Online Sales

WHAT IS MULTI-CHANNEL RETAIL

Multi-channel retail is using the combination of both online & offline channels to engage and make sales with your customers. ‘Online’ meaning your social media presence, website, online marketing etc. ‘Offline’ meaning your brick & mortar store, physical advertising in the form of posters, magazine ads etc.

Online + Offline = Oneline/Omni (or ALL)

An integrated multi-channel solution means linking some or all channels to provide a consistent brand experience, and thus build trust in your customer. A customer is more likely to purchase from a brand they trust. Progressive retailers are seamless in the transition between online & offline facilities- a superior experience is mirrored in all channels.

Multi-channel consumers spend 82% more per transaction than customers who shop in-store only (ABS).

A customer’s OMNI-CHANNEL journey may entail:

WHY MULTI-CHANNEL

The internet & technology, and mobile phones in particular, are changing the way people shop (and will continue to change as technology develops). Much shopper marketing spend is on in-store activation material; with many decisions being made before people reach the physical shop.

No longer is it about creating places to serve customers, it is about creating a connection with a customer in their place.

8 out of 10 consumers research purchases online
42% research & buy online
51% research online & then buy in-store

MULTICHANNEL TRENDS & STRATEGY

Since late 2019, online sales have greatly increased. This is largely due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Particular increases have been indicated in takeaway food, games & toys & department stores, with increases also in grocery & liquor, personal & recreational, media, household appliances, and fashion.
Thus if your business does not have an online component by now- you may be being left behind.

WHAT IS THE CONSUMER EXPECTING TO FIND WHEN RESEARCHING YOUR BUSINESS- it’s not just about your product!

Who you are
Where you are
Why they should seek you out
What you are offering them
Why they should trust you
Why they should become a return customer

Customer support, fulfillment & privacy policies now far outweigh price in the selection process.

TEN TIPS TO BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE RETAIL STRATEGY

Develop a mobile optimised website
Check the performance of the site on multiple devices (mobile, tablet, laptop etc)- so you can see it from a Customer Experience viewpoint
Provide excellent product filtering
Provide context with advanced zoom imagery, 360º product rotation options, or AR
Provide pattern / colour / material close-ups to help customers clearly view product options
Consider creating product videos or buyers guides
Customer ratings/ reviews are VERY important
Consider a ‘showcase’ showroom that displays products in real life settings
Customer service is imperative
Create the convenience of different payment and delivery options. eg Click & Collect, Afterpay etc

ONLINE RETAILERS OBJECTIVES

To publicise the organisation’s names and intent
To counter competitor initiatives
To communicate specific product and service information
To generate online transactions (or orders)
To support sales enquiries that are not made online
To enable interaction with specific customers
To provide customer service (eg complaints handling)
To facilitate relationship development and maintenance with customers
To provide information (such as product inventory) to customers
To learn about customers’ requirements
To cut costs (eg advertising or direct marketing costs)

LOGISTICS TO CONSIDER

Transportation choices- air/ sea/ courier/ post/ van/ bike
Customer collection choices- where & when!
- Use of other pick up points
- Stores/ lockers
- Other retailers (eg supermarkets)
The cost/ benefit of each logistical expense (particularly the highly regarded FREE SHIPPING incentive)
Reverse logistics- receiving returned stock- simplify the process so you can resell the items quickly

WEBSITE SOFTWARE OPTIONS TO CONSIDER

There are four common types: Off the shelf, Hosted software as a service, Tailored development, Bespoke development. There are many options to consider, with obvious pros and cons. See a few options listed below.

Shopify
Wix
WooCommerce Plus
Squarespace
BigCommerce
Magneto

BEST PRACTISE EXPERIENCE FOR MULTI-CHANNEL

Building a multi-channel experience is not difficult. Ensuring you provide a “best practice” experience across your website and store is the path to success. Consider the following:

Home/ About us- Who and what is your brand, your products/ services, purpose statement, personal story, team etc
Product info- Stock status, price, delivery fee, educational content, images (all sides) etc
Search & navigation- Sort & refine by brand/ colour/ price/ size etc
Merchandising & marketing- Consider allowing wish lists or bookmarking, coupons, cross-sell accessories etc
Basket & checkout- keep it simple & logical with many payment options
Customer profile management- Consider how to assist customers in managing their account; login, register, opt in- out, track deliveries etc
Email marketing- newsletters with promos etc
Store integration- Leverage your store by creating online promotions & offline conversations

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO) & SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING (SEM)

SEO- the practice of structuring the website and its content, obtaining inbound links from reputable websites and other activities to grain prominence within organic (un-paid) search results on relevant search times.
SEM- entails paid marketing efforts to gain prominence for a website on search engine listings, with the aim of attracting visitors who search on keywords via a search engine.

Consider paying someone to organise your Google Adwords for you (SEM), as it is a complex and continually evolving ticket that can greatly improve your online visibility.

HINTS FOR IMPROVING SEARCHABILITY

Relevant and niche keywords.
Regularly update your web content. Analyse your Google Analytics and change what isn’t working, continue doing what is working, and update regularly on popular pages.
Find popular and relevant sites to host a link to your site.