Consumers buying online now do product, brand, and price comparisons while finding ways to reduce shipping costs, according to a digital influencer and an e-commerce advocate.

“So definitely shipping (fee) is a game-changer, it is not the price alone. The second factor that will influence the price of a product would be the shipping fee,” John Maxwell team executive director Janette Toral said in a webinar.

Toral said some of those selling products or services online may try to jack up the shipping fee.

“But maybe you jacking up the shipping price will be the very reason why your sales are low because your shipping price is way too high while your competitors are trying to find ways that they can reduce the shipping price or even make the shipping available for free just to get that customer away from you,” she told product and service

providers.

Toral said another thing the customers will also do before they make any purchase is to check reviews about the product or service.

She said some customers interested in buying products may look on e-commerce sites, or validate a merchant on Facebook or search it in Google.

“…But when you Google them, you can hardly find them in Google because they don’t have any presence outside Facebook, maybe one of them will have a presence outside Facebook. And if I am already comfortable buying on social media platforms, maybe that will move me to purchase but if it is too expensive and I’ll find a reliable supplier on Facebook and it is cheaper that it has a lot of reviews, I will still think about where I should buy that product or service,” she added.

Toral said more customers also look for opportunities to try the item by ordering small quantities or sampler sizes, or get or exchange online or offline.

She cited as examples some online clothing stores allowing customers to order multiple sizes of a product and then just return to the courier the size that does not fit them.

“For merchants, being able to send a product immediately, allowing people to get or exchange online and offline, (and) giving your customers the opportunity to try the item are all inconvenient. (But) it’s also one of the reasons why they may not be buying from you because your competitors might be offering it…,” she added.

Toral advised product and service providers to determine first what the customers want before they finalize their business models.

“We wanna think about what the customer does, what is the most important thing for the customer to do? We also want to think about what pains they want to overcome? We also want to think about what gains they want to have and then you, being the product or service provider, you can think about the products or services that you are offering. How can your product or service resolve customer pains so that you are offering a pain reliever and in addition, how can you add value to your customer to the point that they would also experience gains?,” she said.