Essential elements for the ideal product page

Industry Insight

Many retailers find the crafting of product pages to be a significant challenge. Not only do they need all the right data in their product databases to ensure easy listing across multiple channels, they also must ensure the data is laid out effectively to improve the customer’s user experience.

A recent report from Marketing Sherpa broke down the makeup of successful retail product pages. The study noted three core areas that add value to the customer’s user experience – anxiety reduction, cost/value and information. Each of these areas consist of numerous individual elements. By picking and choosing essential elements across all three areas, retailers can craft the customer’s user experience and maximize their chances of closing a sale.

1. Information

The most successful product pages feature includes product descriptions, images, specifications, stock availability and similar products.

As the title of this category would suggest, these essential elements all relay information to customers. This includes product descriptions, images, specifications, stock availability and similar products. The most successful product pages feature those five core elements. Additional data, such as product videos or links to external websites, while welcome, don’t significantly improve sales.

2. Cost/value

These essential elements do their best to relay information that relates to or promotes the value of the item in question. Some of the most successful cost/value attributes include price of the product, free shipping offers and any handling costs.

3. Anxiety reduction

This category is designed to relieve any concerns customers may have about making a purchase. Some of the best performing product pages feature reviews, manufacturer contact information, ratings, testimonials and return policies.

Very few elements actually reduced purchase intent, but more elements elevated the value of the product page.

Generally speaking, more is better. MarketingSherpa noted that very few elements actually reduced purchase intent, but more elements elevated the value of the product page. Of course, there will always be some concerns about muddling the customer’s user experience by overloading product pages. Merchants don’t want their customers to get “analysis paralysis,” which occurs when there is so much information people don’t know where to look first.

However, the report did point to external site links as something for retailers to be aware of. Although these links help people make more informed purchase decisions, they also drive people to outside websites. The moment a customer leaves an eCommerce website, there is no guarantee that merchants will be able to get them back and make that purchase.

At the end of the day though, retailers need to give people all the information they need to make a purchase decision. Failure to do so may result in missing sales or higher return rates because customers didn’t get what they thought they were getting. Adding essential elements from these three areas can help retailers craft an effective user experience for their customers with the ideal product page.

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