The Elevating eCommerce 6-part series is more than halfway through, and this week’s session was filled with more can’t-miss material. But don’t sweat it if you missed the live session—we have the recap for you.
The fourth installment of the Elevating eCommerce series focused on the key topic of converting with a delightful online customer experience. Two D2C merchants who found success converting customers with headless webstores had the floor: TJ Ferrara, Co-Founder of BUBS Naturals, which sells top-of-the-line health supplements, and Katie Spies, CEO and Co-Founder of Maev, a high-grade dog food company.
Headless commerce directly impacts conversion rate
As the panelists got to talking about how eCommerce merchants can level up their storefronts, both credited headless commerce for helping them see double-digit success in conversion rates.
BUBS Naturals, which went live with a Nacelle-powered headless webstore in August, consistently sees conversion rates in the double-digits. Ferrara also highlighted the customization and flexibility benefits that resulted from going headless including the ability to create fully custom experiences and components that can be reusable throughout the site.
Ferrara actually turned off ads the day BUBS went live with its new headless site to really see the impact of headless commerce. Ads were still turned off as of the webinar. Ferrara says this exercise allowed him to clearly see the benefits of his headless build, to the tune of a 15% increase in net new customers, which he credits to the store’s improved site speed and UI.
Spies shared that Maev’s first eCommerce store launched as a headless website, so while she doesn’t have KPIs from a non-headless site to compare, she’s seen the impact of the decision through site speed and conversion rates, smooth third-party integrations, and excellent A/B testing capabilities.
Site speed reduces “subconscious friction”
Both Ferrara and Spies championed the site speed unlocked by headless commerce as a game-changer in the journey to checkout. Dubbed “subconscious friction,” Ferrara explained how detrimental slow site speed can be to the shopping experience. Even if customers aren’t totally aware of the reasoning, slow page load speeds are a major turn-off to them, not to mention costly to the merchant.
Mobile drives the most traffic on both of the brands’ webstores, and Ferrara says that of the mobile visitors on BUBS Naturals, 95% access the site through wifi. It can be challenging to provide a consistent, fast experience with so much dependence on the shopper’s internet connection. Fortunately, going headless with a progressive web application (PWA) solved this issue as PWAs can continue to function offline or on low-quality wifi networks. This keeps the integrity of the user experience intact, even for those who might be accessing the site with a slow connection.
With this, “subconscious friction” is eliminated because every mobile customer is having a fast and delightful journey to checkout, without delays that could drive them away.
Spies also spoke to reducing this friction by making the path to purchase as simple as possible, requiring the least amount of effort from customers. Maev’s site even has the process down to a one-click purchase in some cases.
Infuse education throughout the buyer’s journey
With high-grade supplements and dog food, there’s a certain level of education that customers need in order to maximize their purchases and reduce churn, and Spies and Ferrara have both mastered education delivery.
For example, in most cases, dog parents will need to transition their pups off traditional food and ease them into Maev’s dog food. This information is critical to Maev’s customer retention and the success of its product. To educate consumers, Spies uses inserts that get mailed to customers with their purchase, so it’s front and center when they open the package. It offers immediate information and provides URLs to where customers can learn more about the product. She also “dangles a carrot” by showcasing the benefits dogs see after 60 days of eating the new food—knowing that new buyers will be enticed to come back for another round of dog food after the 30 day supply runs out so they can see the full effects in their dog.
She “wows” customers even further with immaculate customer service. Customers can always get in touch with a real, live human being any day of the week. If they have medical questions about their dog outside the realm of the product, there’s even an in-house vet team available to answer questions.
BUBS Naturals does a lot of its education after purchase in the form of nurture campaigns. Customers are immediately put into a post-purchase campaign that features primarily free education, but also perks and incentives as well.
Both brands have a personality-driven strategy. Ferrara even shares his personal cell phone number—yes, his real number—with customers so they always feel seen and heard. It also gives Ferrara a direct line to his customers’ wants and needs, which fuels strategy and action taken at BUBS.
The power of a customer-first mindset can never be underestimated, and both BUBS Naturals and Maev offer a masterclass in converting with a delightful customer experience.
Watch all the recordings of Elevating eCommerce.
