Smarter Ecommerce by John Batistich.pdf

John Batistich - 2021
Smarter Ecommerce
Actions to drive higher ecommerce performance
John Batistich – March 2023

Key takeaways
1. Ecommerce growth has flattened whilst acquisition and delivery costs are rising
2. We need to pull every lever to drive higher performance, optimising:
o Measurement
o Traffic
o Home Page
o Navigation
o Onsite-Search
o Product Details Page
o Checkout
o Delivery
o Personalised Relationship with high value lifetime customers
3. This presentation provides a range of opportunities to help improve CX, conversion and average
order value

Ecommerce Optimisation Checklist
Traffic Navigation On-Site Search Product Lists &
Filtering Topics
Home (Landing)
Page
Site
Speed
Product Pages Fulfilment
ü SEO
ü Direct
ü SEM
ü Email
ü Social
ü Video
ü Affiliates
ü Store
integration
ü Mobile product
catalogue
ü Persistent
primary nav
ü Don’t
overcategorise
ü Intuitive filters
ü Mobile
breadcrumbs
ü Drop down menu
delay
ü Optimise
comparison
features
ü Search Queries
ü Exact
ü Product Type
ü Symptom
ü Non-Product
ü Feature
ü Thematic
ü Compatibility
ü Slang/Abbreviation
ü Search form and logic
ü Search autocomplete
ü Filters
ü Results logic
ü Results layout
ü List Layout
ü Loading products
ü List items
ü product info and
thumbnails
ü interface and hit
areas
ü Filtering:
ü Available filters
ü Scope and logic
ü Interface and layout
ü Sorting
ü Fast speed load
ü Clean design
ü Compelling content
ü Easy main navigation
ü Intermediary category
pages
ü Site wide layout
ü Clear action paths
ü Digital subscription
services
ü Trust symbols
ü Readability
ü Accessibility
ü Platform
ü Structure
ü Content
ü Images
ü Features
ü Product page layout
ü Sufficient sizing
ü Product variations
ü Size buttons
ü Human models
ü High resolution images
ü Product video + 360 view
ü Scalable images
ü Product spec information
ü Product description
ü Clear price discount
ü Shipping, returns and gifting
ü Provide deliver options/speed
ü User reviews
ü Review ratings distribution
ü Link to returns policy
ü Cross sell and cross navigation
ü Single view of inventory
ü Automate inventory
management
ü Optimised replenishment
ü Rule based routing
ü Fulfil from store
ü Click and collect
ü Streamlined returns
ü Store credit/exchange
ü Pre-fill return labels
ü Track carbon emissions
ü Recycled packaging
Checkout Payments Personalisation Cyber security Commerce Platform Conversion AOV
ü Shopping cart and added cart
behaviour
ü Account selection and
creation
ü Customer and address
information
ü Gifting flow and features
ü Shipping and store pickup
ü Payment flow and methods
ü Credit card form
ü Order review
ü Order confirmation and email
with offers
ü Form and page design
ü User interactions and
distractions
ü Cross-sells
ü Minimise required form fields
ü Offer guest checkout
ü Convert to account
ü Minimise pages/stages
ü One click for members
ü Offer key payment options
ü Simple payment selector
design
ü Payment type auto detect
ü High perceived security cues
ü Data foundation
ü Design
ü Content
ü Decisioning and analytics
ü Distribution
ü Test and iteration
ü Employee firewall
ü Application control
ü Patch application
Configuring Microsoft
Office macro setting
User application
protection
ü Restrict administration
privileges
ü Patch operating
systems
ü Multi-factor
authentication
ü Regular back-ups
ü Respond/recovery
ready
ü Reporting and analysis
ü Mobile first design
ü Ease of integration
ü Scalability
ü Product Catalogue
ü Searchability
ü Site security
ü Flexible fulfilment
ü Support and service
ü Personalisation
ü Total ownership cost
ü Quality traffic (low bounce
rate)
ü Intuitive navigation
ü Effective search
ü Fast site speed
ü Optimised product pages
ü Guest checkout
ü Easy payment process
ü Trust signals
ü All key payment options
ü Easy returns policy
ü Service support
ü Repeat active customers
ü Offer supplementary and
complimentary products
ü Upsell
ü Cross sell bundling
ü Discounts on spend
thresholds
ü Free shipping thresholds
ü Live shopping events
ü Payment
ü Rewards program
Source: adapted from inputs from Baymard Institute research

Ecommerce Context
John Batistich – 2023

AU Retail Landscape
Source: ABS 8501. NAB Online Sales Index. Company Reports. JB Estimates.
Key Players
2022 Sales
Woolworths
$45.5B
Coles
$41B
Metcash/IGA
$12.7B
Aldi
$11.4B
Costco
$3.6B
Kmart
$5.6B
Big W
$4.6B
Target
$3.5B
Harris Scarf
$0.4M
Best & Less
$0.63M
Myer
$3.0B
David
Jones
$1.8B
Cotton On Group
$1.5B
Just Group $1.3B
Country Road
Group $0.9B
Accent $0.9B
The Iconic $0.91B
Retail Apparel
Group $0.63B
Sussan Group
$0.47B
APG & Co $0.38B
H&M $0.32B
Chemist
Warehouse
Group $8.8B
API $5.4B
Officeworks
$3.2B
Super Cheap
$1.3B
Rebel $1.1B
BCF $0.9B
Luxottica $0.68B
Bunnings
$18.5B
Harvey Norman
$5.3B
JB Hi-Fi $6.3B
Good Guys
$2.9B
Mitre 10 $3B
Ikea $1.7B
Greenlit $1.1B
Nick Scali
$0.25B
McDonalds $6.8B
Dominos $2.3B
Competitive $1.4B
Yum $0.9B
Collins $0.7B
Craveable $0.65B
Retail Food Group
$0.4B
GYG $0.45B
Foodco $0.3B
ebay GMV $3.5B Amazon $2.6B (+47.7%) Catch $0.37B (-27%) Kogan $0.6B (-34%)
Market
$411.7B
+11.3%
Food Retail
Supermarkets & Liquor
Discount
Depart.
Stores
Depart.
Stores
Apparel
Footwear
Accessories
Other
Leisure
Health
Household
Cafés
Restaurants
Takeaway
Sales $160.1B $21.95B $34.8B $64.2B $72.2B $58.2B
2022 Growth
vs LY
+5.2% +16% +23.9% +12% +7% +27%
25 Year
Growth Trend
+5.1%
Supermarkets +5.3%. Liquor +7.8% +2.5%
Clothing +5.6%
Footwear +4.6%
Pharmacy
+6.8%
Recreational
+3.8%
Furniture +5.4%
Electronics
+4.1%
Takeaway +6.9%
Café/Restuarants+
4.6%
Online Share 6.5% 20% 24% 12% 11% 10%
Retail grew 11.3% to a record $411.7B in 2022. Have we reached peak sales and profitability?

Online growth flatten in 2022
$8.2
$10.5
$12.8
$14.7
$16.4
$19.1
$21.7
$24.4
$28.6
$30.5
$44.2
$52.9
$53.3
2
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Sales
AUD Billions
Source: NAB Online Sales Index
29.0%
21.9%
14.8%
11.6%
16.4%
13.6%
12.4%
17.2%
6.6%
44.9%
19.9%
-…
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4.9%
5.8%
6.5%
6.8%
6.5%
7.1%
7.8%
8.9%
9.2%
12.6%
14.4%
13.0%
2
0
1
1
2
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1
2
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2
Sales Growth
MAT Vs LY
Share of Retail
Online Sales % of Total Sales
For 2022, Ecommerce growth slowed to $53.3B now accounting for +13% of Total Retail Sales

Online sales growth comps
$169.9
$200.3
$231.9
$263.6
$303.0
$347.0
$397.3
$461.0
$523.6
$598.0
$815.0
$960.0
$1,034.0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Source: Digital Commerce 360, US Department of Commerce.
Total retail figures excludes restaurants, bars, cars and fuels
$8.2
$10.5
$12.8
$14.7
$16.4
$19.1
$21.7
$24.4
$28.6
$30.5
$44.2
$52.9 $53.3
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
US Online Sales
USD Billions
Australia Online Sales
AUD Billions
Online sales shifted 4 years forward as a result of covid in AU

Online sales growth not comping LY
29.0%
21.9%
14.8%
11.6%
16.4%
13.6%
12.4%
17.2%
6.6%
44.9%
19.9%
0.7%
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
16.8%
17.9%
15.8%
12.7%
13.9%
15.6%
13.5%
15.6%
14.2%
12.5%
42.8%
17.8%
7.7%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
US Online Sales Growth vs Total % Australia Online Sales Growth %
Online sales growth has slowed and is struggling to comp LY in AU

Online share of total retail steps up
6.4%
7.2%
8.0%
8.8%
9.7%
10.7%
11.8%
13.2%
14.4%
15.8%
21.3%
19.2%
21.2%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
US Online Share of Total Retail %
4.9%
5.8%
6.5%
6.8%
6.5%
7.1%
7.8%
8.9%
9.2%
12.6%
14.4%
13.0%
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Australia Online Share of Total Retail %
Online sales retreated as a share of total retail for the first time and under-indexes other markets like US, UK and China

Online sales growth by category slowing
Category Ecommerce Growth – 2021 and 2022 vs LY
Australia
Media and Takeaway Food are the best performing online categories whilst Fashion declined in 2H of 2022.

Source: Australia Post
In 2022, online parcel purchases were below 2020 and slightly down on 2021 despite a record Nov/Dec.
Online parcel volumes
Online purchase volume by week
2019 - 2022
Fashion and Footwear purchases by week
2022

Source: Similar Web John Batistich - 2023
Largest and faster growing fashion sites
Fast Fashion
The iconic, Rebel and Farfetch led their categories whilst Shein, Nike and Depop are amongst the fastest growing brands
Activewear Luxury/Designer

6 Moments of Truth and
Problems to Solve

Search
Find
Buy
Pay
Acquire
Use
Share
Relationship
Discovery
Lightning Fulfilment
o Options/Choices
o Fast/local
o Free
o Branded
o Sustainable
o Automated
Invisible Payments
o Cashless/touchless/cardless
o Debit over Credit
o BNPL/Digital Wallets
o Digital currencies
o One to zero click/make it easy
Programmatic Personalisation
o Personalised content
o Know me and value me
o Relevance and exclusivity
o Membership/subscriptions
Seamless Support
o Easy returns/refunds
o Service/live chat
o Referral
o Review/recommendations
o Protect me
Faster Search
o More predictive/faster/less time
o Help me get what I want
o Rise of Marketplaces
o Solutions over brands
Wider Discovery
o More options/time
o Social, live and entertaining
o Collapsing funnels
6 shopper moments of truth
Search terms: How,
what, where, why, best
ideas and tips
Search terms: Buy now,
best place, start free trial,
promo and get free gift
.

Solve 6 problems to solve
Find exactly
what I want
Place an
order
Trust
checkout
process
Create an
account
Find your
return policy
See
shipping
options and
times
Add a link to your
site’s return policy
within product page,
site footer, Help
section , FAQ section
and the page where
a customer initiates a
return of a purchase
Minimise form fields,
mark required vs
optional, add key
payment times and
strengthen security
perception
Put free shipping
information near, but not
in, the “Buy” section,
add express options
and add expected
delivery times
Identify the most
important benefits of
creating an account with
concise bulleted list of
benefits and position
near
“create account”
Put a ‘Place Order’
button above the fold on
the order review page.
Include the confirmation
step in your process
steps.
Audit your filter
categories for user
language and search
queries
For ecommerce there are 6 core enduring problems to solve

Smarter Measures
Have we developed clear customer and business measures and understand the levers for performance?

Performance drivers
Sales
Average
Order
Value
Revenue
How many new
visitors or returning
customers visit the
site and don’t bounce
Visits
The key strategic choices remain: can we get more visitors (new or returning), who buy something and buy more
Conversion
The number of
visitors who
complete a purchase
The average value of
that purchase
(number of units and
pricing)
X X =

Cart abandonment rates remain high
Source: Baymard Institute. John Batistich - 2023
At 69%, cart abandonment rates remain very high with retailers focused on reducing the friction/steps from averages of 5-6 clicks
Number of Checkout Steps
Top 50/100 Grossing US Online Retailers 2021 vs 2016
4%
9%
22%
28%
18%
11%
4%
3%
2% 2%
16%
28%
36%
16%
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
69.6%
69.2%
2019 2021
Cart Abandonment Rates
Global Average 2021 vs LY

Lower cart abandonment rates
Source: Baymard Institute John Batistich - 2023
Reasons for Abandonment During Checkout
US – 2021 vs 2022
4%
7%
11%
12%
17%
17%
18%
19%
24%
49%
4%
9%
12%
13%
16%
17%
18%
22%
24%
48%
Credit card declined
Weren't enough payment menthods
Returns policy wasn't satisfactory
Site had errors or crashed
Couldn't see total order cost up front
Didn't trust site with credit card details
Too long/complicated checkout process
Delivery was too slow
Wanted me to create an account
Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees)
Consumers want to the know the total price and when they will get the product with ease, guest options and speed

Source: Similar Web John Batistich - 2023
Conversion rates remain low
6.34%
5.42%
4.75%
4.35% 4.26%
4.11%
3.25%
2.91% 2.88% 2.83%
2.14%
1.99%
Germany UK Poland France US Italy Australia Brazil Canada Sweden Mexico India
Average ecommerce conversion rates 2020
To improve the conversion rate understand whether the customer is in discovery, navigational or buyer mode and test
improvements to key product page and payment moments

Conversion rate opportunities
Source: SEMRush. SimilarWeb. Baymard Institute
Easy
Checkout
AB test headlines
Understand users modes
and needs
Personalise emails based
on search/purchase
Own ‘buy intent’ keywords
Maximise returning visits
Be where your best
customers are during
discovery
Trust
Service
Signals
Brilliant
Product
Details
Clear calls to action
No more than 3 clicks
Autofill details
Checkout as guest option
Add stages path
Add countdown timer
Integrate with store POS
Add live chat
Security cues
Money back guarantee
Competitive refunds
Competitive and easy
returns
Abandonment email
Carbon offsets and charity
contribution
Beautiful ‘in scale’ images
In Stock
Free shipping
Social proof: reviews and
ratings distribution
Site and community FAQs
Cross sell supplementary
and alternative
Key BNPL (e.g. Zip) options
Quality
Traffic
Retailers can drive better conversion through intentional (buying intent) visits, beautiful design, brilliant product details, easy checkout
and trust/service signals
Clear proposition
Clean mobile
navigation/design
Make initial steps really
easy
Simple registration
Remove unnecessary
form fields
Remove distractions
Site speed that snaps
Intuitive
Design

Improving average order value
Source: Databox US Retailer Survey 2020
Organic and Email traffic sources, and upsell and cross-sell strategies drive higher AOV
6%
24%
70%
+$501
$101-$500
<$100
55%
58%
65%
67%
Free Shipping
Thresholds
Product Bundling
Cross-sells
Upsells
2.8
3.2
3.3
3.7
4.7
5.0
5.2
Affiliate
Paid
Social
Referral
Direct
Email
Organic
Distribution of AOV Traffic Sources Delivering Highest AOV
Rating out of 7
AOV Strategies Employed
Average $264
Median $70

Average order value opportunities
Source: Adapted from Databot, Venditan, Oberlo 2020
Payment
Pages
Drive organic, direct or
email traffic sources
Market to best and heavy
user audience
Use web design to highlight
higher priced items
AB testing
Relationship
Cross Sell
Bundling
Traffic
+ Design
Growing AOV is a key ecommerce revenue lever and involves minimal marketing spend
Upsell
Minimum dollar threshold
for free shipping
Add upsell offer on order
confirmation
Provide bounce back offers
Offer live chat for quick
questions
Amplify social proof
Make sure your returns are
flexible
Exclusive discounts for new
visitors
Add a discounted upsell
after order completion
Display supplementary or
higher priced alternative
products
Offer gift cards on spend
thresholds
Show savings with multibuy
Cross sell in your email flow
Discount add-on items
Bundle added value
products
Provide group-buying
incentives
Only offer discounts on
multi-packs
Offer time sensitive
(limited) deals
Create a compelling
subscription offer
Add a loyalty/rewards
program
Let customers trial higher
priced services
Offer higher priced
payment/finance plan
Personalise emails based
upon search and purchase
behaviours

Reducing cart abandonment opportunities
Source: Adapted from Baymard Institute John Batistich - 2023
Reduce cart shock (pricing and delivery), remove barriers, build trust/reduce complexity and deliver key payment options earlier to
decrease abandonment rates
Remove
Barriers
Clear total cost
Bring delivery options and date
on product details
Build targets for free delivery
Show returns info upfront
Show final price sooner
Build Trust
+ Reduce
Complexity
Response
Recovery
Key Payment
Options +
Earlier
Option to log-in early
Guest check-out option
Move account sign-up at end
Remove unnecessary fields
Use auto-fill
Display trust signals
Visualise roadmap
Review order before pay
Offer choice
Remove steps
Bring forward to product details
Reduce
Cart
Shock

Source: Company Reports John Batistich - 2023
Focusing on revenue per active customers
Retailers like Temple & Webster ($69 CPA) and Adore Beauty are increasingly focused on revenue per active customer focused on
driving repeat frequency
178
192
204 206
224 225
FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22
Annual Revenue Per Active Customer $
368 375 385
400
440
465
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Annual Revenue Per Active Customer $

Prioritising existing high value customers
Source: Shopify John Batistich - 2023
With so much new penetration over the last 3 years, identifying best customers, determining LTV, develop rewards and evaluate recurring revenue
models become important opportunities
Earn
Loyalty
Most valuable customers
Map journey
Conversion paths
Up and cross sell
Recurring
Revenue
Models
Segment
Customer
LTV
Integrate rewards
Offer VIP exclusivity
Referral programs
Streamline billing process
Create tiers
Personalisation
Returning customers
Responsive moments
Predict to prevent churn
Target
Best
Customers

Smarter Traffic
Have you optimised traffic generation across new and existing customers?

Device behaviour
Source: Pattern Australia
Mobile grows to 70% of traffic with conversion rising across all devices
Device Traffic and Conversion
FY22 vs FY21

Channel performance
Source: Pattern Australia
Organic, SEM and Direct channels account for 78% of traffic and 76% of ecommerce revenue in FY22
Channel Performance Overview
FY22 vs FY21

Seizing your SEO opportunities
Enhancing your SEO performance remains the first priority to drive organic traffic
Unique
Compelling
Content
Internal link architecture
Bot accessibility
Sitemaps
URL structure
Server response codes
Monitor keyword rankings
Use high informational
and intent words
Measure campaigns
Site speed
Domain
Authority
Measure
Test
Improve
Local
Create relevant helpful
content
Remove duplicative or
unnecessary content
Data driven title tags
Acquire quality backlinks
Connect with reporters,
influencers, partners,
vendors for relevant
backlinks
Disavow spammy backlinks
Complete and up-to-date
Google My Business
Local business listings
Local directory submission
Site
Structure

Allow users to choose the frequency of emails
Allowing users to select a frequency of emails can help retain users who would otherwise unsubscribe to avoid becoming overwhelmed (80% don’t)
19%
28%
35%
40%
51%
59%
Content what not what I expected
Content pushed me to buy too much stuff
Don't remember subscribing
No longer interestes in the content
Emails came too often from specific retailer
I get too many emails from most of retailers
Reasons Users Unsubscribe from Email
US 2022

Online acquisition costs have risen sharply
Source: Jarden from Company Data
The cost of customer acquisition are rising sharply group across pure plays. Retailers are spending more and getting less
Data includes Kogan, Temple and Webster, Redbubble, Adore Beauty and Cettire
Average ecommerce Customer Acquisition Costs
Australia $ per customer FY17 to FY22
FY22 vs FY21

search shifts
Email and mobile
campaigns built on first
party data leveraged
across channels
Browse, purchase,
category interest and cart
abandonment
Drive Local Inventory
Ads connecting with My
Business
With more than half of people starting the online shopping journey on Google, building a robust plan and campaigns is essential
Advanced AI
Search
Automation YouTube
Performance
Max
Grow first
party data
Driving YouTube Shorts,
and Shopping live streams
Continue to foster
influencer content
including
reviews/recommendations
YouTube TV focuses on
moving to the big screen
Driving more performance
campaigns
Visual search on
Google Lens to rise
Dynamic search Ads
Performance Max
Responsive Search
Ads
Block ChatGPT
adding advanced AI
Setting campaigns
Evaluating creative
performance to drive
continual optimisation
Improved A/B and lift
measurement testing
Smart Shopping and
Local Ads transitioned
to Performance Max
Improved targeting
and reporting features
for awareness and
consideration goals

Search science increases clicks by 31%
Source: Google https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-aunz/marketing-strategies/search/supercharge-search-ads-behavioural-biases/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=d-content-alert-visual&utm_team=twg-aunz&utm_campaign=TwG-AUNZ-CAV-2021-09-14-
Supercharge-Search-ads-Knak&utm_content=cta-btn&mkt_tok=MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAF_gJPZh1DpxnJgjZB__2doNbAZ3_KiawUzStiF82eEGCXNpdMq7VQ5H4XT8-OX0C9FnGkEPv2wmFj6B76iRQv90FSEXzuRwXgMg9Nw5mvUa0uy
When used intelligently and responsibly, behavioural science principles are powerful tools to win and defend consumer preference in large
consideration set categories
Authority
Bias
Social
Proof
Premium
Signals
Framing
Power of
Free
Free items, offers, and
vouchers with a
purchase can be a big
motivator.
When brands, products,
and services are backed
by experts and trusted
sources, they stand out
from the competition.
Reviews,
recommendations, and
highlighting a popular
choice within a relevant
reference group can be
very persuasive.
Changing the frame of
reference can help people
reconsider the value of a
product or service. For
example, framing can
highlight benefits such as
convenience or time-savings.
Demonstrating the
premium nature of a
product through
premium associations,
such as an ad during
Fashion Show.

shifts
Prioritising short-form
video content pushed to
user feeds
Trying to compete with
Tik Tok
Caution on soundless
default and quick 3
second scroll
Facebook ad trends focus on short-form content, video on mobile
Mobile
Optimisation
Facebook
Story Ads
Rising Costs
Augmented
Reality Ads
Short-form
video
More advertisers and a
little less users driving
higher costs
Focus on the lifetime
value of the best
customers you acquire
93% of revenue comes
from Mobile
Create mobile friendly
ad content with strong
headline, right image
format and call to action
Full screen photos and
video
Use mixture of mobile-
shot content and studio
shot content
Seek audience
interaction (e.g. user
votes)
Rolling out new
features this year
Allows customers to
try-on products or sit-
inside a car/place to
choose the best
product for you

shifts
Video post are prioritised
and become Reels (short
form video)
Back Video memes that
are abstract, funny, cute
and relatable
New audience reach and
visibility to drive
engagement and
conversion
Instagram is scaling back ecommerce and doubling down on engaging immersive video content
Double AI
Recommend
ations
Creators
Inspired
Content
Live Stream
AR, 3D and
Avatars
Boost
Video
(Reels)
More live content,
specifically live shopping
Interact in real time
More in-app shopping as
shoppable posts
Diversity will be
advantaged and
misinformation
disadvantaged
AI content
recommendations to
boost engagement
Bring more
personality to
beautiful photos
Build stronger sense
of community and
engagement
Double down on
relatable content
creators
Brands to draw
inspiration and
audiences from creators
Increase incentives to
attract the best creators
(passion into a living)
Rolling out new
features this year to
improve engagement

is driving social commerce
Understand the types on
content that generate
engagement (e.g. POV,
storyline, self growth,
vulnerability, transitions,
green screen effect,
challenges, dancing, family,
pop culture, nostalgia, day
in the life and tik tok made
me buy it)
With Meta pulling back from commerce in favour of advertising, Tik Tok is paused to develop social commerce
Uplifting
Entertainment
Partner with
Creators
Shop
Leverage
Trends
Hyper
Personalised
Content
Harness the power of
trends to educate,
engage, cultivate and
sustain culture.
Leverage Trend
Discovery Tool to
Newness and inspiration
are key user needs
Branded content that
is fun, energising and
entertaining
Need to deliver
creative joy (positive
feelings) for real
impact
Use unique sounds
and songs
Rolling out Shop
features
Users are 1.5X more
likely to buy
something discovered
compared to Meta
platforms
Planning open
fulfilment centres
Collaborate with
relevant creators to
test and learn.
Tap into the Creator
marketplace to find
the right partners

Smarter Arrival
Have you optimised for the multiple landing page?

Landing page effectiveness
Improving the performance of your landing page reduces bounce rates and results in better conversion
Clean
Design
Meet customer expectations
from traffic source
Headline relevant to visit
purpose
Headline is concise, direct
and ‘on brand’
Outline personal benefits
Trust badges
Customer ratings and
reviews
Testimonials
Fast
Loading
Trust
Indicators
Clear Action
Path
Prioritise key elements
White space
Demonstrative media
Showcase products in
action
Personalise at scale
Fast load speeds
Clean backend code
Good caching plugins
Clear actions for discovers,
finders and buyers
Intuitive navigation
Create a sense of urgency
Optimisation is a habit (AB
testing)
Compelling
Content &
Headline

Avoiding 8 homepage pitfalls
1. Unconventional navigation
2. Not making the search field immediately obvious
3. Failing to visually feature a broad range of Product Types
4. Lack of visual hierarchy
5. Lack of bespoke brand imagery, low resolution or outdated images
6. The use of overly aggressive and distracting Ads
7. Poor implementation of carousels
8. No clear call to actions/paths
Common Pitfalls
The homepage experience has three primary product-finding paths: category navigation, search, and curated paths

Faster site speed lowers bounce rates
The slower your site the higher the bounce rate and the poorer the user experience. Site speed also helps SEO rankings so
make it snap!
Site Speed (Seconds) and Bounce Rate
30%
40%
57%
62%
67%
1 3 5 6 10
Seconds per Actions
Source: Akamai

Improving site speed
Source: Altexsoft John Batistich - 2023
Content
Use fast ‘out of the box’ platform
Use fast reliable hosting
Unlock the browser from parser-
blocking scripts
Reduce server response time
Minify your code
Minimise the number of
JavaScript and CSS files
Features
Structure
Use content delivery network
Decrease thumbnail image size
Compress/reduce images in size
and number
Ease up on homepage hero
slides
Use lite embeds to add video
Use pop-ups sparingly
Reduce the use of web fonts
Test/optimise on mobile
Reduce the number of plug-ins
Weigh the benefits of installing
another app on your site
Use website caching
Reduce redirects
Organise Google Tag Manager
Conduct Google speed tests
Reduce unused Javascript
Reduce redirects/remove broken
links
Database optimisation in CMS
Detect 404 errors
Platform
Customers expect webpages to load in one or two seconds. We need to improve site performance through platform, structure, content
and features

Smarter Navigation
Have you optimised site navigation to help users find what they are looking for?

Advanced practice navigation
Source: Baymard Institute
Slight Delay
Drop Down
Menus
Don’t
Overcategorise
Product
Catalogue
Better
Mobile
Breadcrumbs
Optimise
Comparison
Features
Mobile
Product
Categories
How would we rate our navigation against advanced practices that improve conversion?
Expand
Search Query
Tagging
Make product
categories top
level nav on mobile
Flickering drop
down menu hovers
can create
navigation issues
forcing customers to
cope or give up
Avoid
‘overcategorisation’ in
favour of filters with
share attributes to
improve the product
search experience
Quickly access
paths and make it
easier for users to
find products of
interest
Remove identical
attributes, group
attributes by category,
persist column headings
during scrolling and use
horizontal styling to
define rows
Optimising on-
site search
across query
spectrum,
qualifiers and
structure

1. Product categories nav on mobile
Make product categories top level nav on mobile
Problem
o Mobile users rely on the main navigation to understand the product catalogue
and zero-in on products
o Nesting the main product categories in the mobile main nav under ‘shop’ or
similar can lead to abandoning main navigation and attempt search on the
homepage
o But 33% of mobile sites in the UX benchmark make it overly difficult to use
the main navigation for product finding
o Exposing product categories as top-level main navigation items alleviates the
issue for most users
Solution
o List product categories as top-level items in the mobile main investigation
alleviates this issue

2. Slight delay to drop down menu hover
Flickering drop down menu hovers can create navigation issues forcing customers to cope or give up
Problem
o Hover-based drop-down menus allow users to get started
with quickly browsing categories are great for exposing site
categories and subcategories (60% fail)
o As a result some users will be reluctant to interact with the
main navigation when searching for products
o Drop downs that disappear unexpectedly cause friction to
product search
o Flickering (flimsy) drop down menus cause serious and
triggering unwanted categories navigational issues. Some
learn to cope others give up
Solution
o Implement a 500 milliseconds hover delay to alleviates
flickering issues

3. Don’t overcategorise the product catalogue
Avoid ‘overcategorisation’ in favour of filters with share attributes to improve the product search experience
Problem
o Overusing categories can force users into overly narrow product
scopes, leading to users struggling to find suitable products (70%
of benchmarked sites fail)
o ‘Overcategorisation’ harms users’ ability to navigate the product
catalogue
Solution
o Avoiding subcategories in favour of filters for products with shared
attributes resolves the issue for most users
o Determining whether a group of product types should be filters or
categories is site specific and directly related to the amount of
information available for the different product types

4. Better mobile product page breadcrumbs
Quickly access paths and make it easier for users to find products of interest
Problem
o Breadcrumbs perform a lot of heavy lifting on mobile sites given hidden main nav
o When breadcrumbs are hard to find or fail to provide access to the complete
path navigation is more difficult that can lead to abandonment
o During testing, users were generally more successful using breadcrumbs on
sites that offered complete “Hierarchy” breadcrumbs
Solution
o Avoid overly long breadcrumb paths
o Avoid ‘overcategorisation’
o Suppress the homepage and product page layers of the hierarchy
o Style differently than other textual page elements
o Provide with ample surrounding white space
o Include visual separators

5. Optimise comparison features
To ensure the comparison feature performs well for users, it’s key that the following 4 design details are implemented: remove identical attributes,
group attributes by category, persist column headings during scrolling and use horizontal styling to define rows
Problem
o Comparison features allow users to directly compare individual product
attributes across multiple products. Users can find comparisons against attributes
difficult to use and to understand resulting in site abandonment
Solutions
o Remove identical attributes when many or most of the individual product attributes
are exactly the same across products, as it’s not easy to discern how products
differ. Allow users to hide attributes when they’re the same for the products being
compared
o Group attributes by category rather than alphabetically Having related features
grouped together allows users to see them all at once, making it easier to get an
overview of more general attributes
o Persist column headings during scrolling
o Use horizontal styling to define rows

Smarter Search Queries
Have you optimised for the relevant search queries?

8 Key Search Queries
Product
Type
Symptom Non-Product
Exact
Thematic Compatibility
Slang
Abbreviation
Symbol
Feature
Little Black Dress
Ray-ban Shades
Winter Jacket
Returns Policy
Dry Cough
Leather Jacket Iphone14 Screen Protector
Have you optimised for the relevant search queries?
Sportscraft Spencer Linen
Blazer size 40 in Indigo

Improving on-site search
Optimising on-site search across query spectrum, qualifiers and structure
25%
31%
54%
63%
67%
70%
71%
86%
73%
8%
12%
27%
2%
61%
46%
25%
33%
30%
2%
14%
Symptom
Product Type
Thematic
Non-Product
Slang and Symbols
Compatability
Exact
Feature
Search Query Support Among Top 60 Sites
2021 %

1. Exact Search query
What
o When users know the exact product they are looking for, they will typically rely
on Exact Search, entering the product’s title or model number
o “Exact Searches” are typically the easiest to support technically, and most of
the tested sites fared reasonably well
Considerations
o Needs good handling of phonetic misspellings since the user may only have
heard the product title spoken and not know how to spell it
o Some products have alternative titles— all of which should invoke their
respective product, particularly important for global e-commerce sites where
product naming may be localised
o Users often don’t type out the product title themselves. During testing,
participants were often observed to copy-paste product titles from external
sites into the search field
o Acquiring all local and alternate spellings can prove quite the challenge.
Partnering with relevant industry databases can help acquire this product
information
Consider misspellings, alternative titles, copy-paste titles and localised spelling when optimising for exact searches

2. Product Type query
What
o When users aren’t looking for a specific product, but rather a type of product, they
will rely on Product Type queries and query for a whole category of products (e.g.
Little Black Dress)
o When used on their own, Product Type queries are generally an attempt by the
user to quickly access a category on the site
Considerations
o When the site can be sure of a match with a Product Type query and an existing
category auto-direct
o Requires detailed categorisation and labelling of products including synonyms and
alternate spellings of those groupings
o Users don’t try another synonym and accept poor search results then move on
o Audit synonyms for regional dialects near-identical word meanings (i.e.
“multifunction printers” vs. “all-in-one printer”), regional dialect synonyms
(i.e. “spanner” vs. “wrench”) regional spelling variations (i.e., “fibre” vs. “fiber”)
o Enable relevant filtering and sorting options so the user can easily narrow down the
list and compare products
Detailed categorisation, labelling and synonym matching will help deliver better search experience

3. Symptom Search query
What
o Sometimes users don’t even know the type of product they are looking for — all they know is
the problem that they are experiencing hoping to find a viable solutions
o Important because they will often be the user’s last recourse
o Vital to chemists, health and beauty, tools and hardware supplies, cleaning and
housekeeping, specialty electronics, and B2B categories
Considerations
o Use placeholder text of the search field to let users know that they can search by symptom
o Users can also be guided during search query formulation with the help of scope
suggestions
o Scope suggestions are a good complement to “Symptom” queries because they begin to
reveal hints at possible solutions (i.e. categories) that can help guide users to a related
query path
o Integrating or interlinking any help or buying guides available on the site directly on the
search results page is essential
Search by product, brand and symptom can help users trying to solve a problem in a moment of need

4. ‘Non-Product’ Search query
What
o “Non-Product” queries are when users search for something that isn’t a
product, such as the return policy, unsubscribe or shipping information
o Search engine shouldn’t be limited to just searching the product catalogue
o Users expect the search field to search the entire website
o Users often search for this type of auxiliary content when they had difficulties
finding navigational links to it.
Considerations
o Measure non-product searches to inform what and how prominently should these
search be supported
o On mobile, finding non-product content via on-page links or navigation can be
even more challenging as these options are often even harder to find compared to
desktop sites
o Redesign to support better non-product queries on the page footer outside of the
help section
Make it easy to find non-product searches that support the purchase experience

5. Feature Search queries
What
o Feature queries are queries that include one or more product attributes in the
search (e.g. “leather jacket”)
o Features can be a wide range of product attributes include colour, material,
performance specs, format, price. brand and size
o Feature” queries are nearly always used as a qualifier for another search type
— a way to filter the results of a certain search (e.g. blue breathable north face
jacket)
Consideration
o Users are increasingly expect robust search of Google carry over to search on
your e-commerce site
o Dynamically apply any features searched for as filters on the results page (if a
filtering value for the feature exists) increasing user transparency and user
control
o Sites with poor support for Feature queries are perceived negatively by users,
given the relatively wide support for Feature queries in e-commerce
Tag a wide range of feature search including colour, material, performance specs, format, price. brand and size

6. Thematic Search query
What
o Thematic search (“living room rug” or “retro dress”) can be vague and include usage
locations (e.g. “living room furniture”), seasonal or environmental conditions (e.g. “winter
jacket”), occasions and events (e.g. “wedding gift”) and promotional attributes
(“sale lipsticks”)
o interpretation is required to support “Thematic” searches, both in terms of the meaning of
the actual query itself and also in the internal tagging of products
Considerations
o Indeed, it’s vital that a query for, for example, “winter jacket” presents all the relevant
products, not just the handful of products that happen to have those keywords in their title
or description
o Design thematic tagging of the product catalogue to determine, for example, which jackets
would be suitable for Winter (and which wouldn’t)
o Support for most Thematic queries is often achieved by having these thematic attributes as
actual filtering values that are then pre-applied when users search by them
o If “Thematic” search queries aren’t supported, users trying Thematic queries are left
with absent, few, or irrelevant results, which can give the impression that the products
sought simply aren’t available at the site
Tag a wide range of thematic searches including seasons, occasions and promotions

7. Compatibility Search queries
What
o Users often don’t know the name of the accessory or spare part they need —
instead they know the details of the product they already own
o It’s therefore not uncommon to see users perform Compatibility queries, where
they input the name or brand of a product they own along with the type of
accessory or spare part they are looking for, such as “Sony RX100 camera
case”
Considerations
o Compatibility queries should therefore obviously work with product models
o When they don’t know the specific product model, more generic product types
and brand names will be required
o Add accessories or compatible products to the search result
o Compatibility relationships can be very complex and have numerous
dependencies that can be difficult to capture in a free text search
o Integrate Compatibility searches with any product finders available on the site
Tag products to their accessories adding compatible products to search results

8. Slang/Abbreviation/Symbol Search queries
What
o Users rely on a wide range of linguistic shortcuts when they search.
o Users frequently relied on Slang, Abbreviation, and Symbol Searches, writing slang-based
queries such as “RayBan shades”, or including abbreviations like or relying on symbols such
as “sleeping bag -5 degrees”
Considerations
o Mapping between different terms pairing slang words like “kicks” with “shoes”
o Symbols can prove a little tricker since they may act as more than mere synonyms and may
change meaning depending on the word arrangement of the query. For example, the “-” symbol
could be used to denote both a minus (e.g. “sleeping bag for -10 deg.”) and a range
(e.g. “sweaters $50-$100”). In these instances, not only does the meaning of the symbol change,
but the symbol also acts as a filtering instruction
o Users often copy-paste search queries from various sources during activities like research and
comparison shopping. Considering that some copy-pasted product titles include symbols (e.g.
“Men’s Levi’s® 511™ Slim-Fit Stretch Jeans”), it’s important that search properly interpret these
symbols when generating results or risk giving users the perception that a product simply isn’t
available if it doesn’t appear at or near the top of search results
Tag products with their slang, abbreviation and symbols to improve search results

Smarter Product Pages
Have you optimised for the product details page (a moment of truth)?

Advanced practice product pages
Provide sufficient
sizing information
Product
Variations
Size
Buttons
Human
Models
High Res and
Zoom Images
Sufficient
Sizing
Ensure product images
have sufficient
resolution and zoom
Combine product
variations into one list
item
Use buttons for each
size variation
Provide images of
apparel products on a
human model
How would we rate our product page UX against advanced practices that improve conversion?
Clear price
discount
Provide
delivered
cost/time
Rating
Distribution
Reviews
Link to Return
Policy
Product
Description
Readability
Accessibility
Product
Information
Provide relevant,
accurate and complete
product information
Easy to scan product
highlights with strong
visual proof
Highlight discounted
price clearly right next
previous price
outlining the saving
Specify lowest
delivered total cost
and expected timing
with express option
Users expect a ratings
distribution for reviews to
understand good and bad
experiences
Link competitive
returns policy
and footer to
reduce anxiety
Meets readability
and accessibility
standards

Product details page moment of truth
Source: Adapted from Baymard Institute John Batistich - 2023
1. All Products Need At Least One ‘In Scale’ Image
2. Allow Users to Purchase Temporarily ‘Out of Stock’
Products
3. Avoid Sneaky Displays of ‘Free Shipping’ Promotions
4. 5 Requirements for the ‘Ratings Distribution Summary’
5. Provide Both Site-Authored FAQs and Community-Driven
Q&As
6. Provide a Cross-Sell Section that Only Contains
‘Alternative Products’
7. Provide a Cross-Sell Section that Only Contains
‘Supplementary Products’
8. Provide major payment options (e.g. BNPL)
82% of sites struggle to reach even an “acceptable” level for the Product Page user experience

1. Sufficient sizing information
The 10 Things to Get Right on Sizing
1. Provide conventional sizing information
2. Provide numeric sizing information
3. Provide measurements in both centimetres and inches
4. Provide international size conversions
5. Provide instructions and tips for taking accurate measurements
6. Ensure sizing and measurement information matches the product type
7. Include a link to the “size guide” near the size selector
8. Ensure the browser “back” button returns users to the product details
page
9. Include a link to customer service in the size guide
10. Consider including measurements of human models
How would we rate out of 10 on product sizing best practice?

2. Combine product variations
Product Variation Options
In the product list, there are two ways to display these product variations:
1. Variations are combined into a single list item, with the variations often
indicated using swatches below the thumbnails
2. Variations are displayed separately, with each variation — for example,
shirts in different colours — having its own list item
Problems with Separate Items
1. Product lists can become cluttered with variations of products,
overwhelming users and making it harder for them to get an overview of
the product range
2. Many users will struggle to find a particular variation of a product,
especially if the variations are spread throughout the product list
Findings
o Separate items will cause some users to abandon the site
o Apparel product variations should be combined into a single list item
Combine product variations into one product list not displayed separately

3. Use buttons for each size variation
Problem
o Users when presented with a drop-down menu were prone to overlook the size
selector entirely
o When users activate the drop down menu, they are often surprised or
disappointed by the sizes available
o Some users check to see if their size is available for each variation under
consideration — a potentially tedious task that often leads to users simply giving
up
Finding
o Instead of using a drop-down with the size options hidden by default, expose the
size options by using button-like selectors to help to ensure that these crucial
product variations are easily seen by users
Use buttons, rather than drop down menus for size variations

4. Product images on real models
Opportunity
o Providing the right kind of apparel product images is essential to users’ ability
to understand key visual details and make a purchase decision about a
particular product
Problem
o Simple “Cut Out” images of the product against a white background are
simply not enough for users to get a sense of their physical qualities leading to
lower conversion
Finding
o Only with the context provided by seeing the product worn on a human
model’s body or face can users come close to an in-store experience, as
they’ll gain a better visual understanding of the product and feel more
confident in purchasing it
o Without “Human Model” images, it’s left up to the user’s imagination to try to
picture how a product might look when worn — which for many users is simply
not enough to make them feel confident enough to purchase the product
Provide a hero product image with real model to provide the confidence for conversion

5. Product Images with high resolution+zoom
Problem
o Low-quality images drag down users’ perceptions of products
and the site
o Users get disappointed when they open the larger image and find
it’s grainy or pixelated
o For many users they perceive as if the site doesn’t care enough to
provide them with the visuals they need to make a purchase
decision leading to abandonment
Finding
o To maximise conversion product images need to be rendered in
high resolution and the images need to be able to be zoomed
large enough (at least 50% larger than the unzoomed image) to
see product detail
High resolution and +50% in-zoom product images provide confidence and help optimise conversion

6. Product information
Problem
o Lack of sufficient product information can cause user frustration, delays in
finding suitable products or users to abandon the page or the site itself
Findings
o Sites must provide sufficient information in product descriptions to give
users enough to consider purchasing a product to avoid abandonment
o Some information is likely to be sought by users considering specific
product types, including:
o Materials and ingredients,
o Product dimensions, and
o Compatibility information.
o Product descriptions should support product images by explaining and
contextualising images
Provide relevant, accurate and complete product information

7. Product descriptions with USP highlights
Problem
o Conventional product description structures can be difficult
to read and often fail to inspire users
Findings
o Users respond well to long product descriptions that are
“chunked” by highlights, each with an accompanying image,
since a quick scan of the product page reveals the key
product features, and the high-quality images make the page
more attractive
o Testing revealed that structuring product descriptions by
product highlights is an effective way to help users
engage with a product
o Consider using product highlights to structure a product’s
description
o The product highlights structure is often used for 2–6 core
product features, and can be as simple as a bespoke image
illustrating the feature or its benefit (to draw attention), a short
headline (to confirm what the image suggests), and one
paragraph of text explaining the feature
Outline product descriptions on easy to scan product highlights with strong visual proof

8. Clear price discounts
Problem
There are 4 common pricing pitfalls to be avoided:
1. Pricing/discounts blends in with other product elements
2. Locating discounts far away from price
3. Displaying promotion multiple times on the product page
4. Failing to highlight percent or amount off
Findings
o Vital that pricing and discount information is clear and easy to
find on product details
o Clarity around pricing and discounts gives users confidence that
a product will fit their preferences and help them decide to move
forward with the purchase, ultimately giving users satisfaction
driving better conversion
Highlight the discounted price clearly right next previous price outlining the saving

9. Provide total delivered cost and timing
Problem
o Users do not want any surprises of hidden costs including taxes, shipping costs,
oversize item fees
o If the total order cost is missing from the product page, users will have to take the extra
step of adding the product to their cart to see this information (assuming it is provided at
the “Add to Cart” step)
o User expectation for fast next day delivery times is rapidly rising
Solution
o The lowest full order cost should be displayed on the product page by default; in
particular, by showing the lowest shipping cost (or at the least an estimate and its
conditions)
o Additionally, if selling items where shipping and tax costs may be significant, consider
making the section expandable and including a shipping and tax calculator to allow
users to more accurately determine the total order cost
Source: Adapted from Baymard Institute
Specify the lowest delivered total cost and expected timing and provide an option to pay for faster deliver

10. Ratings distribution for product reviews
Problem
o Reviews help users make an quick and informed assessment of a product’s
suitability to their particular needs. User expect trusted reviews with ratings
distribution to help them make purchase decisions, however, the majority of
sites do not provide reviews and a ratings distribution
Findings
o Users rely heavily on ratings distributions to provide the overall picture of how
other users experienced a particular product (95% of users relied on reviews to
learn more about products)
o Product ratings distribution summary at the top of the reviews section allowed
users during testing to get a feel for how the product has been rated overall.
o The ratings distribution UI was the most utilised feature of the reviews section,
and was relied on by users even more than the actual review content
o Some users during testing would seek out the most negative reviews, to “find
the dirt” on a product and determine what its flaws are as judged by the
reviewers.
o Ratings distribution summary UI should be graphical illustrations (normally
horizontal bar charts), act as “star” filters, be exposed or expanded by default,
and be hidden when there are only 5 or fewer reviews
Users expect a ratings distribution for reviews to understand good and bad experiences

11. Buy temporarily ‘Out of Stock’ products
Problem
o If users are prevented from purchasing an item that’s temporarily out of stock, it almost
guarantees they will abandon the site to look for the product elsewhere
o Presenting users with text that simply states a product is “out of stock” is a UX dead
end: users can’t go any further on a site if they are truly set on purchasing that particular
product
Solution
o If a product is only temporarily out of stock, users should be allowed to complete the
purchase and simply have a longer delivery time
Allow users to purchase ‘Out of Stock’ products by increasing the delivery time

12. Link to return policy from product gage
Product
o When shopping for products online, users understand that products may
need to be returned
o A strict return policy can even be a reason for site abandonment (12% of
e-commerce customers have abandoned orders in the last quarter
because they found the return policy unsatisfactory)
o Consequently, lacking access to the return policy early on in users’
product search — especially for products such as apparel items, which
can have dramatically different sizes depending on where you shop — is
a source of anxiety for many users
Solution
o Link to the return policy, or a brief summary of the general return policy,
should be prominently displayed on the product page (as well as in the
footer), and the return policy text must be written to be understandable by
the average user
Link a easy to understand and competitive returns policy on the main product page and footer to reduce anxiety

13. Optimise readability
Problem
o Users have been observed to get fatigued when trying to navigate
extremely long lines of text (e.g. 100+ characters).
o To ensure line lengths don’t exceed 80 characters (40 Chinese or
Japanese characters), the CSS max-width property can be set using
font-relative lengths of around 70ch or 34em (note that this value will
need to be adjusted slightly up or down depending on the font used)
Solution
o The optimal line length for body text is 50–75 characters
o Shorter or longer line lengths can hurt readability
o Additionally, in order to be in compliance with accessibility standards,
text styling must be able to be set as follows:
o Line height (i.e. the spacing between lines of text): 1.5em (i.e. 1.5
times the font size)
o Paragraph spacing: 2em
o Word spacing: 0.16em
o Letter spacing (i.e. tracking): 0.12em
Make is easy for users by optimising readability through line length, line height and spacing

14. Accessibility for equality
Problem
o There are accessibility compliance gaps rated against the WCAG 2.1, AA success
criteria), including within the following standards:
1.Images: All images on a site must contain some kind of descriptive label —
either through the use of HTML markup (i.e. alt text) or an accessibility-
specific label using Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) markup
2.Links: When links aren’t given an adequately descriptive title (which 66% of
sites failed to do), users aided by screen readers will have no way of
knowing where a given link will take them
3.Form fields and inputs: When it comes to users entering information on the
sites, it’s important the form fields and inputs are all properly labelled —
both individually (e.g. “First Name”) and as a group (e.g. “Shipping
Address”)
4.Keyboard navigation: it’s important to ensure that all site functionality is
operable by keyboard (or provided via a keyboard-operable alternative),
and that the focus indicator is visible at all times
Findings
o Sites need to prioritise site improvements to meet basic accessibility compliance
requirements
Meet compliance standards on images, links, form fields and inputs and keyboard navigation

Smarter Experiential
Ecommerce is challenging stores by becoming more social, entertaining and experiential

From transactional to social
Convenience
Price comparison
Individual
Routine/functional tasks
High levels of research
Transactional
Infinite options
Global reach
The need states served by the mall are increasingly available online which becomes more social, experiential and entertaining
Entertainment
Experiential
Social
Connection
Personal Service
Sensory
Immediate selection
Local
New
Commerce

Why is Social Commerce scaling now?
Social
Media
Platform
Investment
China
Lead
Payment
Solutions
Backend services
connecting inventory
management, logistics,
frontend user interfaces,
and third-party integrations
have cut the capital,
expertise, and R&D
necessary to set up e-
commerce operations
We have an
incredible success
story in China where
WeChat, Pin duo
duo/Temu and
Shein have driven
social commerce
Meta, Snap and Tik
Tok are integrating
commerce features
with live shopping and
investing in AR
Off-Shelf
Infrastructure
Payment solutions like
those from PayPal,
Square, and Stripe are
democratising finance
and lowering not only the
cost to process online
payments but also the
barriers to entry
Social commerce is scaling on the back of success in China, Social Medi investment, access to infrastructure and payment solutions

China leads the way on social shopping
China has the most developed ecommerce market, is highly concentrated and has well developed/rising social commerce
2.7%
3.0% 3.2% 3.4%
4.3%
4.6%
4.9%
6.0%
7.7%
10.3%
11.7%
13.1%
13.9%
14.3%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021F 2022F 2023F
Social Commerce Share in China and US
2017 – 2023 % of Total Retail Ecommerce Sales
Source: eMarketer. Statista
Global Shares
Ecommerce % of Retail 2022
44.0%
27.5%
21.0%
13.0%
China UK US AUS

Shein is a social platform selling fashion
Faster than fast fashion and cheaper than Amazon, Shein has grown to $30B sales in 2022 (+91% vs LY) with 75M actives driven by
faster integrated and more responsive manufacturing and a mobile app and social marketing advantage
Source: Matthew Brennan. Not Boring

New social opportunities
Ecommerce is migrating to social media platforms focused on new ways to engage customers. Video is making social commerce more sociable
Test Live
Shopping
Design
Social
Storefront
Resource
Test/Create live commerce
experiences tailored to your
audience with right format +
right platform + create
visually appealing visual
content + collaborate with
influencers and creators +
ensure that you have
inventory and responsive
supply
Design a social commerce
experience that converts.
Create a social storefront +
format your videos so
they’re shoppable +
develop a shoppable
attribution model.
Fast
Follower
Head of Live Shopping
is a role growing in
prominence amongst
leading retailers.
Review building
shopping tags, live
shopping events,
marketplaces and
digital catalogues
Learn from leading brands
(e.g. Sephora and facebook
Nordstrom own live channel
and Best Buy use its
fulfilment centres to have
blue shirts livestream) and
the social platforms to
inform your staged strategy
Develop
Creator and
Influencer
Partnership
Develop partnerships
with presenters,
creators and amplifies
to produce, distribute
live shopping
experiences on social
media

Smarter Marketplace
Global marketplaces are becoming search and fulfilment powerhouses

Marketplace opportunities
Partner
for
Reach
Automate
Optimise
Product
Page
Differentiate
Brand Site
Choose to play or not
Step-change your own site
for best customers
Decide on data sharing
Agree fulfilment, marketing
and pricing terms
Set up Product APIs
Dashboard syncing inventory,
product and marketing
Automate workflow, events,
inventory management,
warehousing and marketing
Gather insights/feedback and
iterate
Delivery best images and
support reviews
Drive parity pricing and align
promotions
Test paid search media
Full brand story with rich
content
Full range
Exclusives
Customisation
Services
Deep personalisation
Brands need to choose whether to play or not with marketplaces considering the customer reach and revenue against costs
Source: Adapted from Shopify

Smarter Payment
Have you optimised the checkout to drive higher conversion?

Changes in the value of retail payments
Source: RBA John Batistich - 2023
8.7
23.5
32.2
39.7
42.6
118.1
ATM Withdrawals
Cheque
Credit Card
Balances Outstanding of Credit Cards
Debit Cards
New payments platform transactions
Value of Retail Payments
Australia 2022 - $ Billions Growth vs LY
+20.8%
+11.7%
+6.6%
+15.8%
-16.7%
+2.8%
RBA data sees less cash, cheques and credit card usage and a lot more debit and new forms pf payment (including BNPL)

1. Optimise checkout form fields
Problem
o The number of fields users must go through impacts checkout
performance
o The average checkout flow today is 5.2 steps long and has 11.8
form fields
Solution
o Sites must get down to no more than 8 fields
o Fewer fields improves UX and conversion
o Some of the ways to reduce fields include:
o Have a Single “Name”
o Hide “Address Line 2”), “Company”, and “Coupon Code”
Fields
o Use Postal Code Autodetection
o Hide “Billing Address” Fields
Reducing the number of checkout fields reduces friction and cart abandonment rates

2. Payment choices and selector
Problem
o Third-party payment methods need to be provided and can help reduce
checkout abandonment
o 7% had abandoned a checkout during the past three months because the site
didn’t offer their desired payment option
o 4% of users abandoned checkouts because their credit cards were declined, an
issue that could have been rectified by the availability of third-party payment
methods (which can act as fallback option when the users card is declined)
Solution
o Sites should provide payment methods commonly used in each territory they
sell in
o Using a horizontal or vertical tabbed design with the fields and descriptions
hidden for all of the non-selected payment methods was observed to be
the best-performing design for payment selectors on desktop
Provide the key payment choices and use a tabbed design to reduce abandonment

3. Payments card-type auto-detection
Card type auto detection and card number auto formatting creates less checkout friction.
Problem
o Improving the user experience at the checkout specifically on card-type
auto detection can lower the risk of card validation errors and reduce
checkout abandonment rates
Solutions
o For credit cards, some of the most important UX features include card type auto-
detection and card number auto-formatting
o UX features such as card type auto-detection and card number auto-formatting
can be implemented using the list of IIN Ranges and Spacing Patterns
o To implement these features you need to know the IIN Ranges and Spacing
Patterns of the card types that your site accepts

4. Offer guest checkout and convert account
Users hate being forced into creating an account increasing abandonment so provide guest checkout and outline account benefits
Problem
o Users do not like to be forced to create an account to purchase
from you
o The absence of a guest checkout results in higher site
abandonment
Solution
o Make it more enticing for new users to sign up during their first or
second purchase, so they can get the account benefits for their
remaining purchases
o Nudge the sporadic user, who may not think they use the site
enough to make creating an account worthwhile
o For both new and sporadic customers, the key is to help the user
quickly see precisely how an account will benefit them (e.g. time
saved, track order, order history and rewards)

Most important account features
12%
15%
16%
16%
17%
28%
29%
29%
41%
64%
Manage wishlist/saved items
Cancel order
Reset passwords
Download invoice/receipt
Edit/update order
Contact customer service (call, chat, email)
Review order history (past orders)
Return an item
Manage credit card/payment method
Check delivery date, track order and check status of delivery
Most Important Ecommerce Account Features to Users
US 2018
Creating an account helps users track delivery and make easier payments

5. Perceived payment security
Ensure that your site creates strong perceived payment security to reduce cart abandonment rates
Problem
o 18% of users have abandoned a checkout flow during the last 3 months because
they “didn’t trust the site with their credit card information”
o Depending on the design, users perceive some parts of a page to be more secure
than other parts of the same page
o The average user’s perception of a site’s security is largely determined by their
“gut feeling”, which – beyond how much they trust the brand – is to a large extent
observed to be directed by how visually secure the page looks
Solution
o Reinforce the checkout page with security icons, badges, or reassuring
microcopy to improve security
o Visually reinforce credit card fields with colour, add paylock icon and security
symbols/seals
o Bolster the secure appearance of the credit card section of your page can
instantly improve the “gut feeling” the user is experiencing providing confidence
they need to complete their purchase

Advanced practice for payments
Offer guest
checkout
Convert into
Account
Payment
Options and
Selector
Payment Type
Auto Detect
Minimise
Required
Form Fields
How would we rate our payment experience against advanced practices that improve conversion?
Strong
Perceived
Security
Reducing the
number of
required checkout
fields reduces
friction and cart
abandonment
rates
Users hate being
forced into creating an
account increasing
abandonment so
provide guest
checkout and outline
account benefits
Creating an account
helps users track
delivery and make
easier payments.
Provide the key
payment choices
and use a tabbed
design to reduce
abandonment
Card type auto
detection and card
number auto
formatting creates
less checkout friction.
Ensure that your site
creates strong
perceived payment
security icons/copy to
reduce cart
abandonment rates

Future payment opportunities
Mobile
Wallets
Less use
Less acceptance
Fewer ATMs and Bank Branches
Touchless
Integrate POS and
Payment Gateway
Mobile POS
New store design
One/Zero click
Real time clearing and
settlement
Merges
with
Loyalty
Technology
and CX
New
Payment
Platform
Wave/Pass
Contactless
App driven
BNPL
Fast and secure
Cross border
Integrated loyalty schemes
Self-checkout
Personalised offers
POS credit financing
Subscriptions
New payments
More Debit
Credit Cards
Cheques vanish
Digital currencies
Payments are not just being disrupted, but utterly transformed by new technology. This desire for speed, convenience, ubiquity, safety
and affordability is rising
Cashless

Smarter Cyber Resilience
Have you mitigated the threats of data loss or a disruption to operation?

Cyber security threats intensifying
The threats of a PII data loss or DOS attack are rising rapidly.

5 cyber security resilience priorities
Human
Firewall
Security
by
Design
Senior Ownership
Identify threats
Resourced roadmap
Phishing Training
Password control
Access Management
Policy
Playbook
Simulations
Ready Assets
Disaster Recovery
Defence
Protect
Response
Recover
Detection
Controls
Configuration
End to end Encryption
3rd
Party APIs
Authentication
External Audits
Understand Risk Sources
Patch Management
Automated Updates
Back Up Files
Monitor Anomalies
Measure system
Dashboard
Have we developed our resilience by identifying, protecting, detecting and response/recovery

Smarter Delivery
Have you optimised the delivery experience?

Rising fast and free delivery expectations
Source: Shopify John Batistich - 2023
Customers expect fast delivery, free delivery or free shipping thresholds
Customers Expectations on Fulfilment – US 2020
23%
34%
37%
40%
59%
64%
65%
67%
Frustrated when have to pay extra for shipping
Faster delivery would make online shopping better
Frustrated when shipping takes too long
Free returns would make online shopping better
Free delivery improves the experience
Expect delivery to be free
Check free shipping threshholds before adding to cart
Expect delivery within two days

Customer delivery expectations
Fast Free Branded Sustainable
Increasing same and next
day expectations (32%
abandon if too slow)
Filter on delivery speed
Keep me updated on
deliver times
Automated returns
Recycle
Reuse
Minimised packaging
Carbon neutral
Ethical supply
Provide free-
shipping thresholds
Provide membership
benefits
Advise me on the
delivery date (45%
want deliver times
shown)
Pick Up instore or
curbside
Easy to return
Delivery partner I can
trust
Special anticipation
Personalised
Informed customer
service that can
resolve my issues
fast and once
Consumers want options. They want fast, free, branded and sustainable fulfilment
Dependable
Options

Warehouses/stores become source of advantage
Warehouses have been become an asset class as a result of the ecommerce boom and are becoming a source of advantage. They
are where you store your mistakes
Need to located near consumption
not supply
Bigger hubs to support choice
Speed
Variety
Spoke
Hub
Everyone wants their
delivery faster
Everyone wants the variety
to get what they want
Need better knowledge on supply and sales
More labour and automation expected
Closer last-touch spokes (e.g. Stores)
to support rising expectations
Customer Needs Warehousing

Warehouse automation
Amazon are investing to create automated warehouses to improve storing, sorting, picking, packing and shipping to reduce injuries,
increase efficiency and lower costs
Scooter Bert Ernie
Kermit Motion Capture
Remove totes from
shelves, and can then
hand the goods over to
employees
Carries a variety of
items through the
warehouse by itself
Pulls carts around
the warehouse
Towing around empty
totes, streamlining the
return process
Monitors how a
person moves
Source: Business Insider

Instant delivery expanding but models pressured
Instant on-demand local deliveries have expanded but there have been many entries and exits with viable business models still to
be developed (business model lag customer demand)
“Car service, grocery delivery and restaurant delivery all converge on the same pool of workers and customers and much
the same logistics” Benedict Evans

New automated delivery forms developing
Drones and autonomous vehicles are rapidly developing with leading retailers rolling out pilots

Reimagining responsive supply chains
Digitise your supply chain, leverage data and partner to improve efficiency, resilience and speed
1. Digitise your supply chain to improve visibility and responsiveness
o Use data and technology to make smarter inventory management decisions
o Use cloud-based solutions to leverage scanning apps, inventory management software and AI and communicate with partners in real time
2. Use data to optimise your fulfillment strategy
o Audit your data and processes to understand vulnerabilities audit, identify backup suppliers and routes, and gain greater understanding of your
customers’ locations and delivery preferences.
o Redistribute inventory closer to your customers reduces costs by keeping merchandise within shipping zones allowing you to provide same-day or
two day shipping without incurring extra costs
3. Consider outsourcing your shipping and fulfillment to a 3PL
o Tap into 3PL infrastructure with pre-negotiated contracts and a network of fulfillment centers to expand into new markets
o Test new markets with 3PL
o Insulate your business with 3PL from additional risks and charges across the supply chain

Fulfillment opportunities
Streamline
Return
Process
Fast
Local
Sustainable
3PL partnership
Global reach
Late cut-offs for same
day
Fulfil from store
Dark Stores
Click and collect
Sustainability targets
and tracking on
carbon emissions,
waste and packaging
Improve demand forecasts
Optimise replenishment
Rule based routing
Mitigate higher shipping
costs
Digitise and diversify
Inventory
management
Returns management
system
Local delivery
Clear return policy on site on
product, help and FAQ
Store credit/exchange
Pre-fill return labels
Self-serve
Fulfilment can become a competitive advantage by building capability, outsourcing operations, automating inventory, streamlining
returns and create local delivery
Automate
Inventory
Management
Outsource
Operations
Build
Capability

Smarter Personalisation
Have you optimised the development of a direct personalised relationship with high value
members?

Personalisation expected and rewarded
Source: Adobe 2022

Developing a personalisation framework
Source: McKinsey & Company John Batistich - 2023
Decisioning
Create customer-data
platform to provide a 360
degree customer view
Distribution
Design
Advanced analytics and
machine learning to
create customer scoring
and real-time triggers
Deliver marketing tool
experiences across
channels and feed
response data to customer-
data platform
Content factory model,
digital-asset
management, and agile
marketing to drive
experimentation
Data
Foundation
The solutions architecture and operating model should be guided by a simple and effective framework

Developing the stack enabling personalisation
Source: McKinsey & Company John Batistich - 2023
Retailers need to develop a data and martech stack to enable personalisation at scale

Smarter Platform
Have you optimised and integrated your ecommerce platform?

Commerce platform requirements
Mobile first
design and
PWAs
Extreme
Personalisation
B2B and B2C
capabilities
Developing commerce platform across 5 key requirements
Flexible
Omnichannel
fulfillment
Easy
integration
Flexible
development
One platform
for retail and
wholesale
selling
Source: Adapted from Adobe
Integrates with POS, PIM and
ERP and communicates in real
time
Synchronise inventory and
online product listings to avoid
backorders and provide
customers with order and
delivery status
Open API that works with third
party extensions
Connects seamlessly
to variety of digital
and physical
commerce tools
Order management
functionality
Responsive web
design
Native web apps and
progressive web
apps
Headless commerce
Real time
personalised content
and product
recommendations
Integrate with third
party personalisation
tools

Enabling cloud based ecommerce platforms
Source: Gartner 2022
1. Reporting and analytics: Does the platform enables us to view
customers with clarity to personalise?
2. Ease of integration: How well does it work with third party
apps?
3. Scalability: Does the tech roadmap align with our ambition?
4. Product Catalogue: Does it display the right product at the right
time with our variety complexity?
5. Searchability: Does it enable customers to find what they want
fast?
6. Design flexibility: Cane we deliver an on-brand experience?
7. Site security: Does it protects our customer data?
8. Support and service: What level of responsive service is locally
available?
9. Total cost of ownership: What are the total pricing models
including hosting, subscription fees, maintenance and direct
labour?
Key Requirements Platform Positions
Shopify Plus is dominating SMB whilst Salesforce, Adobe/Magento and SAP are leading integrated enterprise solutions.

Key Takeaways
So What?

Optimisation Checklist
Traffic Navigation On-Site Search Product Lists &
Filtering Topics
Home (Landing)
Page
Site
Speed
Product Pages Fulfilment
ü SEO
ü Direct
ü SEM
ü Email
ü Social
ü Video
ü Affiliates
ü Store
integration
ü Mobile product
catalogue
ü Persistent
primary nav
ü Don’t
overcategorise
ü Intuitive filters
ü Mobile
breadcrumbs
ü Drop down menu
delay
ü Optimise
comparison
features
ü Search Queries
ü Exact
ü Product Type
ü Symptom
ü Non-Product
ü Feature
ü Thematic
ü Compatibility
ü Slang/Abbreviation
ü Search form and logic
ü Search autocomplete
ü Filters
ü Results logic
ü Results layout
ü List Layout
ü Loading products
ü List items
ü product info and
thumbnails
ü interface and hit
areas
ü Filtering:
ü Available filters
ü Scope and logic
ü Interface and layout
ü Sorting
ü Fast speed load
ü Clean design
ü Easy main navigation
ü Intermediary category
pages
ü Site wide layout
ü Clear action paths
ü Digital subscription
services
ü Trust symbols
ü Readability
ü Accessibility
ü Platform
ü Structure
ü Content
ü Images
ü Features
ü Product page layout
ü Sufficient sizing
ü Product variations
ü Size buttons
ü Human models
ü High resolution images
ü Product video + 360 view
ü Scalable images
ü Product spec information
ü Product description
ü Clear price discount
ü Shipping, returns and gifting
ü Provide deliver options/speed
ü User reviews
ü Review ratings distribution
ü Link to returns policy
ü Cross sell and cross navigation
ü Single view of inventory
ü Automate inventory
management
ü Optimised replenishment
ü Rule based routing
ü Fulfil from store
ü Click and collect
ü Streamlined returns
ü Store credit/exchange
ü Pre-fill return labels
ü Track carbon emissions
ü Recycled packaging
Checkout Payments Personalisation Cyber security Commerce Platform Conversion AOV
ü Shopping cart and added cart
behaviour
ü Account selection and
creation
ü Customer and address
information
ü Gifting flow and features
ü Shipping and store pickup
ü Payment flow and methods
ü Credit card form
ü Order review
ü Order confirmation and email
with offers
ü Form and page design
ü User interactions and
distractions
ü Cross-sells
ü Minimise required form fields
ü Offer guest checkout
ü Convert to account
ü Minimise pages/stages
ü One click for members
ü Offer key payment options
ü Simple payment selector
design
ü Payment type auto detect
ü High perceived security cues
ü Data foundation
ü Design
ü Content
ü Decisioning and analytics
ü Distribution
ü Test and iteration
ü Employee firewall
ü Application control
ü Patch application
Configuring Microsoft
Office macro setting
User application
protection
ü Restrict administration
privileges
ü Patch operating
systems
ü Multi-factor
authentication
ü Regular back-ups
ü Respond/recovery
ready
ü Reporting and analysis
ü Mobile first design
ü Ease of integration
ü Scalability
ü Product Catalogue
ü Searchability
ü Site security
ü Flexible fulfilment
ü Support and service
ü Personalisation
ü Total ownership cost
ü Quality traffic (low bounce
rate)
ü Intuitive navigation
ü Effective search
ü Fast site speed
ü Optimised product pages
ü Guest checkout
ü Easy payment process
ü Trust signals
ü All key payment options
ü Easy returns policy
ü Service support
ü Repeat active customers
ü Offer supplementary and
complimentary products
ü Upsell
ü Cross sell bundling
ü Discounts on spend
thresholds
ü Free shipping thresholds
ü Live shopping events
ü Payment
ü Rewards program

Key Source
https://baymard.com/
Baymard Institute uncovers what designs cause usability issues, how to create “State of the Art” user
experiences, and measure how your UX performance stacks up against leading e-commerce sites.
Learn more at

Other Sources
ABS
Akamai
Alexsoft
Amazon
Australia Post
Benedict Evans
Bloomberg
Global Web Index
Google Images
Google Trends
HBR
IAB
Jarden
Kardex Remstar
Macrotrends
McKinsey and Company
NAB Quantium Online Sales Index 2011 – 2022
New York Times
RBA
Revealbot
SEMRush
Shopify - Future of Ecommerce
Similar Web global ecommerce benchmarks
Statistica

Smarter Ecommerce by John Batistich.pdf

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