6 [six]Common Steps You Can Use To Complete a Successful Shopping Process
The Buyer's Journey
 |
This article is written primarily for those who are not familiar with the online shopping. However, if you are an experimented online buyer, I invite you to read the other articles where you will find many proven tips and tricks on:
- The best strategies to shop and negotiate with your online sellers.
- The correct times to find the best prices.
- The latest security best practices, etc.
For those who need to know the proven steps to shopping online, let's continue to discover the buyer’s journey which contains the six following main steps usually used to buy your items in a web store:
- Search for products
- Take a look
- Make a comparison
- Validate items' quality
- Complete the shopping process (add item to cart, sign up or sign in, pay)
- Follow-up (delivery, return, exchange)
Your online shopping process will usually start on research for an item, product, service; you need to buy.
Below are five practical ways to perform an online search with a search engine:
A. Simple search
A. Simple search
Here you just type the word or the group of words you need to search for your online shopping.
Example:
- You enter the address of a search engine like www.google.com or yahoo.com or bing.com
- You type in the search box 'Lenovo tiny m700' then you start your search.
B. Search with " "
Example: "shopping online 2014,"
This search will display a result for all websites that contain exactly the words between the " " signs in the same order.
C. Search for the minus sign -
Example: shopping online - 2014
The minus sign before 2014 excludes all results that contain the words 2014.
D. Search for the sign ~
Example: shopping online ~ laptop
The ~ sign before 2014 includes synonyms of the words after the ~.
In this example, you can get the word notebook in your display result.
E. Search for the sign *
Example: shopping online *
The * sign will include all websites that contain the word shopping online.
Search results
Your search engine will display a list of websites, and you will have to select the one that will best fit your needs. In our example, you type the information to find (1), then you confirm your search with the magnify (2). A list of website links will be displayed so you can choose the one that is suitable for your item (3). Click on the website you need to visit.
If you know the name of your website, you can type it directly in your browser.
2. Take a look
Once you click on the website you are looking for, you can display the item’s description (1), get a preview (2) (See the image below).
To find a particular item you can:
A. Go to the main page (3) of the online store and click on the categories and sub-categories until you find your product.
B. Use the online store search box (4) to type your product name and click on the magnifying glass to display the result of your search.
The second option may take more time; you can use it if you are just surfing the store's website to take a look. Most sites also display other featured items (5) on the same page.
B. Use the online store search box (4) to type your product name and click on the magnifying glass to display the result of your search.
The second option may take more time; you can use it if you are just surfing the store's website to take a look. Most sites also display other featured items (5) on the same page.
After displaying your item on a website, it’s possible to compare it to other items on the same site or articles from other sites:
- For internal comparison, you can do a search through your website or look for the comparison button if available.
- To compare your item with another online store, you will need to visit a price comparison website.
You can make a search on YouTube or perform an online search to get more feedback related to your product. Sometimes, many people have published their demonstration or comment about your item in YouTube, Vimeo, the store website, a blog, or a community forum.
5. Terminate the shopping process (add item to cart, sign up or sign in, pay)
- After comparing and checking, you can return to the website you were visiting and click the button to add your item to your cart.
- You click your shopping cart to validate the price of each item, the total cost of your order, and the taxes. Some websites will also show you the number of items added to your cart.
- Once you click on the shopping cart icon; you will have the list of articles displayed on your screen so you can pay your order (also called Checkout). You can use the Checkout button to complete your order, but if you are a new buyer of this online store, you should create an account (Sign up) before paying.
- Look for the “Sign Up” button (or create an account) before paying. At this step, you’ll fill out a Sign-Up form to create a username, a password, and enter your name, shipping address, email, phone number. If you already have an account, you can just Sign in (access your account).
You will also get another page to enter your payment/billing information (credit card details and billing address) or use a payment gateway like PayPal. Google Play, Amazon payment.
6. Follow-up (delivery, return, exchange)
- You will receive by email your order confirmation number and later your shipping confirmation that includes the tracking number related to your order.
- You will be able to track your order in your online store or the Shipping provider (Ex: Canada post, USPS, …).
- Once you receive your order, you will be able to verify if the item delivered working well.
- You have the option to return, exchange or cancel your order before a delay usually established by the seller. Make sure you read the policies to avoid surprises.
Thank you for your reading time!
Mark M.
Post A Comment: