PlusOne - Musings of a marketer

One of the greatest tools for people considering making a purchase is the internet. At our fingertips are product details, product reviews and perhaps most importantly, product pricing.

While we can use the internet to do all sorts of shopping comparisons, what does this really mean for both e-tailers and retailers and what can we do about it?

According to s survey by US-based Channelforce, people who researched things like digital cameras and TVs on the internet (perhaps using your site, but not buying from you) spent an average of $31 more on cameras and $139 ore on TVs when they visited their local store to buy.

One can assume the reason for this was through research and education about the products and their features, customers were more confident when buying. Lucky salesperson - having a pre-qualified customer….

Another survey, the “The Multi-Channel Shopping Transformation Study,” had some interesting findings, also pointing to the fact that the internet can be used to reach and inform, but more sales are still closed off-line:

We can see here that buying off-line remains the norm.

Emarketer.com also writes:

The propensity to research online prior to purchasing in a store is to some degree a function of consumer demographics. Men are much more likely than women to regularly shop this way (44% vs. 27%, respectively). Among age groups, those ages 25 to 34 are the most avid cross-channel shoppers (41%), while those ages 55 to 64 (31%) and 65 and older (23%) demonstrate the least interest. Consumers with annual incomes of at least $50,000 (44%) are more likely to shop in this manner than consumers who have lower incomes (28%).

So why the differences between on-line and off-line purchasing?

My hypotheses and thoughts:

1. People are still more comfortable with dealing with the tangibility of real world shopping - being able to physically examine the product.
Try: greatly improved images, from angles that people would view the product - in close up as well.

2. Price - yes while the internet is supposed to be delivering cheaper prices through a reduced need for physical infrastructure this is eroded by the fact that many online businesses need almost as much infrastructure and staff as a real world store…its just a showroom that is virtual. Also consider the cost of delivery. For some purchases this can amount to a significant percentage of the purchase price. A bit of fuel and time to go to a real world store can still seem cheaper.
Try: Pricing needs to be competitive as a total purchase price, not just item by item.

3. In a store you can still ask questions and get instant responses from a salesperson who is (we hope!) up-to-date on the product and its features. Online the instant message style services are often closed more than they are open (though from my experience in providing this service people still use email).
Try: Featuring typical customer questions about a product - even if you need to make them up. The answers will increase trust.

4. Good old instant gratification. Yes, I want it today, not in a week.
Try: is there a way to get the item shipped faster? In one of our stores it has been noted that because it is shipped that day (pre 2.30pm) as a deciding factor to buy. The time taken for it to arrive by post was well down the list of considerations.

5. Closing the sale is still a major issue. In-store this can be a simple verbal question. Online this question is simplified to a buy button.
Try: Making several sale closing avenues. In addition to the impersonal ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Add to cart’ engage the reader in the text or other visuals and make them feel good about clicking.

Do you have thoughts or feedback. Please share by comments.