The ecommerce industry is finally stable (for now). But unfortunately for existing ecommerce players, this market stability will open the way for more competition. And in addition to offering competitive products and pricing, these organisations will also have to compete more on experience. That means in order to even qualify as a contender, ecommerce organisations will have to know all of the strengths and weaknesses of their brand, its channels and how the ecommerce experience is perceived by customers. And one of the best ways of gaining that insight is by leveraging feedback surveys. But where do you start? Which ecommerce survey questions are the most effective? And where do you use these surveys?
Let’s take a look…
The dust has settled on the exploding ecommerce market, but brands now find themselves up against global competitors
Why gather feedback from ecommerce surveys?
There are plenty of reasons you should be collecting user feedback from ecommerce surveys. Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons you should have these feedback surveys in your digital toolkit.
- Build customer personas and create clearer segmentation. Ecommerce surveys will teach you a lot about your customer base as well as the changing retail market. They can provide you with the insights you need to segment your customers based on factors such as buying behaviour or simply demographics. With this information at your fingertips, you can successfully target those customers (and future customers) more effectively.
- Recognise trends. Ecommerce surveys will help you identify trends happening on your digital channels, by way of feedback analytics charts and dashboards. You can see positive changes such as an increased satisfaction level with shipping services. Alternatively, trends will give you insight to negative changes such as an upsurge in issues with website usability in the purchasing funnel.
- Adjust your marketing strategy accordingly. Marketing experts know that they need to drive their brands closer to their target demographics. That means connecting with them on a better level. Ecommerce surveys enable marketers to reach those visitors and existing customers in a way that gives them insight into how to cater their marketing strategies with their demographics.
- Discover opportunities to improve the ecommerce experience. Going along with recognising trends, ecommerce surveys can also help you learn more about the bigger picture: the entire ecommerce experience. That means identifying ways to improve the experience from start to finish: research and product content all the way to purchasing and the post-purchase experience (i.e. shipping and product quality).
Is your ecommerce experience enough?
The ecommerce experience is defined as how your customers perceive the different touchpoints across your ecommerce online journey. Unlike the more general term, ‘customer experience’ which refers to all stages of the ‘consumption process’, the ecommerce experience pertains specifically to the customer experience when purchasing products online.
In this industry, the experience must be smooth and satisfying for your customers. Why? Because churn is a very common phenomenon in ecommerce. Unlike an insurance policyholder who holds a long-term contract with an insurer, a customer in ecommerce has nothing binding them to a brand aside from a previous experience. This makes it crucial for businesses to focus on making sure that experience is always optimal.
Types of Ecommerce Survey Questions
There are many ways to categorise the different types of ecommerce survey questions you can ask your online visitors and app users. We have chosen to break this down into the pre-purchase and post-purchase funnels as well as the additional user experience questions you can apply.
- Pre-Purchase Ecommerce Survey Questions
- Post-Purchase Ecommerce Survey Questions
- User Experience Ecommerce Survey Questions
Pre-Purchase Ecommerce Survey Questions
Pre-purchase surveys are typically surveys displayed in the discovery, interest and intent stages of the ecommerce customer journey. This includes everything in the online funnels (on-site and in-app) prior to purchasing. These surveys will give you insight into preferences, concerns and expectations of visitors prior to making a purchase, thus helping boost conversions towards the end of the funnel in the long run.
Homepage and Low-Conversion Pages
- What is the purpose of your visit?
- What was your first impression of our website/app?
- How would you rate this page?
- How would you rate your experience on this website?
- How did you learn about our company?
- Who are you shopping for?
Ecommerce survey on the Calvin Klein UK website
Where to use them: proactively triggered surveys (i.e. always visible feedback buttons) or as surveys triggered based on behaviour (i.e. time on page).
Search and Filtering
- How satisfied are you with the search filter options?
- Were these results helpful to you?
Ecommerce survey on the Gamma website
*Search filters have become pivotal to the success of many ecommerce websites and apps. Need some extra help in this area? Here’s a great article discussing the best practices for increasing CRO with your ecommerce search filters.
Where to use them: As an embedded survey right at the bottom of a filter, making them always easy to locate.
Website and Mobile App Content
- How would you rate this page content?
- How satisfied are you with the content on this page?
- How would you rate this product description? (see SportsCheck example)
- Was this page helpful? (i.e. an FAQ page)
- Was this information helpful? (Hint: use these on all your channels! Web, app, mobile…)
Want to learn more about boosting your website and in-app content? Check out this post and start creating online content that converts.
Ecommerce survey on the SportScheck website.
Where to use them: as embedded surveys as the bottom of a content-heavy page (i.e. a product description, FAQ page, or terms and conditions page.
Leverage the power of conversation…
Chatbots are a really popular tool among ecommerce organisations, however they are usually only reserved as a customer support solution. Did you know that you can also deploy feedback surveys in the form of a chat conversation?
Mopinion offers a solution known as conversational feedback.
Purchasing Funnel
- Can you tell us why you are leaving? (cart abandonment)
- Is there something preventing you from completing your purchase?
- Did you encounter something that isn’t working properly?
- Is there a payment option missing?
Where to use them: in the checkout area or on a page where the visitor is failing to convert. These are often triggered surveys that appear when they visitor motions to leave the page or sits there for too long.
Free White Paper: Boost your retail website with online feedback
Learn how user feedback can aid in maintaining a sound customer experience.
Post-Purchase Ecommerce Survey Questions
Post-purchase surveys are – just as the name suggests – surveys that are used after the visitor has converted into a buying customer. These surveys are critical as they can help measure customer satisfaction & loyalty as well as clarify any assumptions you might have regarding the shopping experience, the quality of post-purchase services (i.e. delivery and customer service) and the product itself. Because retailers often have customer contact details at this point, these surveys can be deployed as email feedback surveys in post transaction drip campaigns.
Shopping Experience and Customer Loyalty
- How was your shopping experience? (i.e. on the confirmation page or email)
- Rate your shopping experience on a scale of 1-10 (based on your experience)
- Was the online store easy to navigate?
- How can we improve the shopping experience in the future?
- Why did you choose our brand?
- How satisfied are you with the online experience at ____?
- Was the checkout process hassle-free?
- How would you rate your checkout experience?
- Did anything almost prevent you from checking out?
- Did you come across any hurdles when purchasing your product? (inquire about product content, payment methods, usability, etc. in follow up questions)
- How likely are you to recommend us to friends and family? (NPS)
Ecommerce email survey from AH.nl
Need more inspiration? Try these post-purchase email survey questions.
Where to use them: these types of surveys can be deployed on the website or in-app after the purchase has been completed (i.e. on the confirmation page). However they can also be used in transaction follow up emails as either an email survey or embedded survey. But be careful here! It’s important not to ‘overdo it’ when it comes to feedback emails as they are a part of the experience as well.
Post-Purchase Services
- How would you rate our online customer service?
- Is there anything we can improve in terms of customer service?
- Did our customer service team answer your question(s)?
- How satisfied are you with the response time at our customer service department?
- How would you rate the delivery of your product?
- Rate the overall shipping experience.
Ecommerce email survey from Omoda
Where to use them: in post-purchase service emails (either as an embedded survey or as email survey). You can also place a survey within a chat (i.e. the customer service chat) and gather feedback on the service experience that way.
Product Quality Assessment
- How would you rate our product assortment?
- How satisfied are you with our product assortment?
- How satisfied are you with the quality of the product(s) you received?
- Compared to our competitors, how would you rate our products?
- How helpful were the reviews for the product you purchased?
- Did you find substantial product details to inform your purchase?
When to use them: you can collect this feedback using an email survey or embedded email survey in the final delivery confirmation email (or in the weeks following the delivery of the product).
User Experience Ecommerce Survey Questions
Some additional questions you can incorporate into your ecommerce surveys include surveys around the user experience of a page or overall channel.
- How would you rate the usability of our website / mobile app?
- How would you rate our website / app?
- Did you experience any difficulty navigating our website?
- How do you feel about the website design and layout?
- Have you encountered a bug? (i.e. incorporate visual feedback)
Example of UX Survey on the GoSport website
Where to use them: User experience surveys can be used anywhere on the website or mobile app. However, they are often deployed as passive feedback surveys (i.e. via a feedback button) rather than being triggered by behaviour. Many of these types of survey questions can also be combined in one survey for more in-depth insights.
For example, if you want to know if your visitors are experiencing any issues with your website or mobile app, you can apply one of the questions listed above and then use follow up questions such as an open answer (explanation) field or even visual feedback and metadata. Visual feedback is great for gathering screen captures of the issues that occur on your channels. They give your UX team a real-time representation of what the issue is and therefore a better chance of resolving it quickly.
Keep a pulse on your ecommerce experience
And that’s a wrap! Keep in mind that this is a list of the most commonly used ecommerce survey questions and not an exhaustive list. There are plenty of options in terms of how to put these surveys together including follow up questions, open comments, and alternative feedback elements such as visual feedback and metadata.
Ready to start leveraging ecommerce surveys on your website, mobile app, or in emails? Then the first step will be to determine who the survey is targeting, identify which funnel(s) it should be used in and then you can refer to our list of ecommerce survey questions for effective and relevant surveys. Once you’ve established that you can start building your surveys in a flexible feedback solution like Mopinion.
Ready to see Mopinion in action?
Want to learn more about Mopinion’s all-in-1 user feedback platform? Don’t be shy and take our software for a spin! Do you prefer it a bit more personal? Just book a demo. One of our feedback pro’s will guide you through the software and answer any questions you may have.
