ICYMI, shopping online is easy. Really easy. Your customers can get everything they need online. In fact, more than 80% look at products online before making an in-store purchase.
If it’s so easy to buy online, why do shoppers bother going into stores?
There are some obvious, logistical reasons for in-person shopping:
Sometimes customers are seeking product information that can’t be communicated online. They want a sensory experience with the product. They want to touch it, smell it, size it up. Maybe they want to see what the color looks like in person or if it lives up to advertising images. Perhaps they want the immediate gratification of leaving the store with the product in hand.
If we dig a little deeper, we can find a more interesting reason for going into stores: Consultative selling.
Customers are compelled to walk into stores because they want help making buying decisions. The opportunity to increase basket size starts once they are inside.
These people want expert advice from a salesperson. They want someone to help them put a whole outfit together. They want feedback around what would make the perfect gift. They want additional product recommendations and advice.
They don’t want someone to just check the stockroom for their size. They want someone to bring them their size and introduce other items that could make the outfit even better. They seek help answering the unasked question, “What else do you have that will look good on me?”
Which brings us to omnichannel. If your customer has researched your product online and has also traveled into a store, the best way to ensure a salesperson can optimize the interaction is to leverage an omnichannel solution.
Omnichannel empowers your sales team with customers’ shopping history, real time inventory across all channels, and a seamless checkout process. It provides endless opportunities to upsell and provide top customer service.
How do you increase your average transaction value? Omnichannel. Customers who use multiple channels to reach their buying decision outspend single channel customers by a factor of 3.5. Implement omnichannel and meet your customers where and how they fill their shopping carts.