Make sure that your current customers know that they have two ways to shop. Your store should carry signs providing information about your website, and your catalogs and website should make it easy for customers to find the locations of your stores. Customers should be made aware that if they can’t find a particular item online, that it might be in the store and vice versa. Position these two types of presence as a convenience designed to let your customers shop in the way that best suits them.
Mimic your store’s feel online – Bring colors and décor from your store to your site. The website should have the same overall feel that the storefront has. This will make your regular customers feel more comfortable shopping online and will reinforce your overall image.
Conversely, some customers will find something in your store and then buy it later online, perhaps because they wanted time to think it over before making the purchase. Keep these things in mind when designing your site. For example, you may want to have a program on your site that checks inventory levels in an individual store, so that a customer can find out if their local store currently has their desired product in stock. And, in your store, you may want to have signs reminding your customers that additional inventory is available online.
Retail storefronts and online shops work very well together and can help increase business significantly. Use the tools available to you to make shopping your store a gratifying experience, whether your customers shop in your store or online.
Use your online store to generate customers from outside your geographic locations. One of the biggest benefits of being an online retailer is that your customer base is no longer limited by geography. So, focus your marketing e forts for your online store in gaining customers who wouldn’t normally have access to your product. This is where you can see big revenue gains.
Understand that your website will be used as a research tool. Many of your store’s customers will use your website as a search tool and then come in to your store to buy. This is especially true if you sell clothing, because many people will want to try the clothing on before they buy it.
Make returns easy. One of the reasons people choose not to shop online (particularly with clothing) is the fact that the item must be shipped back if they choose to return. Make returning an online item easy by allowing your online customers to return items in your stores. Knowing they can return items in stores even if they bought it online may make customers much more comfortable with shopping on your website.
For more tips on using e-commerce to your business advantage, check out our other pages. We’ll help you learn how to set up your e-commerce business and how to market it. Plus, we’ll give you some real insight on how e-commerce has changed the face of retail and how it can be good for you, too.