This year is already a quarter over, and that’s enough time to see what 2014’s trends will be. One of the most distinct occurrences has already shown itself—a consumer’s preference for wanting their own specialised shopping experience, and whilst that’s becoming increasingly possible online and offline with the use of ‘big data’, it still all boils down to giving consumers what they want.
Buzz Words Don’t Mean a Thing if They Ain’t Got That Swing
Ecommerce retailers delight in tossing around terms like “data-driven” and “networked purchased path”, but that means little to the average consumer who visits your offline store, webstore or comes across your products on Amazon or Rakuten’s Play.com. Instead, what they really want is a simple, easy shopping experience that makes their visit non-distracting—and that’s true whether the experience is online or offline.
Where you step in is thinking like your shopper. Let’s say you walk into a sleep store, looking for pillow and sheets. The last thing you want is a salesperson explaining to you the fine differences between 500- and 600-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets when all you want is a comfortable bed to sleep on.
Give Customers What They Want
On Amazon, if I search for Samsung 40 inch televisions I’ll be presented with—yes you guessed it—Samsung 40 inch televisions. It’s a case of giving the customer exactly what they’re looking for, and nothing else—initially. While you don’t want to overburden consumers right off the bat with excess information, you do want to make it available in case they’re looking for it. The key here is to use your tech savviness to your advantage, cluing in on your target demographic without being overbearing. Here are the tips you should be following:
Let the Line Out One Inch at a Time
In fishing, a classic rookie’s mistake is reeling out the entire line all at once in the beginning. Fish may appear slower than the rube that fell off the turnip truck, but they, too, will eventually learn not to bite at the first thing that comes along.
Instead, find a third-party platform, like Estimote Beacons, that zaps just the right amount of fishing reel to your customer at the time they’re most ready to bite. It’s great because some customers are warm water biters and some aren’t—this hones in on all of that by targeting consumers according to their preferences and history.
Release the Prize at the Right Time
If you’ve ever been to a surprise birthday party or a magic show, you know that success lies in the timing. This is why you have to deliver your product with that concept in mind so you can get a leg up on your competitors. Amazon is great at having really fast delivery, sending off merchandise as soon as possible and often with no extra charge—if you’re an FBA seller, you’ll enjoy the peace of mind that gives, but if you fulfil your orders independently from marketplace sales, own webstore sales, or physical store sales, you’ve got to aim to offer the same seamless service as Amazon.
One of the main reasons customers shop online is because they don’t want to deal with all the hassle that comes with shopping in person, as opposed to the quickness and comfort of buying online from their own homes (even though it’s faster to shop in person in many cases). Be aware of that, and send their product in a timely manner. And remember that price is a major factor online, particularly in winning the Amazon Buy Box or appearing high up in search results, so ensure you’ve got an effective repricer in place to keep your stock competitive.
Make Individualised Service a Standard, Not an Exception
One of the neatest features of Google is it asks you if you want to save your password most times when you enter it on a site. This type of personalisation makes surfers feel like Google is paying special attention to them and trying to make their lives easier.
How you can apply this to your business is to gather information about your customers so each progressive shopping search is more targeted and easier to perform.
As shoppers move into an age where their disposable income affords them more selection and options, being a successful ecommerce merchant means keeping up with their preferences.
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