More consumers are shopping online. Regardless of age or geographic location, consumers of all shapes and sizes are relying on the web. As a result, the e-Commerce landscape is becoming more competitive, and only the retailers who create a differentiated experience will win.
But what does it really take to win the e-Commerce race?
Steve Weber, CEO of nChannel offered some words of advice as we venture into 2015:
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1. Know yourself: Although it is important to keep tabs on competitors and what they’re doing to engage customers and drive conversions, retailers can’t see success unless they know their unique brand story.
“I don’t care whether you’re talking about the retailer or yourself personally, until you know who you are it makes it difficult to establish long-lasting relationships,” Weber said. “So many retailers who make a move online fail to successful extend their brand experiences.”
For example, customers may visit a local store because they like the store associates. But some web sites merely publish products and are reminiscent of an online Yellow Page, Weber noted. By creating and extending your brand online, you can build trust and, in turn, generate interest among new consumers.
2. Know your competition: Weber explained that nChannel encourages clients to study online competitors, especially Amazon, and take notes on how products are presented, and how retailers recommend items to consumers.
“Retailers especially should pay attention to the quality of the web experience,” Weber said. “They should look at the information shared on the ‘About Us’ page, how they communicate the brand and build trust online relative to what they sell."
3. Know your customer: Many retailers, especially small and mid-sized businesses, see loyalty programs and points as mechanisms to know their customers. Instead, retailers should track and understand buyer preferences down to specific attributes, such as style and color. For example, so many consumers love Amazon because the site constantly recommends relevant products and creates a highly personalized experience.
"But what Amazon cannot do is replicate the in-store experience that the brick-and-mortar guys have,” Weber noted. “For SMB retailers, that is their opportunity to shine, and just having loyalty cards and a points program is fool’s gold from my perspective."
To help retailers exceed their competition, nChannel has added Amazon Webstore, Shopify and Bigcommerce to its Connector Community Network, which was developed to help retailers better connect their online and brick-and-mortar operations. Amazon, NetSuite, eBay, Magento, and more, totaling 28 POS and ERP software publishers that make up the entire Network.
A core facet to connecting the digital and physical worlds is ensuring product information is consistent across all channels. With help from nChannel, retailers can "define a product once and push that information out to all systems, which is very important,” Weber said. “Over the past decade, retailers ran e-Commerce as a completely separate business and had completely different SKUs and product names. Now that they’re trying to bring those experiences together, they’re mismatched."
In 2015 and beyond, retailers should strive to create an Amazon-like experience that allows consumers to compare features across a variety of different products, and search items based on specific attributes.
