In today’s busy society, many people pride themselves on their ability to multitask. But in reality, our brains can only handle so much information, or cognitive load, at one time.

Cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory at any given time. When it comes to website design and user experience, cognitive load refers to how easy or challenging it is for users to process information and complete tasks on a website or app.

By designing websites with cognitive load in mind, e-commerce retailers can make their sites and apps more user-friendly, efficient and accessible. Not only does this benefit customers, but it also contributes to the overall success of the digital product or service.

Benefits of Reducing Cognitive Load

• Your e-commerce business could realize a number of benefits by reducing cognitive load, including the following:
• Improved User Experience: Customers will enjoy their experience on your site more if they can navigate and make purchases more easily.
• Increased Efficiency: Customers can complete tasks faster when they don’t have to process so much information. It’s far easier to simplify tasks for customers than to try to motivate them to figure complicated things out themselves.
• Higher Conversion Rates: When customers have less cognitive load, it’s easier for them to make positive buying decisions, which can lead to higher conversion rates and better business outcomes.

Simplicity is Key

The best way to reduce cognitive load on your e-commerce website is to make everything as easy for customers as possible and keep things simple for them. Simplicity changes behaviour for the better.

When users visit an e-commerce site, they’re typically in pursuit of specific products. A simple, clean website design helps them navigate through the pages seamlessly, find what they need quickly and make a purchase without any hassle.

Following are some examples of e-commerce businesses that have reaped benefits by reducing cognitive load on their websites.

Eliminating Unnecessary Steps to Purchase

A men’s fashion retailer was making it difficult for customers to buy suits online. If they wanted to buy a jacket, waistcoat and trousers together, customers had to add each item to their basket separately. Research data showed that customers were frequently making mistakes by not realising each item had to be added to the basket together.

So we streamlined the design of the page, including reducing the number of times a user had to select ‘Add to Bag’ from three times to just one. When tested, the new streamlined design improved conversions on mobile by over 5% and reduced the amount of effort (or number of clicks) required to buy products by more than 20%.

Capitalising on the Picture Superiority Effect

Research has shown that the human brain learns and retains information much better when it comes in the form of images rather than words. This is why images can have a greater and more lasting impact on customer behaviour than text. This psychological phenomenon is referred to as the picture superiority effect, which we discussed in a recent article.

A global fashion retailer was using a large volume of text to promote the many product categories on its website, which was making it difficult for users to navigate the site and find what they were looking for. There was just too much information for customers to take in.

So we redesigned their website by adding images alongside category names in their top-level navigation. While this made the mobile page longer, it was faster and easier for users to view and understand the images, which were more helpful in getting them started on their search and discovery journey. The result was an increase into users accessing deeper pages (i.e: PLP and PDP) and an increase in conversions.

Using Authoritative Endorsements

Research conducted for a consumer global antivirus software provider indicated that customers’ self-efficacy was low. In other words, customers had little confidence in their ability to make an informed buying decision on their own as they struggled to distinguish the value of one antivirus software package compared to another.

We made this task easier for them by inserting persuasive messaging that this antivirus software had been recognised as the best in its industry for the past two years running. This authoritative endorsement made it easier for unpersuaded customers to make a positive buying decision.

This approach was tested in eight different countries across three continents and conversions were increased by at least 10% in each country. The new design was the rolled out globally across more than 40 different countries.

Simplifying the T&C Page Backfires

For a value catalogue retailer with over 1.5 million active customers, we recognised there was a drop off when customers were on the terms and conditions page. While the drop off was relatively small, we believed we could reduce it even further by simplifying this page.

Our hypothesis was that by simplifying and clarifying the visual presentation of the T&C page, we would allow users to quickly scan information relating to the terms and conditions and proceed to the next checkout page faster.

But when tested our hypothesis, this cleaner and easier to understand T&C page lost significantly against the original cluttered T&C page. It turns out that by making the T&C page easier to understand, more customers actually engaged with the content. But they didn’t like this content, so they exited the site without making a purchase.

We discovered that helping users engage with the terms and conditions interrupts their default behaviour and forces them to make a conscious decision, which ended up being to leave the site. In this instance, it’s far easier for them to ignore the wording of terms and conditions and just accept them! Their default behaviour — to ignore terms and conditions — turns out to be simpler and more profitable behaviour.

Simplicity Stands Out

In the crowded e-commerce marketplace, simplicity stands out. It facilitates a better user experience, increases conversion rates and builds trust. And the key to simplicity is reducing cognitive load.

This isn’t just a design choice — it’s a strategic business decision that has far-reaching positive implications for your brand’s success. Proactively embracing simplicity and reducing cognitive load can accelerate revenue growth for e-commerce businesses.

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