It’s 2021, so by now, you probably might have realized how basic it is to have an engaging online store. Regardless of how many clients you onboarded in 2020, if you are not continually revamping yourself with the impelling technology, you are stagnating in 2021.
Digital space is one of the most influential technologies to boost your business. This escalating technology is the No.1 reason why the customers want everything under their fingertips and want to get done with a click—Aka digital transformation.
And, of course, online shoppers are super impatient and willing to quit any site in 50 fortune milliseconds. Now, that being said, you can’t compromise on your website’s quality and efficacy whatsoever with big thumbs down.
Above all, an error-free online store is a treasure trove that keeps customers coming back but given that it is well maintained and empowered by the QA. Let’s further break down how a compelling QA can make your customers happy or angry to hurt or excite your business.
Why do merchants/retailers have to invest in integrated QA testing?
Amazon, eBay, Zappos are revolutionary online retails giants, to name a few, who reshaped the customer shopping experience taking it to a whole new level. The above list wouldn’t and shouldn’t end after what we saw and witnessed in 2020. It’s time for the retailers to shift and think like a techie company that knows how to master the retail online.
If that makes sense, think this way, a ton of customers worldwide are waiting and willing to buy from you (mounting necessities of consumers). Right now, with an e-store, so many people can heed what you do and have to offer. In a way, those closed retail doors due to the pandemic have somehow opened a vast opportunity for you. However, all this is possible only when you genuinely make their journey clear, comfortable, smooth, and quick elsewhere on your e-store.
Now, why is it so important to know about their journey? They are quick to get annoyed people who, in fact, are very important for your business. We have put their journey into 5 different steps and also mentioned how they want their experience to be like.
Decoding the Online customer journey and experience
Awareness:
It’s called the discovery, or the sense of wonder stage where the customer comes across your products or service, gets amazed, and may want to take a full peek at it. (typically called the learning stage)
“I found some of their casual wears interesting; let me look if they have my right fit.”
Consideration:
The 2nd stage is when the customer lands on your page and finds something that appeals to them. (making them want to buy it). “I love this floral top, which seems like a pretty match for my Hawaii trip.”
Acquisition:
When the customer adds an x, y z item to their cart yet is delaying or hesitant to buy, it’s the acquisition. “Oh, this top is awesome, but let me check for more before buying it.
Retention:
It’s when a user actually buys the products and becomes a customer. “I can’t find a better top than this; let me just place my order real quick.”
Advocacy
Advocacy is when a customer comes back for more or re-orders the same item while initiating social engagement and slowly becoming brand loyal.
Why do merchants/retailers have to invest in integrated QA testing?
What happens when you have all super cool things in your well-decorated store, but you just forgot to remove the closed sign on the front door? People are going to walk away. The same happens on your e-store when the buttons don’t work or if your site is taking too long to load.
However, they all can be taken care of by the QA. But before that, it is essential to understand that these phases involve a lot of software and systems that need integration to enable a smooth transaction cycle. This is the reason why it is crucial to invest in integrated QA strategies and testing.
Let’s look at some tests that ensure the smooth flow of this cycle and customer experience.
Compatibility testing:
This particular test refers to the compatibility of browsers, operating systems, mobile devices, and trying to close a process in multiple devices simultaneously.
Functionality testing:
The functionality test addresses each function of the software by providing valid inputs and verifies the obtained outputs against the functionality requirements. Some examples of functionalities are third-party integrations, database connection, different features on the site, menus, forms, authentication, and more.
Performance testing
Performance testing is paramount to ascertain and calculate the site’s speed, steadiness, and responsiveness under different workloads. This structured testing is generally approached in the early stages of the development to rectify the performance-related gridlocks.
Payment
Payment testing is one of the most exhausting tests because of the plethora of mistakes a user can make. And the negative testing in this scenario is too critical and needs the most attention to achieve a 100% safe process and payment transaction.
Security
When the hackers and their robust activities are at their peaks, it becomes even more indispensable to prepare our e-commerce more than just sure. That’s where identifying and correcting the potential vulnerabilities with all mobile and web applications is predominant. For more, you can refer to the Open Web Application Security Project.
Regression and Automation
The code of any web or mobile application differs and would require good regression testing. It can be both manual and automated, and both carry their own prominence and aids the testing process. In comparison, the automated ones are famous for saving more time and effort, but not all accept automation. The mix and match can work better and aids in the testing process.
QA & eCommerce – Why shouldn’t you ignore QA?
It’s always better to be safe than sorry. So, let’s address the elephant in the room; That’s called the glitch. Well, first things first, no one is immune to this, not even the big names you often see in the news. Yes! One glitch and so many not so good things can happen like abandoning carts, customer dissatisfaction, hiked churn rate, and eventually losing customers and business. We have mentioned a few of those non-ideal things you don’t want to have on your e-commerce website.
Recommended Read: Ecommerce Automation Testing
Avoid faulty purchase processes
Online customers may tolerate a glitch, but there is one thing that a customer can never settle with, just a sorry, that’s a faulty purchase process. They are so aggravating that companies these days have to pay more attention, effort, and investment.
Security breaches
E-commerce involves making payments, which means credits means personal data. Consumers are more concerned about their data security; Assuring the customers of their data safety is primarily a responsibility, and QA does that job effectively.
Ineffective search engines
An ineffective search engine is another big issue that needs quick fixation, and most users quit a site for this matter. It’s difficult to sell what you have if you don’t show customers when they ask for it.
Poor Compatibility
Online consumers are scattered everywhere; different people use different devices, operating systems, and browsers. If you are working fine on one device and bad on the other, don’t do any good. In many instances, maintaining the same compatibility level is difficult; that’s why the QA and their work exist with full power.
Not valuing or not investing in QA is more likely to be a massive investment in more and more problems where the return on that investment is guaranteed.
Benefits of Adopting QA
We can talk a lot about the risks associated with ignoring the QA now; let’s also look into the good things about investing in the QA. Having the best QA team is quite the opposite of the nightmare we just discussed above. Read below to find out how.
- QA can literally take care of all those aspects, which quickly devastate a user. And if an e-commerce site is enriched in the lights of QA, it leads to compatibility, and that brings real wealth to your business. Learn to know-how.
- A smooth and error-free site is a rich first impression and a solid base for building a good customer experience. When you achieve that, you create an image that afterward becomes a reputation. No million-dollar ad can acquire that right from the word go.
- A satisfied customer is a whip hand, which comes with a good e-commerce site, even without asking for it. When you have a non-glitch site, you have it all.
Conclusion
We offer QA services like ADA compliance and free test management tools to provide the best quality services in the e-commerce marketplace. And we are too keen to enhance the QA’s potential to help all types of businesses make products with the finest quality. Alongside this future-proof technology, we stand to build a robust QA Community to lift, unite and empower the testers. We bring in the expert testers cum influencers on our QA Masterclass to teach the tech-driven techniques to make our tech tomorrow an error-free space.
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