Five Things eCommerce Sites Can Learn From Stores

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For those who think that the online business is chasing away the brick and mortar world...read this article please.
There are at least 5 things eCommerce sites can learn from stores.

There’s no question digital commerce is driving the bulk of growth in the retail sector, but it’s still the new kid on the block. Stores are good for digital just as digital is good for store. These channels will live in parallel in a world of unified commerce, where shoppers move seamlessly from store to online and mobile. Need proof? An October study found that shoppers who browse retail sites on their phones from within stores spend up to 150% more in the store than shoppers who don’t.

Here are five things that online merchants can learn from stores:

1. Experience the brand with all your senses

A physical store, be it temporary or permanent, is still the only place a customer can see, touch, smell, taste and hear your brand.

Here are a few ways stores can impact the senses and a customer’s emotional attachment to a brand.

•        Smell- a pleasing sent that embeds a positive memory association with products
•        Touch- the tactile response to the quality of a design or fabric
•        Taste- a free sample that lets you try before you buy
•        Sight –the strategically placed last minute, got-to-have-it impulse purchase
•        Sound- the sounds of holiday music filling the store gets you in the holiday (and buying) spirit

2.  Expand brand awareness

As reported in a recent Forbes article, a recent survey by William Blair of teens and young adults found that “almost 41% of those surveyed said they were hitting the malls more this year, which was the first uptick in mall traffic since 2013.”  Simply put, a variety of shopping channels give you access to new customers. A physical presence at a popular event or shopping location gives you access to customers who may otherwise never see your brand. One example: a small power-bar company setting up shop at the finish line of a marathon. 

In this way, pop-up stores have become a key strategy for online retailers seeking to expand their brand into new markets. Even Amazon and Google are experimenting with the pop-up concept.

3. Better understand the customer

If you want your customer to engage with your brand (and buy) across all channels, you must understand their shopping behavior across your channels. What are they looking at? How are they searching? Are they abandoning carts? The combination of online and in-store data allows you to identify and target key shopping behaviors including:

•        Online browsing/product research and in-store purchases
•        Store purchases driving traffic online
•        Promotional and product preferences in different channels

4. Learn from your elders

Stores have been around a lot longer than eCommerce sites, which means that slick, fast-growing sites can learn a thing or two (or more) from stores to enhance the online experience.

• Keeping up with changing trends
• Provide additional value
• Visual merchandising matters

5. Deliver products quickly 

Waiting days to receive an online order is no longer the case when it comes to meeting customer expectations. Same day delivery, pioneered by companies like Amazon and Uber, is becoming commonplace in some regions. Retailers can address this change in expectation and deliver value to the business by relying on fulfilment from the store. There is no doubt this will cause a shift in operations, requiring retailers to become more agile. But retailers like Home Depot, in a recent Wall Street Journal article, are seeing success with 42% of their online orders and 90% of their online returns for the second quarter of 2016 handled by its stores.

Returning items to the store is actually great for the brand. Not only do they avoid the cost of return shipping, they get the shopper in the store and raise the chance that the shopper will buy another item.

http://blog.demandware.com/author/erindorshorst