Why UX Modernization is Important for Ecommerce Businesses

For the modern business, user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are essential components.

User experience refers to how people interact with your product, services and website, from visual appeal to interaction. A quality UX can help increase user adoption, enhance the customer experience and increase retention rates.

More than that, your UX design is a mirror of your company onto the world — how you are perceived is often a reflection of how you are seen. With 70% of customers abandoning purchases because of a bad UX, it can make all the difference in the world.

By modernizing your user experience, you can transform your business, for stakeholders and customers alike.

In the ever-growing digital marketplace, having a quality, modern user experience is one of the most important keys to the success of your business. This is due to the simple fact that it directly impacts how customers view your company, navigate your products and ultimately bridge communication.

Beyond abstract concepts, there is clear statistical evidence that highlights the importance of UX modernization, including:

• A study by Forester indicates that a well-designed user interface can raise your website’s conversion rate by up to 200% and yield conversion rates up to 400%.

• If you use UX design to satisfy enough people to boost your customer retention by as little as 5%, it will reward you with a profit increase of at least 25%.

• A 2016 design study of 408 companies found that the more a company invested in and focused on design and usability, the more sales they saw.

The results seem evident — the more you focus and prioritize modernizing your UX, the more successful your company will be.

By modernizing your UX, you can gain access to many benefits, including:

Increase revenue.

The goal of most businesses is to increase revenue and UX can be a great way to accomplish just that.

According to research by Forrester, every $1 invested in UX, on average, brings $100 in return — a 9,900% ROI. Additionally, the top companies leading in user experience outperformed the S&P index by 35%.

Updating and modernizing your UX isn’t strictly an aesthetic or user-based decision but one that can lead to significant revenue growth.

Optimize costs.

An underrated aspect of UX is that it involves the science of understanding customers, including what types of website interactions work best for them and what their user experience needs are.

By analyzing user behavior to understand trends and expectations, businesses can better grasp where to invest time and resources.

Improves accessibility.

For modern companies, building accessibility into your user experience is increasingly a must.

Enabling people with certain disabilities to view, navigate and understand each aspect of your system and application modernization can not only expand your audience but improve your image as an organization.

Enhance user satisfaction.

At the end of the day, user satisfaction is one of the most critical components of the user experience and one of the best ways to advertise the quality of your offerings.

If the design of your site leads to poor customer satisfaction, it can have an extremely negative impact — with 67% of customers citing bad experiences as a reason for leaving a website.

Make sure to prioritize user research. A well-designed website that is user-friendly, mobile app friendly and easy to use will go a long way to improve your customer experience.

Better customer retention.

Not only is improved user satisfaction a necessary goal, but for the continued success of your business, customer retention is essential.

A fast-loading and visually satisfying user interface can keep customers engaged and coming back for more. Customer loyalty is one of the most surefire ways to increase revenue, as loyal customers are five times more likely to purchase again and four times more likely to refer a friend.

Scalable.

Scalability is crucial for any growing company, as the ability for your products and systems to grow alongside your customer base and address their pain points will make you more adaptable to your business and customer needs.

By leveraging modern UI designs towards the latest technologies, you can greater focus on your user’s needs and provide excellent functionality.

When designing a modern UX, you will inevitably come across operational challenges, including:

Requires a budget.

As with all things, modernizing your UX will come at a cost. Any significant restructuring or changing of your end-user experience should ensure enough budget to improve your UX and raise your customer satisfaction levels.

A greater emphasis on design will likely require new technologies, modern tools and design experience, from purchasing new solutions to hiring specialists.

Can take a significant amount of time.

The UI/UX process is one that can take a significant amount of time to complete, from UX research and software development to feedback and iteration testing.

For those looking to modernize your UX, make sure that you have an ample amount of time to spare and that you have processes in place for such an expansive project.

Misaligned expectations.

Before implementing a UX redesign, ensure that each of your teams is aligned with the goals and expectations. Whether it’s the IT department or the art and design team, having a disparate idea of what the UX will look like and its business value can be detrimental to the entire process.

Encouraging collaboration across departments and teams can help build a shared understanding of the solution and foster positive, constructive conversations.

Understanding the benefits and challenges of UX is one thing, but successfully modernizing it is another. To start, consider the following approaches:

Communicate the value of improved UX.

Many clients or even members of your company may not be familiar with UX and its many benefits.

Before introducing UX, it is essential to highlight the value of UX to all of those involved, from stakeholders to support staff. By showcasing the best practices and potential deliverables, you can demonstrate the importance of UX while incorporating everyone in the process.

Take a lean approach.

A modern, lean UX is designed with the goal of reducing inefficiencies to ultimately provide value to the company and its users.

In essence, a lean approach combines traditional team collaboration methods with a modern, analytical mindset. It is less focused on deliverables and more on bringing teams together to work in rapid, iterative cycles.

Involve other departments.

It is easy for projects to become siloed within a single department without input or communication from outside parties — something you must work to prevent when modernizing your user experience.

Collaborative design should be the goal, which is an approach that works to encourage team collaboration across departments, from stakeholders to designers and developers. By building a shared understanding of the design process, your teams can gain deeper insights.

Start with a purpose.

When constructing your new user experience and interface, make sure to begin with a specific purpose in mind.

You may start the modernization process with the idea of improving UI, but what does that mean? What is the goal beyond broad improvements?

Having a clear, defined understanding of what you want your UX to look like and accomplish is critical. Going into any situation blind is less than ideal — make sure to prioritize the most critical aspects of the system you wish to improve.

Share your vision with key stakeholders.

Before beginning a UX design project, make sure that your shareholders understand what your vision is for the project, as well as the system itself.

As said many times, communication is essential to the general success of any UI/UX modernization project and it is no different here.

By communicating a commitment to the project, building relationships with every team member involved, and leading by example, you can bring about a successful modernization of your user experience.

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Modernizing your user experience is challenging, and it can initially seem daunting, especially for companies new to UI and UX.

However, for those businesses who have made UX a priority, the benefits and way forward could not be more evident. In a digital world where every interaction is critical, having a quality, user-focused experience is essential.

Ultimately, the needs of the customer trump all else. By having a system designed around their needs, you let them know how much they matter, which will keep them coming back for more.