5 ways to improve the ecommerce customer experience

Improving customer experience (CX) is key to the success of any ecommerce brand. It drives customer satisfaction and loyalty, influencing their engagement and repeat visits.

Different industries take their own approach to CX, depending on what they need to achieve. In healthcare, it’s all about improving patient experience and streamlining practitioner efficiency. In government, the focus is on making agencies more functional and improving the quality of life for citizens.

In ecommerce, the goal is to educate, satisfy, and retain buyers by offering them a smooth, engaging shopping journey. This guide explains five practical strategies to improve customer experience for ecommerce brands.

What is ecommerce customer experience?

Ecommerce customer experience refers to the overall journey a customer goes through when interacting with an online store—from the moment they land on the website to post-purchase support. It’s about how customers feel during every step of the buying process, including site navigation, product discovery, checkout, and customer service.

A seamless and positive CX makes it easy for shoppers to find what they need and build trust with the brand. The ecommerce customer experience is built on three key components:

• Service experience. The support given to customers through communication channels, such as phone, email, live chat, or chatbots.

• Product experience. How easy, effective, and enjoyable it is to use a brand’s product.

• Brand experience. Every interaction a customer has with a brand, from marketing and design to the overall emotions the brand evokes. Each touchpoint contributes to how customers perceive and connect with a business.

How to measure ecommerce customer experience.

Measuring customer experience is essential to understanding how well a brand meets customer expectations and where improvements are needed. In an ecommerce environment, where everything from browsing to purchasing happens digitally, several key metrics and strategies help capture the quality of customer experience.

• Customer satisfaction score (CSAT). One of the simplest and most direct ways to measure customer experience is by asking customers how satisfied they are with their shopping experience. This is often done through post-purchase surveys or feedback requests on specific interactions, such as customer support or product delivery.

• Customer lifetime value (CLV). CLV measures the total value a customer brings to a brand throughout their relationship. In ecommerce, increasing CLV often means that a company has successfully built a strong, lasting customer experience that keeps shoppers coming back for more.

• Customer effort score (CES). CES asks customers how much effort it takes to accomplish a task, such as finding a product, completing a checkout, or getting support. A lower effort score generally means a smoother, more satisfying experience.

• Customer service level (CSL). CSL evaluates how effectively a customer service team meets shoppers’ needs, particularly in responding to inquiries and resolving issues. This metric tracks the percentage of customer service requests that are resolved within a specified time frame, reflecting how well support channels perform.

How to improve the ecommerce customer experience: five strategies.

A successful customer experience strategy can significantly boost customer satisfaction, drive repeat business, and strengthen brand loyalty.

1. Focus on customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is at the heart of every successful ecommerce business. It reflects how well a brand meets or exceeds the expectations of its customers throughout their buying journey. To improve customer satisfaction, organizations can adopt several strategies:

• Accelerate problem-solving. Implementing efficient, responsive customer support channels can significantly boost satisfaction.

• Reduce customer effort. Make it easy for customers to get help when they need it, whether that be through intuitive FAQs, live chat, or simple return processes.

• Listen to customer feedback. Conduct surveys and encourage open communication with customers to gain insights for improvement.

Also, it’s important to accurately measure customer satisfaction as its own key performance indicator (KPI). The most common method is through customer satisfaction surveys, where customers rate their experience with the product, service, or brand. These surveys often include demographic information, usage frequency, and open-ended responses for qualitative feedback. Other avenues that can provide deeper insights into customer satisfaction are Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer effort score (CES), social media monitoring, and measuring complaints.

2. Improve the agent experience.

In ecommerce, the support experience is crucial to the customers’ perception of the brand. Agents are often the first—and sometimes only—point of human contact a customer has, so ensuring they’re empowered, knowledgeable, and efficient is critical for a seamless CX. With the right tools and training, agents can resolve issues more effectively, leading to happier, more satisfied customers.

A few actionable ways companies can improve the agent experience to elevate the ecommerce customer experience are to:

• Empower agents with real-time AI. Real-time AI gives agents instant insights and suggested responses, helping them resolve queries faster. It boosts productivity by automating routine tasks and enabling agents to focus on more complex issues.

• Train agents to handle a wide variety of queries. Comprehensive training equips agents to manage diverse customer issues, from product questions to returns.

• Track and improve agent productivity. Monitoring key metrics like response time and customer feedback helps identify areas for improvement. Optimizing workflows based on data increases productivity and enhances customer interactions.

With AI assistance, agents can handle multiple requests, reduce manual tasks like searching for customer information, and provide faster, more accurate responses. AI tools also help ensure consistency in communication, reducing the likelihood of errors and enhancing service quality.

3. Improve customer lifetime value.

Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over the entire duration of their relationship, including their initial purchase, and provides insights into which customer segments are most valuable.

Focusing on CLV means prioritizing customer retention alongside new sales. Research shows it’s far more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones— estimates suggest it can be five times more expensive to generate new buyers than to keep current ones. Tracking CLV helps brands understand how much value they’re getting from their current customer base, which is the first step in identifying opportunities to increase loyalty and repeat purchases.

Some actionable strategies to help boost CLV are as follows:

• Improve the onboarding process. A smooth, informative onboarding process sets the tone for a positive customer experience and encourages repeat business from the start.

• Provide engaging, value-packed content. Regularly offering helpful, engaging content—like product tips, how-tos, or personalized recommendations—keeps customers interested and more likely to return.

• Offer customers a personalized experience. Tailor product recommendations, promotions, and communications based on customer behavior and preferences.

• Run loyalty programs. Rewarding repeat purchases with loyalty points, exclusive offers, or discounts encourages customers to stay engaged with a brand over time.

• Provide a satisfaction guarantee. Offering a satisfaction guarantee reduces customer risk and increases trust, which can lead to higher repeat purchase rates.

4. Connect with customers across their preferred channels.

Ecommerce customers expect more than just a call center—they want to reach brands on their terms, whether that’s via social media, live chat, email, or text. An omnichannel strategy is crucial for delivering a seamless customer experience regardless of channel.

Adopting this approach can drive higher revenue, boost customer loyalty, and give brands a competitive edge. Unlike single-channel strategies, omnichannel support shows customers that their time and preferences matter, leading to stronger relationships and long-term success.

Actionable tips for implementing an omnichannel customer experience solution include:

• Voice and digital engagement tools. Provide support through a variety of channels, such as voice, live chat, social media, and email, to interact with customers where they prefer.

• Omnichannel customer journey routing. Implement intelligent routing to connect customers with the right agent or answer as quickly as possible. This minimizes wait times and ensures a smoother, more efficient service experience.

• Automated notifications. Send SMS or bulk notifications to inform customers about their orders, deliveries, or special promotions. Proactive communication keeps customers engaged and enhances their overall experience.

A great omnichannel experience connects all the dots, letting customers move between channels while keeping their data, purchase history, and preferences intact. Whether they’re browsing online, chatting via social media, or calling support, everything feels consistent—from the information and branding to promotions and pricing—no matter how they choose to interact. Plus, customers can start an inquiry on one channel and pick it up on another. Personalization is key, too. Tailoring the experience based on individual data means customers get personalized, relevant information that meets their unique needs and preferences.

5. Use data to inform an even more effective customer experience.

Using data is key to constantly improving the ecommerce customer experience. By digging into customer interactions, behaviors, and feedback, brands can spot what needs fixing and find ways to make the journey smoother.

Tracking these KPIs shows what’s working and where there’s room to tweak, helping create a more seamless and effective experience for customers.

• Average handle time (AHT). How long an agent spends per customer interaction on average. An organization can evaluate individual agent and team performance by tracking AHT.

• Service level. How quickly customer requests—whether through chat, email, or social media—are addressed. A good CSL indicates that customers can quickly get help and speaks to a company’s ability to allocate resources and staff effectively.

• First contact resolutions (FCR). How often customer issues are resolved during the first interaction. High FCR rates save customers time and reduce the overall workload on support teams by minimizing repeat contacts.

• Net Promoter Score (NPS). The likelihood that customers will recommend the brand to others. Asking, “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?” tells an organization how many loyal customers are ready to become brand advocates and provides insights into potential detractors.

• Average wait time. The amount of time customers spend waiting for a response. If customers are left waiting long enough, they can grow frustrated and abandon a queue altogether.

AI makes tracking key metrics in ecommerce easier by automating data collection and analysis across customer interactions, sales, and website activity. It provides a real-time view of what’s happening, helping brands quickly spot trends and areas for improvement. Plus, AI’s predictive abilities can forecast customer behavior, allowing companies to make smarter, proactive decisions.

Improve ecommerce customer experience with Talkdesk.

A successful customer experience is essential for ecommerce, from satisfying customers and driving loyalty to sustaining long-term growth. By focusing on strategies like customer satisfaction, agent empowerment, CLV, omnichannel support, and data-driven insights brands can create seamless, engaging experiences that keep customers coming back. Talkdesk has helped leading ecommerce brands achieve these goals, with impressive results.

Take Patagonia, for instance. The outdoor gear brand turned to Talkdesk to improve system reliability and consistency during a major migration to Salesforce. With a robust training plan and support from Talkdesk, Patagonia achieved 100% increased uptime in service level agreements (SLA), ensuring a more reliable customer experience.

Similarly, Farfetch, a global luxury fashion platform, used Talkdesk to remove complexity and scale with AI and automation. Farfetch saw around 40% cost efficiencies, with half of those gains directly linked to Talkdesk.

Ecommerce brands looking to improve their customer experience can rely on the Talkdesk Retail Experience Cloud™ platform to deliver seamless, personalized support across all channels.

Discover why Talkdesk is the platform of choice for transforming ecommerce customer experience strategies.