Meet Laura
Laura needs a new pair of shoes for a charity gala. She wants them to match her existing outfit—after all, she wants to look good on stage! There is one problem though...
Laura realizes that she doesn't have time to visit the shopping mall before the event so she decides to shop online for her shoes. Online Shopping, here we come!
Laura begins her online search
- She enters the website of an online shoe retailer, searches the size and style, and adjusts the price filter to match only those shoes within her price range.
- She then hits the search button
- The search returns multiple pages showing shoes matching her search criteria — this page is referred to as the 'Product Listing Page' or PLP.
- PLP is an essential element of the eCommerce experience, as it funnels site visitors to product detail pages and closer to conversion.
PLP vs PDP
Accurate Quantity and Delivery Options are usually displayed on the PDP, but exceptions to this may occur with certain clients who have similar PLP requirements.
- After a few minutes of browsing through the PLP, Laura comes across a pair of shoes that catches her attention.
- She then clicks on the Image to view more details.
- On this page (referred to as the 'Product display page' or PDP), Laura can view availability information about this specific product, which will hopefully assist her in making a buying decision.
- ⚠️ But she encounters a problem. Laura is not sure whether the item in her size is in stock or whether she can get it in time!
At this stage of the customer journey, the e-commerce site should ideally want to showcase the following:
- If the product is in stock.
- If there are additional shipping costs, shipping details are calculated depending on where the customer lives and the types of postal services available.
- If there is an option to get the product quickly.
- If there is only limited stock available — this will help entice the customer into making a buying decision and progressing to the checkout page
Conversion and shipping costs
When customers abandon their shopping cart, more than half of them do it because they encounter unexpected shipping costs. Therefore, it is best to display this information as soon as the customer arrives on the page and to be transparent about any additional fees that may apply.
