Without e-commerce your working for competitors
Publication Date: 2007-01-23
Article category: e-Commerce
E-commerce and the Digital Divide.
Without an e-commerce facility your store is in danger of becoming your competitors fitting rooms. A simple on-line presence can stop you losing valuable sales to the Internet.
The assessment of the Christmas 2006 spending shows a familiar trend.
Again the trends divide between those who take e-retail seriously and those who do not, with figures showing a major growth in on-line retail:
"British consumers spent £7.66 billion online in the ten-week run-up to Christmas 2006 - between 16 October and 24 December - 54% (53.8%) more than the £5 (£4.98) billion spent online during the same period in 2005, and more than double the £3.33 billion recorded in the approach to Christmas 2004" source: IMRG
"John Lewis saw its online sales soar 60% in December. Tesco.com broke all records with 1.3m shoppers buying food and presents on the site in the four weeks before Christmas - up 30% on 2005. Amazon.com had its best holiday season, with more than 4m items worldwide ordered on December 11 - a record for a single day." source: Guardian Unlimited Business
"Online retailers benefited from a 40% increase in sales in Q4, increasing retail sales online by GBP1bn to GBP3.5bn compared to the fourth quarter of 2005. The share of online sales was 4.7% of total retail sales in Q4 2006.
'Retailers without transactional websites are losing sales to competitors – and will continue to do so, says [retail analyst with Verdict Research, Maureen] Hinton 'However those with web offers must fulfil their obligations to deliver in time for Christmas – which means managing availability, deliveries and the supporting customer services, seamlessly.'” source: just-style.com
Those who don't do e-commerce will lose sales to those who do.
This means pretty soon if you don't get an on-line presence your shop will simply become a fitting room for your competitors, as customers use you to try on or handle goods which they then source on-line where they look for better deals. Even if you offer great deals, customers seeking to make major purchases will still want to check that there isn't a better deal on-line, and once settled at home with a similar deal on the screen in front of them, many of them will take the on-line 'one click away ' option rather than get back in the car and travel to your shop again. Sorry, but it's human nature, everyone says they want great customer service, friendly, knowledgeable staff and the facilities to try out their purchases, but where cold hard cash is concerned those services will not necessarily translate into customer loyalty and sales. Unless you can follow the transaction through to the final 'click'.
An example of lost sales: Bob and Jenny go shopping.
Bob and Jenny are both keen walkers. They met at University where they discovered a shared passion for the outdoors, however Bobs waterproof jacket which he bought at the time is looking pretty threadbare now. Both now have decent jobs and have some spare cash so Jenny wants to treat Bob for his birthday.
They've both bought off the internet before but Bob wants to try some coats on before he decides, so they walk through your door looking to find his dream coat. Now Bob has read the magazine reviews and he's done a little research on-line to see the sort of prices he's expecting to pay, but he cannot tell how each feels when it's on, so there is your opportunity.
Your experienced sales staff takes Bob through the range explaining the advantages of each, and Bob settles on three to try on. Jenny looks on as Bob tries each one on, making little comments about the ascetic qualities of each, before they settle on one coat in a particular size and particular colour.
Ok, so you've explained the range, given advice on which ones suit Bobs needs, let them ponder the unquantifiable choices of colour and size, and they've reached a conclusion, so now you make the sale yes? Well no actually.
If Bob is a little more forward he may ask about your 'best price', if not they may make an excuse about thinking it over with a cup of coffee. Which ever it is, they are now armed with all the details they need, details you've provided, and while your staff have worked hard to get them into a buying frame of mind, it may not be you that gets the sale as Bob and Jenny go home to see what deals are available on-line.
How to stop sales walking out the door: Bob and Jenny go shopping again.
Lets rewind a little. In this version of events, your sales person has just got them to settle on one coat, and Jenny is just explaining that they are going to think about it. But now your sales person has an Ace up their sleeve. they asks Bob for his email address (explaining that it will not be passed on or used in any other way), and after waving goodbye to Bob and Jenny, your sales person pops in the back to email Bob with a link to the coat he chose on your e-commerce enabled website. This will now be waiting for Bob when he gets home. The link will automatically take him to the correct page with the size and colour selected and a prominent 'Buy Now' button visible. Bob may still want to check out other offers but at least your still in the running and you've got an advantage, according to the 'Two Step Sale' principle, you've already sold yourself, which puts you ahead of the other retailers.
You could also include a unique promotional code that allows Bob an extra discount if he comes and collects the coat from your store (saving you the packing and posting), doesn't that show you value his custom?
Work for yourself, not your competitors.
In our first scenario you actually do the work for your competitors! And this is not the worst case, suppose Bob and Jenny were not actually contemplating buying a coat, but just popped in for a pair of socks and your super sales person actually generated a sale from nothing. In this case your not just losing existing sales to your competition, your actually generating new sales for them, what a generous individual you are.
In the second scenario, you not only keep the sale, but you have generated traffic for your e-commerce web site. Bob and Jenny also now know about a site they previously did not and so may bring repeat business to you, and, if you included the promotional code, Bob will boast of the 'special' discount he got off your prices to his friends who may also bring trade your way.
Think it over, but not for too long.
With the year on year growth in on-line sales, the retail sector is rapidly dividing into those who do and those who don't, and as we've seen those who don't will end up effectively working for those who do. So which side of the digital fence do you want to be on?
Article Author: Stuart
