Is e-commerce the savior for retail owners?
When there’s smoke there’s fire. When there’s slow store sales, there’s trouble. Brick and mortar businesses have to get onboard with online visibility.
Retail was the one of the largest industries hit when Covid began. Mandatory shut downs and stay in place orders forced retailers to close doors completely, leaving inventory going unsold for months.
The impact didn’t last long for stores who were quick to move business online. Retailers who had an online presence were already a step ahead of the businesses who were trying to launch stores to meet their local customers, who could no longer shop in store.
Shopify was the biggest winner of the e-commerce boom of 2021. They saw a 347% increase in stock shares while pulling in $4.6 billion in revenue. This comes after 5.4 million new business applications were filed for the year. Owning a brand and business became a path away from traditional jobs and Shopify leaned into it by making e-commerce simple for everyone.
Now that the pandemic restrictions and relief has been lifted there’s been other economic struggles retailers are facing. Customers who were quick to spend money on extracurricular spending are feeling the squeeze of inflation. There’s also more push for sustainability and transparency with customers in mid to luxury markets wanting more from brands before they spend money. Businesses are spending more to improve customer experiences in-store and online. The winning strategy is to make their experience simply and personable.
Your customer’s journey in-store and online should be seamless. I’ve sat down with retail owners who made it through the dark Covid days and we discussed what business feels like post Covid. It’s inconsistent and many are still without websites. Doors are open but walking traffic isn’t bringing in enough to cover operating expenses. Store owners are slow to move inventory online because it seems like a big machine that could take too much to operate, that’s far from the truth.
Why reach 100 customers a week when you need 1000 to make sales? In-store shopping is a great community reach business that gives value and reassurance to your local shoppers. Retailers have the power to host in-store shopping events, join neighborhood markets and offer personal shopping to increase sales. That’s as far as a business can go when there’s no online presence.
What does the future of retail shopping look like for stores?
I worked at Lord & Taylor for a few years before they closed their major department stores. It’s hard to describe how mind blowing it was to watch a company fail to keep up with their own outdated business model. Big stores have a hard time changing as fast as mid size companies, who have a mission to stay up to date with their buying customers interests. We lost many historical department stores and independent businesses because they decided that becoming a digital business wasn’t necessary until the very end.
The future is dependent on consumers wanting more for their money. They are more aware now about the social and political effects of their buying power. They want more personalized shopping experiences and transparency. Retailers should source their supply chains for more sustainable products and pivot away from any over consumption strategies to a value based brand mission. New ways to customize the shopping experience both in person and virtual can increase a stores brand visibility to a fashion and tech forward client.
What would it take for brick and mortar retailers to diversify their sales channels?
Jumping into e-commerce is easier when you have an existing sales system. Retailers look at having a store as the main source of sales when it should be secondary to the most effective and low expense strategy, a website. When retailers execute their store to e-comm strategy correctly the storefront becomes the fulfillment center allowing profits from the store to remain positive and the website generates income that the retail space could not do.
You don’t lose customers when you go online. Your brick and mortar store brings in the community around you, usually about a 5-10 mile radius of reach when you rely mostly on walking and word of mouth advertising. A positive of a physical footprint is the trust and validation your business gives to prospective customers. They have a place to come in and touch the garments before deciding to purchase or not. When they leave the store they are no longer apart of the shopping experience you have created. A business with no digital presence will have no way of staying engaged with them after they have left the store. Thusly, ending the brand engagement and sales funnel.
Retailers should use their physical spaces to expand their shopping experience and engage with online shoppers on brand websites, Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, Pinterest and Ebay.
In-store to Online Selling Strategy
Order online and pickup in-store
Customer loyalty incentives for frequent shoppers
Simple and safe POS checkout
Live selling events and personal shopping concierge
Virtual fittings & 3D products for online audience
Extended customer shopping experience post in-store visit
Overstock and low inventory selling opportunities via sales channels
Black Friday Sale Strategy
Create your MVP or most valuable product with a profit margin of 60% or higher.
Forecast the amount of MVP inventory you need to sell through to make your total sales goal.
Bundle your mid-range products with your lowest priced products for a minimum price of $80 per order.
Develop a shopping incentive that encourages email and text subscribers to shop early like gift wrapping or gift card bonus.
Market the quality and value of your products now. Prepare your customers for your BFS early so they know when to order first.