originating from so that you can tailor your content directly for those markets.

Also known as geotargeting, using international SEO and translation tools allows you to optimize your website for all relevant countries and languages.

Utilize keyword tracking tools to determine exactly how users are searching for your product or brand, and incorporate those keywords directly in your content for those specific markets.

5. MACHINE TRANSLATE USER-GENERATED CONTENT

User-generated content has become an invaluable tool in marketing. A 2023 PowerReviews survey found that virtually all (98%) of online shoppers considered reviews "an essential resource when making purchase decisions." So, there is no doubt you need to ensure that all your customers have a voice in any and every language.

Shoppers count on user reviews and insight to let them know more than whether the product was what they expected. It gives them insight into the entire experience with your brand and helps them decide whether an investment in your business and product is worth their time. 

Translating all of that content is one of the easiest ways to create an authentic experience. And via Smartling's AI-powered machine translation workflow, brands can quickly machine translate any user-generated content to deliver that authenticity without the overhead of professionally translating thousands of comments. 

Airbnb is the perfect example of how translating user reviews leads to a much more authentic and personalized experience. People looking to book stays or experiences can now read about other individuals' experiences directly in their own language — without having to leave the site or app to try and translate those reviews themselves.

How to measure overall customer experience

When done right, focusing on your eCommerce customer experience can improve customer satisfaction, enhance brand loyalty, and even turn customers into brand ambassadors. But how do you know you're on the right track with your CX strategy?

Retail companies use a few key metrics to conduct an eCommerce customer experience analysis and better understand how shoppers perceive them. These include:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): The NPS is based on a single survey question: "How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?" This can help you track customer loyalty over time and indicate which markets are poised for business growth.

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Many companies send out surveys that ask the customer to rate their overall satisfaction with a specific product or service. These can also give you insight into where your customers need additional support. You can then adjust your eCommerce localization strategy and multilingual customer support material accordingly.

• Customer Retention Rate: This gives you an idea of how many shoppers become — and stay — your customers. There are several different ways to track this, including measuring the purchase return rate, repeat purchase rate, customer churn rate, and average lifetime value.

How Smartling can upgrade your global eCommerce experience

It's all about creating a sticky and frictionless customer experience — removing the decisions that shoppers need to make to find the product they need and click on that checkout button.

Hundreds of companies trust Smartling to create personalized and seamless eCommerce experiences for their multilingual customers around the globe. Smartling's translation management platform and language services offerings support CX localization efforts into any language while centralizing workflows and simplifying the entire process. As a result, eCommerce businesses can translate content faster and engage with customers across all markets.

In addition to website translation, do you need Zendesk translation, Salesforce localization, and ServiceNow language translation? Smartling offers integrations with several popular eCommerce customer support platforms — including Zendesk, Salesforce Knowledge, ServiceNow, and many more — making it easy to localize customer support and other content without leaving the programs you use daily.

Want to learn more? Download the eBook A Translation Solution that Grows With Your Content to read more about how Smartling can help you achieve your localization goals and upgrade your customer experience.

eCommerce competition is at an all-time high, and everyone is stepping up their strategy to keep up and stake their claim. Shopify reported that global eCommerce sales are expected to top $4.8 trillion in 2025. The company also points to Statista data that suggests that eCommerce will represent nearly 23% of total retail sales by 2027.

But as many eCommerce experts note, it takes a particularly seamless customer experience to make sure buyers hit that checkout button and keep coming back.

What is eCommerce customer experience?

Customer experience, or CX, in eCommerce refers to how consumers interact with your brand — particularly during the online shopping experience — and the impression those interactions leave. It encompasses all interactions along the customer journey before, during, and after a purchase.

A positive and seamless eCommerce customer experience can enhance customer loyalty and differentiate your brand in a highly competitive marketplace, ultimately driving business growth. Conversely, a clunky or frustrating eCommerce customer experience may leave consumers with a negative impression of your brand that can be difficult to overcome.

Why is customer experience for eCommerce important?

Ensuring consumers have a positive experience navigating your website and online store isn't just smart business. It's critical to your survival. The better the experience, the more likely they are to not just become loyal customers but also to recommend your products to others.

For globally minded eCommerce businesses, eCommerce localization is, therefore, a must. When you localize your website and online store using a robust eCommerce localization and translation management platform like Smartling, you can create personalized experiences for all your customers, no matter where they are in the world or what language they speak. That, in turn, will build customer loyalty and trust — two essential ingredients for sustained global growth.

5 best practices to improve customer experience for eCommerce

Are you searching for ways to improve your CX strategy and help your brand stand out during and far beyond the eCommerce boom? If so, there are plenty of tools to make your eCommerce site more compelling at various touchpoints to attract more visitors and transform them into loyal and repeat customers.

1. FRICTIONLESS PAYMENT

Frictionless payment is probably something everyone can appreciate as long as it is secure. The idea is to make the payment process so simple and organic that shoppers can quickly and easily make a purchase amid natural environments and everyday activities. That helps to remove a purchasing barrier and perhaps minimize shopping cart abandonment for online stores.

Apple Pay, one of the most popular digital wallets out there, is a great example of a frictionless payment experience. Users say it's easy to use and like its security and privacy features. Overall, digital wallet transactions in eCommerce are expected to grow at an annual rate of 15% from 2023 to 2027. Therefore, companies would do well to consider accepting payments from Apple Pay and other digital wallets during their checkout process.

2. CONSIDER TRANSCREATION

There is translation, and there is transcreation. The difference between the two comes down to creating an authentic experience for your audience. Transcreation means that you take extra steps — beyond the strict translation of words from one language to another — to convert your advertising or marketing copy from one language to another.

This type of translation emphasizes maintaining the original copy's context, tone, style, and intent, which will help maintain your brand and product message to convert multilingual visitors to enthusiastic and loyal shoppers.

It's also important to work directly with your translators to develop the most authentic, personalized content possible. Smartling makes it really easy to get in touch with your translators and even respond to any issues in a Slack channel. Translators are your cultural experts, well-versed in personalization for different markets, and can help you transform your content for a completely new audience.

3. AUTHENTIC PHOTOS

Most consumers can spot a stock image pretty quickly, which may or may not deter them from exploring your product further. Especially when you're considering localizing content, you want to include authentic photos to highlight your brand and each product you place in your store. 

You don't have to go overboard, either. You simply have to provide customers with realistic photographs that put your brand and offerings in the best light. Here are a few considerations for authentic photos:

• Focus on eCommerce localization with local models, locations, and styles.

• Concentrate on putting your product in the best light since consumers can visit any vendor for a competing product. Provide a clear basic image of the photo, then add the option to see images of it from all angles with the option to zoom in to see small details.

• Use a plain background for your product, which further emphasizes the item.

 If you take a look at Nike's homepage for the U.S., there's a prominent feature on Michael Jordan and his sneakers.

Yet when you flip to Brazil, there's a feature of a new popular shoe in that market.

This is just a quick example of how brands should be tailoring their experiences for different regions. Utilizing one single blanket website, just translated, doesn't always come across as authentic.

4. MULTILINGUAL SEO

If you want to bring in traffic, your website needs to be easily found. Simple as that. And that carries even further when we’re talking about selling globally.

Search engine optimization is the key that will unlock that door for you, but more specifically, multilingual SEO. In a global market, it is crucial to understand where your traffic is originating from so that you can tailor your content directly for those markets.

Also known as geotargeting, using international SEO and translation tools allows you to optimize your website for all relevant countries and languages.

Utilize keyword tracking tools to determine exactly how users are searching for your product or brand, and incorporate those keywords directly in your content for those specific markets.

5. MACHINE TRANSLATE USER-GENERATED CONTENT

User-generated content has become an invaluable tool in marketing. A 2023 PowerReviews survey found that virtually all (98%) of online shoppers considered reviews "an essential resource when making purchase decisions." So, there is no doubt you need to ensure that all your customers have a voice in any and every language.

Shoppers count on user reviews and insight to let them know more than whether the product was what they expected. It gives them insight into the entire experience with your brand and helps them decide whether an investment in your business and product is worth their time. 

Translating all of that content is one of the easiest ways to create an authentic experience. And via Smartling's AI-powered machine translation workflow, brands can quickly machine translate any user-generated content to deliver that authenticity without the overhead of professionally translating thousands of comments. 

Airbnb is the perfect example of how translating user reviews leads to a much more authentic and personalized experience. People looking to book stays or experiences can now read about other individuals' experiences directly in their own language — without having to leave the site or app to try and translate those reviews themselves.

How to measure overall customer experience

When done right, focusing on your eCommerce customer experience can improve customer satisfaction, enhance brand loyalty, and even turn customers into brand ambassadors. But how do you know you're on the right track with your CX strategy?

Retail companies use a few key metrics to conduct an eCommerce customer experience analysis and better understand how shoppers perceive them. These include:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): The NPS is based on a single survey question: "How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?" This can help you track customer loyalty over time and indicate which markets are poised for business growth.

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Many companies send out surveys that ask the customer to rate their overall satisfaction with a specific product or service. These can also give you insight into where your customers need additional support. You can then adjust your eCommerce localization strategy and multilingual customer support material accordingly.

• Customer Retention Rate: This gives you an idea of how many shoppers become — and stay — your customers. There are several different ways to track this, including measuring the purchase return rate, repeat purchase rate, customer churn rate, and average lifetime value.

How Smartling can upgrade your global eCommerce experience

It's all about creating a sticky and frictionless customer experience — removing the decisions that shoppers need to make to find the product they need and click on that checkout button.

Hundreds of companies trust Smartling to create personalized and seamless eCommerce experiences for their multilingual customers around the globe. Smartling's translation management platform and language services offerings support CX localization efforts into any language while centralizing workflows and simplifying the entire process. As a result, eCommerce businesses can translate content faster and engage with customers across all markets.

In addition to website translation, do you need Zendesk translation, Salesforce localization, and ServiceNow language translation? Smartling offers integrations with several popular eCommerce customer support platforms — including Zendesk, Salesforce Knowledge, ServiceNow, and many more — making it easy to localize customer support and other content without leaving the programs you use daily.

Want to learn more? Download the eBook A Translation Solution that Grows With Your Content to read more about how Smartling can help you achieve your localization goals and upgrade your customer experience.