Remember walking round a real-life store?
There’s a lot ecommerce retailers can learn from their brick and mortar friends.
When was the last time you walked around a brick and mortar store? Now, think of the reasons why you ventured inside. You’re likely to be one of two people: You know what you want and are ready to get in and out, or you’re happy to spend time browsing, weighing up alternatives and getting some facts to help you inform your decision to buy.
Now imagine you couldn’t find what you were looking for. Perhaps the store couldn’t provide direction to the right product, offered little help and information, or simply lacked customer service skills. What would you do? You’d find yourself so frustrated that you’d simply walked out to find an alternative business that could help you – perhaps without the original business even being aware of your visit.
How does this apply to your ecommerce web development?
You’re probably wondering what this has to do with ecommerce website design. Brick and mortar stores and ecommerce retailers have a lot more in common than you’d think, especially when it comes to crafting truly responsive website design. Your ecommerce store should be customer friendly and accessible, both for those making known purchases and the more casual browser. It needs to factor in the users experience to form a functional and approachable website.
5 lessons to learn from real life experience
- Using specific landing pages for your key products or services can make it easy and hassle-free for a searcher to use your site exactly as they wish to.
- Help the casual browser stay longer on your ecommerce website by ensuring your website is easy to navigate
- Offering an easy method to gain online help, perhaps through the use of a chat box, can encourage visitors to communicate with you, rather than simply go somewhere else and try again.
- Find ways to sell up by offering discounts for bulk buys, a newsletter sign-up, or bundled items i.e. a single pass yoga session could cost the buyer $25, but a ten class pass could be priced at $180, saving the customer $7 per class. These actions build trust, encourage loyalty and replicate the actions of a real-life store sales assistant.
- Find an opportunity to show your appreciation for your customers. You can do this by asking for their feedback on their recent purchase with a personalised email marketing campaign, or a simple thank you note coupled with a small discount on their second purchase. Perhaps you could provide further advice on making the most of their new product – even if by means of an automated response – can help add the human element to what might be seen as an impersonal purchase.
As a leading Brisbane digital and creative agency, our talented iFactory team are ready to work with you to produce a vibrant ecommerce platform for your business. Get in contact with us today to discuss your unique ecommerce website needs.
