Written by Pauline R. Martinez
More are more people are shopping for their glasses and sunglasses online, and for good reason. The internet makes eyewear cheaper and more accessible as the public awareness around eye health continues to grow. Combined with the fact that virtually everyone has a smart device they can use to conveniently browse and order various frames and lenses for delivery straight to their doorsteps, that means eyewear e-commerce is booming—with a market currently worth more than $35 billion.
If your business is selling eyewear, you probably want to take advantage of the increase in sales globally. The good news is that you don’t need to spend a fortune or learn a ton about web development just to stand out online. By simply using open-source software like WordPress, you’ll have a cost-effective way to customize your eyewear website in ways that appeal to your audience.
That’s because online shoppers don’t judge you based on your product selection—instead, they prioritize e-commerce websites that are faster (46%), easier (48%), and more convenient (74%) to use. Ultimately, that means the right WordPress website can significantly bolster your online presence as an eyewear retailer.
Here’s what you need to do to make that happen.
Make your products easy to navigate
Buyers want to find and order the right eyewear in a matter of minutes. Given how many frame styles and lens types glasses and sunglasses can come with, however, they might have an especially challenging time if your website’s product listings aren’t easy to peruse—and that means they may click away altogether. To prevent that, try to recreate how major eyewear sites organize their catalogs using a few choice WordPress plugins.
One great place you can draw inspiration from is the internet-only retailer Eyebuydirect, where consumers can peruse more than 1,600 pairs of eyeglasses online. So, how does it make its selections easy to navigate? Filters. Site visitors can sort through Eyebuydirect’s listings based on age, gender, size, brand, color, shape, frame material, price, fit, and even rim type—making it easier for them to narrow down their choices and quickly find the pair they want.
You can handily replicate that on your own WordPress website with plugins like Etoile Web Design’s Ultimate Product Catalog. It’ll similarly organize your offerings using categories, sub-categories, prices, and product names without buyers needing to reload pages. It also works with WooCommerce and can accommodate multiple translation files, which can help add extra layers of customization that buyers are sure to appreciate.
Replicate the physical shopping experience
Eyewear is a personal accessory that many wearers use as a form of self-expression, which is why finding the perfect fit is a top priority for buyers looking for their next pair of glasses or sunglasses. In doing so, they consider factors like appearance, size, and comfort—things that are difficult to assess when buying eyewear online. That’s why many of the industry’s retailers now offer a feature that bridges the gap between physical and online shopping experiences: the virtual try-on.
Leading e-commerce giant Amazon offers this particular tool to help buyers remotely “fit” the eyewear it sells from major brands like Lenskart. The virtual try-on uses augmented reality to map a user’s face, then superimposes digital frames on it based on that user’s unique measurements. That allows buyers to check out what a model would realistically look like on them before finalizing their purchase.
You can offer that exact same feature on your website thanks to plugins like Specfit. Developed by DugudLabs, it uses device cameras and automatic eye detection to generate multiple try-on images of all the glasses and sunglasses you offer, and those images will fully respond to the buyer’s touch so they can see each model from all angles. That can make it even easier to convince your site’s visitors that they should proceed to checkout, even if they’re initially hesitant about buying eyewear without trying pairs on physically.
Streamline ordering, shipping, and return processes
Speaking of proceeding to checkout, it’s important to note that online shoppers aren’t very tolerant of e-commerce mistakes. If their payments fail to process even two times, they’re likely to abandon their carts altogether. They’re also quick to speak out about shipping delays and convoluted return policies, so it’s ideal to ensure your eyewear retail site fully leverages WordPress to streamline those issues.
That can start with using a checkout plugin like WooCommerce, which accommodates multiple payment gateways and offers tax and shipping settings that will make it simpler for you to set up your own checkout pages—and easier for your customers to use them. From here, try the likes of Etoile’s Order Tracking plugin to give buyers transparency regarding where their eyewear is and why shipping may be delayed. This tool is also great for giving out customer service tickets, making it easier for you to foster stellar brand experiences. Finally, you can look into plugins like the Flexible Refund and Return Order for WooCommerce, which WP Labs created to help online retailers handle refund and return requests in a timely and orderly fashion.
To improve the buyer’s journey even further, consider automating form filling with WordPress plugins like Gravity Forms or third-party apps like Zapier. At the surface level, this function will be useful for saving things like payment and address details. As exemplified by the websites of retailers like Zenni Optical, however, it can also be extremely useful for eyewear businesses like yours. You can use this feature to help buyers save their previous orders, which can include vital information such as the prescriptions they need for vision correction. That convenience will make your website easier to use and even make repeat purchases from.