Promote Account Creation for your eCommerce Platform

There are many benefits for businesses that use their own eCommerce platform, but getting customers to adopt a new platform is a huge challenge. Customers are unwilling to install new apps, create new accounts and passwords, and give away personal information. However, there are tried-and-true tactics to get customers to join a new platform. Here are some ways to get customers to sign up and remain loyal app users. 

• Signup with Social Account Integration

Customers want to be able to sign up for an account as easily as possible. Even creating a new User ID and password can be a frustrating obstacle. Make logins as streamlined as possible by letting users use their email address as their account login. Alternatively, let them sign up using their Facebook, Twitter, or other social media account, or OpenID technology to reduce the number of unique accounts they use. 

• Enable Guest Checkout

Businesses may think that guest checkout is counterproductive because it allows users to shop without creating an account, leading to far more one-and-done customers who can’t be reached by marketing and converted into loyal customers. However, guest checkout keeps those customers from leaving the site altogether. It also builds their trust in the eCommerce platform so they can decide to join later. Guest shoppers can still be reached by marketing if they need to provide their email for confirmation. 

• Use social trust

Customers may not trust a site or app that they aren’t familiar with, but feedback from friends can convince them it’s worth signing up. Social sharing features let customers display their purchases on social media so their friends will see the store they bought from. Customer loyalty programs can offer rewards points for getting friends to sign up, encouraging customers to promote the brand, and assuring their friends that it’s worth the effort to join. 

Read also: How to start an eCommerce marketplace development from Scratch

• Secure third-party payment

Offering a variety of payment options, including credit cards, cash on delivery, and mobile payments or e-wallets, is a good idea to make sales as accessible as possible. Using digital payment methods also reduces the amount of information that customers are required to input when checking out their cart. Methods such as PayPal and Apple Pay can be authorized without entering lengthy payment details, which not only saves time but assures the customer that the transaction is completely secure with no risk of fraud since the eCommerce platform never directly processes their payment information. 

• Use positive incentives for signup 

Sometimes websites rely on negative incentives by making browsing and checkout inconvenient unless you log in. This is not the best way to get people to make accounts and shop more regularly; instead, provide positive reasons to sign in so customers will decide it’s better to make an account. Loyalty programs that give points for purchases are one popular and extremely effective method that can increase spending by 22% and require an account to use. Other advantages of logging in include quicker checkout, saved browsing history and product wishlists, and other features that make browsing more convenient rather than making guest browsing less accessible. 

• Create a trustworthy site overall

Customers may be wary of creating an account for a site or mobile app that they don’t trust. Reassure users of the platform’s trustworthiness with security features and personalized signals of reliability. To display security, ensure the site has a current SSL certificate to prevent data from falling into the wrong hands. Also, require a strong password and use encryption to prevent data loss. Display your site’s policy for disclosing data breaches and its commitment to following data protection laws such as Europe’s GDPR. 

Other signs of trust include promises of great customer service and responsiveness to customer feedback. Offer a clear and generous return and refund policy that shows customers how the company will respond to any issues that the customer has with their orders. Create a detailed ‘About Us’ and ‘Contact Us’ page so your brand has a strong presence and customers will understand who you are and how you can be reached. These signals will assure customers that the site is stable, reliable, and not fraudulent. Customers will feel better about creating an account for an eCommerce platform that will be there for them. 

Final Thoughts 

Getting new customers to create an account is one of the biggest challenges of a new online business, and once that step is passed, customers will be less reluctant to browse your eCommerce platform, leading to more conversions and sales. Getting this challenge out of the way is the key to building a successful eCommerce business.