Millions of people worldwide are surfing the Web. And businesses are trying to sell them everything from office supplies to furniture online.
Some are succeeding, some aren’t. Part of the difference between winners and losers is in the products they are trying to move; part of it is simple site design.
Small consumer goods, such as books and CDs, have fared well. Furniture and apparel sales haven’t been as strong.
“The apparel industry is a little more complex,” says Christina Thodt, vice president of new business development for Knowledge Strategies Inc., a consulting and technology firm. “It’s driven by trends and images. The fashion industry has just now been getting more sophisticated about technology. We’ve seen the beginnings of it, but we expect it to start taking off next year.”
Right now, consumers are willing to commit to a small purchase. They deem less expensive items less risky, especially because the goods will be delivered sight unseen. For online success, a product must be nonperishable, with no rush factor, and the decision to buy must basically already be made.
“Online shoppers are more educated than the larger U.S. audience,” says Thodt. “They have more income, and are going to buy products that you buy a lot of — it won’t be just one CD, it will be 10 CDs. These people are buying more and more items in more and more categories.”
If you have the right type of product — and there’s no proof that larger items won’t eventually reach the comfort level that books have — make sure your site is designed to turn browsers into buyers.
Download times are crucial. Today’s consumers are very impatient.
“If you have a slower download time, some people will leave before they ever get your information,” says Thodt. “We have found that the simpler the information and the simpler the presentation of products, the higher the conversion rates.”
A complex environment with flashy graphics that are slow to download discourages customers.
Thodt gives the following advice for selling on your Web site:
- In your initial promotion, go all out. Advertise whatever advantage you have, and give customers a good offer that will interest them in buying.
- Try to form a relationship, just like you would offline. You don’t want to make just one sale to a customer.
- Customer service is the No. 1 area of innovation on e-commerce sites. If you take care of the customer, you have an advantage. And customer service doesn’t end at the cash register. Follow through all the way to the delivery and beyond.
- Offer suggestions for other purchases based on what the customer selected this time.
- Tie together your online and offline promotions. Tie your catalogs, print, in-store promotions and online presence together. The Web is just one more tool in your sales and marketing arsenal.
How to reach: Knowledge Strategies Inc., www.knowledgestrategies.com
Todd Shryock ([email protected]) is SBN’s special reports editor.
