Consumer behavior is changing dramatically. In 2023, you need to provide a superior user experience to keep your consumers engaged and improve conversions.
We learned a lot about user behavior during the pandemic. People got more comfortable with the technology to work at home. Families replaced gatherings with online meetings, parties, and even virtual weddings. Consumers increasingly turned to online shopping and home delivery.
We also saw consumer brand preferences shift dramatically. Consumers buying high-priority items like sanitizer, masks, and even toilet paper didn’t purchase based on name brands or price, they bought based on availability. Companies that could provide the products people wanted with minimal effort thrived. Others that failed to meet customer demands didn’t do so well.
Today, companies are competing more on the user experience than ever before. To win customer loyalty online, you need to deliver a seamless, interactive, and engaging user experience.
In 2023, it’s all about creating a great user experience. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are some of the most promising technologies that have emerged in the past few years to deliver that experience and improve conversions.
Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality
The future of VR in business is bright and the time is now. When users can interact with information and blend digital with the physical world using AR, engagement skyrockets.
Since research shows that 20% of sales are influenced by engagement on mobile devices, mobile VR and AR are a big deal. IKEA lets customers see how furniture looks in their homes virtually in 3D before they buy it. Warby Parker lets you try on glasses. Sephora shows you how makeup will look on you.
Look for VR technology in the future to become even more commonplace as consumers embrace the tech. Already, 61% of shoppers say they want retailers to offer AR tools and 40% say they’re more likely to spend on products if they can experience them virtually.
Privacy and Ethical Design
More than a dozen new consumer data privacy laws went into effect in the past two years. Hundreds more are pending in legislatures across the country. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are dropping third-party cookies. Google says it will no longer allow cross-browser tracking in its ad network. Retargeting individual consumers with digital ads is on the verge of extinction.
With that backdrop, your privacy policies and design principles are now taking center stage due to online privacy concerns. It’s why more than 42% of U.S. adults are using ad blockers. Violate your customer’s privacy at your own peril.
Mobile-First
Surprisingly, this is still an issue in 2023. Even though more interactions occur on mobile than desktops (and have for years now), too many sites still don’t cater to mobile users. It’s a serious issue. Nearly 40% of visitors will give up on a website if it’s not mobile-friendly, according to Adobe.
Think about it this way. 60% of potential customers start their search on Google… on their mobile devices. When they click through to your site, you better offer them a great mobile user experience. If your website doesn’t format properly, load almost instantly, or allow them to fulfill their purpose easily, you’re losing customers.
Voice and Virtual Assistants
Consumers are now growing accustomed to interacting using voice. Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant have set the bar high. Smart TVs and remotes make it easy to find shows and channels using your voice. Customers expect to engage with voice, VR voice assistants, and chatbots to complete tasks quickly.
Providing a superior user experience now requires making it as easy as possible for users to navigate and get what they want as quickly as possible.
Reducing Friction
Friction is created when a force resists the relative motion of surfaces sliding against each other. When consumers are doing business with you, friction is a bad thing.
If there’s a long line at the checkout counter in a retail store, you’ll increase frustration and lose customers. When your checkout process in your online store is complex, you’ll lose sales. If you can’t reduce friction on your app, you risk users deleting your app and heading to your competitors.
Simple, seamless, and intuitive solutions are essential principles in 2023.
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