Customer overload: is giving your customers too many options hurting your sales?
Picture this. You are looking for new glasses and enter an overwhelming space filled with rows of frames. Whether this is a physical or online store, there is a high chance of losing a customer and the opportunity to sell. How about a shopping experience tailored just for you? A space where there is a curated selection of glasses waiting for you to try.
As customers shopping online, we are continuously confronted with many frames. Dozens of different colours, shapes, sizes, materials, and so on. It is challenging to decide which pair of glasses are the perfect match. Customer overload occurs when too many options make it challenging to choose and buy.
One of the core elements of customer overload is that people need insight into what looks good and feels good. At the same time, retailers have no real insights into their customers' behaviours and desires. Presenting customers with endless options will not grow their confidence. How can you ease your customer into making the right decision? There are different struggles they are currently facing that you can help them with, from an overwhelming number of options to overanalyzing what looks good. Let’s dive deeper into them.
Endless pages of products without filters can lead to analysis paralysis due to poor organisation. Complexity is not only about the overwhelming number of options but also about how you display your products. Displaying up to six items at a time is far more effective than showcasing a broad range. That certainly doesn’t mean you need to cut back on your options. You need to be smart about how you display them.
Cutting down on the number of frames is not enough. People need to be able to compare and visualise how frames will make them look. Whereas some decisions are easy and don’t require much commitment, buying eyewear requires a closer look.
A way to help your customer understand better how glasses will look on them is by allowing them to try them on. Online virtual try-ons, such as Fittingbox, can help your customers compare different frames while discovering how the items look and feel. Unfortunately, trial and error with dozens of possibilities is not enough.
A common phenomenon in the eyewear shopping experience is that customers have no clear idea of what they are looking for. It is very common to need to gain more knowledge about what kind of frames suit your facial features and personality.
Personalised eyewear recommenders and digital stylists like STYLE PTTRNS, increase confidence and reduce indecisiveness. By engaging with customers about their style preferences, retailers can offer accurate recommendations based on what suits their personalities. Digital styling advice that reduces customer overload leads to conscious and confident shoppers and, as such, increases sales for your business.