It goes without saying that holding on to customers should be a top priority for any business. And it's certainly easier to know the "how" to do this when a business understands what its customers' needs and expectations are.
When it comes to personal healthcare, consumers don't want to compromise quality or time. They want convenient access to essential, high-quality healthcare products and to be able to get them fast.
Especially when they are ill, unable to leave their home and are in need of a product as soon as possible, ecommerce is a saving grace. iHealth understands this and it's one of the tenets at the core of the company's origins when it launched in 2010 with the vision of empowering people to live healthier lives. This was demonstrated on a large scale during the pandemic when iHealth's COVID test and no-contact thermometer soared to best-seller status on Amazon.com and its own website, as they were critical healthcare items for a pandemic-anxious populace who could not leave their homes.
Since iHealth's launch, the company has developed the world's first Bluetooth-connected blood pressure monitor that is compatible with iOS devices and developed innovations in other consumer personal healthcare products and medical devices, including glucose monitors, body analysis scales and thermometers.
Notably as well, iHealth has built an award-winning, customer-friendly integrated digital health ecosystem with the free "My Vitals" app. Helping customers live healthier lives means iHealth aims to be at crucial steps through their health journey.
Earning Customer Trust
Earning consumer trust can also be a steep uphill climb for any company, but it's an even greater challenge for healthcare product manufacturers. Consumers want access to healthcare products, but surprisingly, they don't necessarily trust the greater healthcare industry. According to a Salesforce Connected Health Consumer Report, 69% of consumers want new ways to get existing products and services in the post-pandemic era, but only 23% of them say they completely trust the health industry.
iHealth has managed to stay ahead of the curve twofold, in earning customer trust not only in its innovative and healthcare professional-endorsed product offerings, but also in offering them a superior online shopping experience on its website.
iHealth understands the "how" to keep loyal customers, as well as attract and keep new ones in pursuing initiatives that ensure a seamless customer experience. For instance, the company was one of the early adopters of Buy with Prime when Amazon launched it in 2022 . This checkout feature allows Prime members to use their Amazon account to make purchases directly on the iHealth website and get Prime shopping benefits, such as fast, free delivery and free returns on eligible items.
Give the Customers What They Want
Why is a seemingly common benefit like free shipping important? According to studies cited by the ecommerce research firm Digital Commerce 360, shipping speed and cost are the biggest factors for consumers considering an online purchase; 62% of consumers won't purchase from an online retailer without the promise of free shipping at checkout. Although up to three-fourths of online merchants offer free shipping, 45.1% of them require customers to hit a minimum threshold purchase to qualify for this perk. That's not the case with Buy with Prime. iHealth customers that check out using Buy with Prime enjoy free shipping without a minimum purchase requirement.
Using Buy with Prime, iHealth customers with Prime memberships can place orders easily and securely and get them shipped free in as fast as one day. The increased trust and convenience from Buy with Prime has helped iHealth achieve the following (learn more in the case study):
- 22.2% increase in conversion on iHealthlabs.com
- 81.1% increase in sales per visitor
- 46.5% increase in average order value for orders placed with Buy with Prime
Customer Retention is Mission Critical
It's no secret that consumers all over the world have increasingly turned online to buy anything from baby thermometers to brand new cars. According to research by Nasdaq, by the year 2040, ecommerce is estimated to comprise an astonishing 95% of purchases globally. In the US, online sales grew by a huge 44% in 2020 when the pandemic shut down brick and mortar stores, as well as forced people to stay at home and shelter (and work) in place and look heavily to ecommerce for access to essential consumer products. During the pandemic, iHealth sold over 1 billion of its at-home COVID tests online.
Any search of ecommerce sales numbers shows it is on a rocket ship that is never going backwards. But while its soaring growth certainly bodes well for e-commerce merchants, the flip side of this is that as more businesses look to an e-commerce model for turning a profit, the space will also become increasingly crowded and competitive, creating new challenges for online merchants to stand above the competition. They will certainly need to offer an excellent customer experience, not only to attract new customers, but to retain current ones as well—the latter of which is shown in studies to be increasingly important. Customer loyalty is not to be overlooked or underestimated, according to various studies:
- The success rate of selling to an existing customer is 60-70% compared to only 5-20% for a new customer (source: Marketing Metrics)
- It can cost up to 5x more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one (source: Forbes)
iHealth understands the paramount importance of customer retention in implementing ecommerce features like Buy with Prime. The more that a company aligns its business strategies and services with understanding what customers expect and demand, the higher the chance of retaining a loyal, satisfied consumer. The iHealth team doesn't just want to empower healthier lives for people, they want to empower them with an exceptional customer experience.
