7 Factors That Affect Purchase Decisions in Online Business

When you start starting an online business, the customer's buying decision directly affects whether your business survives. A company, a business, or even an individual that wants to win a position in the online market needs to understand the factors that influence consumers' online buying decisions in this market.

In today's fiercely competitive online market, knowing what affects buying decisions helps a business understand its customers better, see what matters to shoppers, and choose strategies that raise sales. If you want to learn about the factors that influence buying decisions, read the article below from Mona Media It will answer your questions.

1. Product quality

Product quality is the most important factor directly affecting buying decisions. It is the key factor, accounting for 56% of consumers' answers in a survey on buying decisions. However much your company invests in PR Marketing loud advertising campaigns, if the product does not meet quality standards, it simply does not meet consumers' needs. And poor-quality goods will struggle to reach the sales targets you expect.

Product quality decides whether a business survives, in these ways:

• Quality shows a product's competitiveness in the market, creates large demand and increases the business's revenue.
• A quality product also reflects the business's credibility in the market.

Some factors for judging product quality

Many factors go into judging product quality: design, materials, color, practical use and more. A product that meets high quality standards will naturally be accepted and trusted by consumers.

For example, if your fashion shop sells its own designs and controls its fabric sources and labor, you can commit to good quality with confidence. But shops that import goods, buy from wholesale markets or order from Guangzhou need to be careful about the quality of the goods they bring in. While advising and closing orders, tell customers clearly about the condition of the goods and send real photos of the product (if available).

In addition, the brand name and the label on the goods also affect the buying decision to some degree. For stores that sell branded goods, import genuine products or take orders, most shoppers look at the “Made in…” label. Many Vietnamese consumers prefer goods from the US or Europe, and for various reasons they usually dislike “Made in China” goods. So each product category has its own quality criteria.

2. Competitive pricing

If you want to sell smoothly, competitive pricing is one of the factors businesses must watch. In today's integrated economy, businesses compete not only with domestic goods but also have to push into world markets. To draw customers to your products, the only way is competitive pricing. Your profit margin may shrink a little, but sales should still bring good revenue if you sell in volume.

In the era of the planned economy, competition hardly existed. But once Vietnam began moving to a market mechanism, the law of competition was recognized, and the role of competition in the market has become clearer and more practical.

According to a finance magazine, 80% of customers' buying decisions depend mainly on price. Consumers tend to be drawn to goods that are on sale or cheaper. So companies selling online cannot ignore this factor.

3. Reviews from previous customers

Most people research a product and read reviews before they buy. They may visit the website or fanpage for news, or read reviews and feedback from people who bought that product from the shop. 81% of customers say they trust posts from friends more, and those posts directly affect their buying decisions. So if your shop builds a good impression and credibility with customers, they will refer new potential customers to you, directly or indirectly.

To win goodwill and positive reviews, make sure that from the first visit your quality and pricing are solid and stable. Also build a professional brand image through your website and through marketing, advising, closing orders and after-sales service. After each successful order, contact the customer and invite them, if they are happy with the service and product, to leave a positive review on your page or personal profile.

If something goes wrong, your shop should contact the customer first and find a fix, to avoid leaving a bad impression or upsetting them.

4. A convenient online store

As technology grows, consumers' buying habits change over time. Almost everyone owns a smartphone, and with a few simple taps on a connected phone, shoppers quickly find the products they like. Statistics show that 62% of customers who shop online buy accessories and fashion more than anything else.

So why does a website influence buying decisions so much? Because before buying, most customers research and visit websites to look up prices. If they like what they see and it fits their needs, they decide to buy quickly. When create a website, you need a polished interface, regular updates with new products, and promotions, which is the fastest way to attract customers and build the brand's reputation.

When building a fanpage to sell, create direct interaction through images, intro videos and content on social media pages to engage potential customers in the online market.

See also: Professional, SEO-ready online store design service

5. Good customer service

Attracting customers is hard, and keeping loyal customers is harder. If you want your brand to market itself effectively and reach more people, you need to build a solid customer service foundation. Typical services include free shipping, returns and exchanges, flexible payment options, and regular offers for returning and VIP customers. This is also a factor that strongly affects buying decisions in new online sales channel.

If you building good customer care attentively and thoughtfully, you build a good impression, show professionalism and add value to your products, and your brand will stay the customer's first choice. In contrast, if service is poor and customers are unhappy, they will refuse to buy from you or walk away and never come back.

Always keep in mind that “the customer is king”. Customers are the most important factor in your business's success, so improving customer service is a must.

6. A refund and return policy that reassures

One thing that makes customers hesitate when buying online is that they cannot “see and touch” the goods as they would in a store. They worry about what happens if the goods arrive faulty or damaged.

After weighing price, almost every customer cares a great deal about the refund and return policy in case something goes wrong.

If a product is cheap, customers may overlook a defect, thinking “you get what you pay for”. But for a premium item costing a few million VND, it is no longer a small matter, and without a warranty policy customers will refuse to buy, or even abandon the brand or distributor.

7. Online payment

Today, with the rapid growth of technology and the internet, everything has become much easier. Online payment methods, for example, let people manage spending and finances and pay for purchases simply and quickly. So if your website or online store integrates a variety of payment methods, shopping becomes easier and more convenient for users.

See also:

• Integrating Visa payments into your website
• Integrating PayPal payment into your website

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Conclusion

That is our summary of the factors that influence a consumer's buying decision in consumers' online shopping that every business should note to get results and grow sales. Every owner also needs to stay flexible and adapt to each situation to catch the factors that shape customers' decisions, so the online business keeps growing.