In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Ashley Chiaradio and Kristina Stidham discuss must-have elements for your e-commerce homepage, as written in a recent article titled, “4 Things Your E-Commerce Homepage is Missing,” written by business consultant Larry Alton. The first thing you must have on your homepage is a simple search bar. Many e-commerce sites lack a search bar, or only offer it on the homepage. The search bar should be visible on every site page so that users can easily look for items, rather than filtering through product categories page by page.

Another way retailers can improve their e-commerce sites is by including user-generated reviews. Consumers trust other customers’ reviews; they want to hear what actual customers think about a retailer's products. Therefore, give those voices a prominent place on your homepage. According to research by BrightLocal, 57 percent of consumers will only shop with businesses that have four or more stars. For more about the other must-have e-commerce homepage elements, click here to read the full article.