2022 is going to be a more competitive year for online eyewear retailers. We all know the pandemic led to the increased demand for products in the digital ecosystem, especially prescription eyeglasses. As a result, many mortar-and-brick store owners shifted to e-commerce stores.
In 2021, it seemed like the end of the pandemic was almost here until scientists identified COVID-19 variants like Delta and Omicron. With the rising coronavirus cases, the number is likely to increase this year. More online optical stores translate into more competition among retailers.
If you want your digital eyewear store to perform better than others, you need to consider several things. The first one is choosing the right platform. There are several options, but Magenta is perfect because of its unique features and open-source nature. Besides this, it comes with thousands of extensions such as eyewear prescription form Magento to improve your user experience. Consequently, it helps in increasing traffic and sales.
Hold on! If you think this is enough to survive the competition, you are wrong. To make your e-store stand out from the crowd, follow these tips.
Preparing your Magento eyewear store for 2022
Faster page loading
Nothing frustrates an online user than a slow-loading web page. This you might have experienced too. According to a survey, nearly 53% of online users abandon the sites if they take more than 3 seconds to load. It means failing to deliver a fast-loading eyewear e-store can cost a loss of significant numbers of potential customers.
Fortunately, with the advancement in technology, you can access plenty of tools that ensure fast-loading website pages. For example, you may use Google Page Speed Optimizer. It is a tool designed to configure Magento store loading speed. Besides this, Google has a free Page Speed Tool that helps you monitor the performance of your eyewear Magento store.
A pro tip: Make sure you use the caching feature to keep your loading speed on point.
Understand your potential customers
If you do not know the needs and demands of your customers, you cannot keep up with their expectations. In the end, they will look for someone that meets their needs. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what your shoppers require well in advance.
With this, you can offer your customers what they want and desire. As a result, it will maximize your sales while gaining loyal customers. Once your consumer is satisfied with your products and services, they will come to you the next time.
But learning your customers is not as easy as it seems. It is where analytics come into the picture. It helps you understand the pain points and desires of your shopper. Plus, you can save money on your marketing campaigns remarkably while offering efficacy.
When it comes to Magento, it has built-in reports. But by incorporating the Advanced Reports extension, you can further improve the reporting.
Create a user-friendly Magento store
Another reason most shoppers abandon e-commerce sites is the difficulty in navigation and using it. Customers are likely to stick to websites that help them search and purchase the right product. It is more common for e-stores that offer a wide range of prescription eyeglasses.
Often, shoppers get confused about the product and buying process. When they fail to navigate the e-commerce site smoothly, they leave it immediately. If you want these instances not to happen in your digital store, make sure it is user-friendly.
But how? One of the ways to increase your conversion rate by 20% is by adding a live chat feature. When customers get answers in real-time, it will improve their shopping experience. This is because they will feel valued for their contributions.
Inventory management is a must
For instance, your customer wants to purchase prescription eyeglasses in bulk. But even if a single product is out of stock, they will cancel the entire order. For this reason, it is essential to check your inventory regularly.
In most cases, e-commerce sites face this situation because of their negligence and lack of inventory management. If you want to avoid this, invest in cutting-edge tools to track your inventory and alert you well ahead of time.
Since you are using Magento to build your eyewear e-store, you have the upper hand in this regard. You can install Inventory Planner extension to your Magento store and streamline the process of inventory management.
In closing
Given the increase in the COVID-19 cases globally, 2022 will bring more online sales to prescription eyewear products. Customers will avoid visiting mortar-and-brick stores due to social distancing and other restrictions. If you haven’t built your optical e-commerce site, it is the right time to do using the best tools and technology.
Are you planning to use Magento for your e-store? If yes, do not forget to leverage its unique features, capabilities, and extensions such as lens prescription extension Magento 2. In addition to this, follow these practices to prepare your e-store for the cut-throat competition.