Turn Your Shop Into an Online Store
It’s been a hard few months for UK shops. First Covid-19, and now the uncertainty around a second wave which is keeping customers at home. Many of the smaller High Street shops are moving sales online to keep their sales buoyant. It’s a solution that’s attractive to customers because it offers more choice, and it makes business sense, should there be a second lockdown.
If you’re one of those retailers that’s considering supplementing your face-to-face sales with an online solution, here’s a handy eCommerce guide from the Imagefix team.
Which eCommerce Software?
You want your online store up-and-running quickly, so the best option is to use an established software solution such as Shopify or WooCommerce. These systems are set up with everything you need to sell online including a shopping cart solution, shipping options and product management. Commerce solutions are easy to integrate with existing systems and are completely customisable.
Design a Website That Offers Great Customer Service
You wouldn’t expect your customers to put up with poor service in your physical shop, would you? Well it’s exactly the same online. You need a professionally designed website that looks pleasant, isn’t overcrowded, and is easy to navigate. It should be equally responsive on mobiles, tablets, laptops – however your customers want to access it. Images are really important; they should be high quality and allow zooming and 360º views.
Show How Trustworthy You Are
Customers need to know they can trust smaller retailers, before they buy. There’s lots of ways you can build trust:
- Post reviews from happy customers on your site
- Include a picture of your team, so customers can see the people behind the site
- Tell your story on the ‘About Us’ page – explain why you’ve gone online
- Explain to visitors where your products come from, and demonstrate their quality
- Let people know how to contact you – an address is required, but give them a phone number and email as well
- Include a Data Privacy Statement to show that you will take care of your customers’ personal information
- Include the logos of trade bodies or industry standards your accredited by
Demonstrate How Much You Care About Customers
Online customers are anxious about not receiving what they’ve ordered, or receiving the wrong product and then having to battle to get their order changed. Demonstrate that you’re different. Show customers what you promise in terms of delivery, and what you will do if items need to be returned. Publish testimonials from customers who have been very happy by the customer service they’ve received.
Don’t Make Customers Wait
You know how customers hate to queue. Well they hate to wait for pages to load as well. If your page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, 40% of visitors will click away from your site. You get a fast site by buying reputable hosting, having your site speed optimised in the design process, and working with a well-known eCommerce system.
Make Sure You Can Be Found
The High Street is a great location for shops, large and small, because everyone can find them. The online equivalent of the High Street is Google Search. To get your online shop ranking on the first page of Google, you’ll need Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This involves the use of key search words in all your copy which act as signposts to customers looking for the products you sell.
Checkout Should Be Easy
At one time online checkout always required a registration process, but you rarely see it now. That’s because customers get frustrated at being held up and tend to abandon their shopping cart. Now online stores keep checkout as simple as possible. Not too much filling in of forms. Help available if needed. And friendly prompts throughout to assure customers they’re ‘nearly done’.
Keep Customers Informed
Know why customers feel comfortable buying from Amazon? Because every step of the way they’re told what’s happening with their purchase. Use their model, because you know it works. Plan the email, or text messages your customers will receive and ensure that they’re reassuring and trustworthy. And if things do go wrong – own up to it. Customers are amazingly forgiving, if you’re open and transparent.
About Imagefix
We’re a Web Design and Digital Marketing agency that specialises in eCommerce web design for small and medium sized businesses. Many of the customers we work with are new to online sales, and we’re happy to provide guidance and advice along the way. The Imagefix team are used to integrating commerce software into existing websites, or we can design a great-looking online shop from scratch.
Thinking about turning your shop into an online site? Imagefix offers a high quality, personalised service and a friendly team, so give us a call on 01525 715608
