🎯 How customers find their best buy in your online store

In the early days, the internet was clearly where you were looking for the lowest price. In 2004, for example, “cheap” was twice as popular as its opposite of “best”. This has now completely changed. Potential buyers are looking for now four times as often to 'the best product' instead of 'the cheapest product'.

But what does “best” mean? The cheapest product is quite objective, namely the lowest price in euros that must be paid for the purchase. But 'best' is actually enormously subjective. My best isn't your best. The best one depends on your needs, priorities, and opportunities.

• Your best headphones differ when your budget is $100 versus $500.
• Your best headphones differ when you use them on public transport versus when you play DJ antics with them.
• Your best headphones differ when you're a kid versus an adult.

With guided selling web shops help customers understand what is their best. Because customers are not experts. They would like to hear from a real expert how it works.

Knowledge — and the lack thereof — is at the heart of the (online) customer journey. Potential buyers continuously collect and evaluate information. Pre-internet options were few for this: you went to the stores and spoke to the staff, or asked some friends and family. The consumer guide was an exotic trip and you watched the commercials on TV with interest.

Nowadays, all information and opinions are always easily accessible. For a product review, the customer is no longer dependent on the one neighbor with exactly the stereo of his interest. No, for each product, there is a review in the correct language and format: blog, unboxing video, podcast, or reviews and ratings on the seller's site.

However, customers cannot go to one place for this. It's up to them to scour the internet in search of information that matches their specific situation and interest. From this, they must then independently distill the right knowledge to make the perfect choice for them. This creates a huge number of dropouts when customers leave the site and continue their search on another site, time or channel. Or end the search altogether.

But people are lazy.

But people are lazy. They are not in the mood for that search at all. After all, they've Googled twice and still haven't found the perfect answer. Customers want them short cut. They want to know what's their best. Maximum results with minimal effort.

And that's where opportunities lie for companies that provide customers with relevant knowledge at the right times in their journey. With a choice aid, you offer customers a relevant helpline on your web shop so that they have all the information they need to easily achieve their goal - making their 'best' choice. And thereupon do decision aids work so well.

Excited? Then schedule a demo and we'll show you in 40 minutes how Aiden can work for you too.

Want to read more? For example, check out our case studies with a.o. Travel bags where suitcases flew over the counter by 40% more.

This blog is an excerpt from our book: Customers who are unsure don't buy. In the book, you can read why e-commerce is broken and why 'advice' is the missing puzzle piece in the e-commerce landscape. Both theory and practice are covered, because six leading Dutch brands (including Bever, Swiss Sense and Mediamarkt) share their lessons.