How Is Your Website Affecting Consumer Purchases?
We’ve known for some time that people shop online and purchase off line, although that may be changing. Nevertheless, according to a study by Nielsen, 80% of people who purchase off line purchase from a store whose website they’ve visited. That’s nice to know, isn’t it?
Well, it is nice to know unless you are the store they aren’t buying from. Keep in mind that if people are buying in your brick and mortar store because they’ve been to your website then your website is the reason they are buying from you. You have to connect the two. Is your website user friendly? Can customers find what they are looking for easily? Could they purchase just as easily from your website even if they do drive to your store to get it in person?
In today’s business economy it is vitally important not only to have a website, but to have a website that beats the competition hands down. For most retailers, your competition is not just local brick and mortar businesses, but online businesses located anywhere. That means the competitive landscape is bi-fold (brick and mortar/local and online/global). You have to compete on both folds.
The No. 1 priority for online retailers with a brick and mortar location for customers to make purchases is to make your website so intuitive that customers can purchase from it if they want to. Due to rising gas prices, many customers will opt to purchase online because it will be cheaper to pay for shipping than it will be to drive. Soon, the only people driving to pick up what they want to purchase will be people who need it now. But even they will do their consumer research online before making the drive. You’d better have your website ready to receive them.
Melberg Marketing
Blue Chip Marketing Tips
Small Business Mavericks
Tags: brick and mortar business, competition, consumer behavior, local business, website
July 25th, 2008 at 4:04 am
How Is Your Website Affecting Consumer Purchases?
We’ve known for some time that people shop online and purchase off line, although that may be changing. Nevertheless, according to a study by Nielsen, 80% of people who purchase off line purchase from a store whose website they’ve visited.