Matching Customer Expectations and Staying on Top of the Trends
retailciooutlook

Matching Customer Expectations and Staying on Top of the Trends

By: Retail CIO Outlook | Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Retailers who fail to have a mobile-optimized website risk losing out on customers. In most cases, mobile users spend little time on websites, view fewer pages in each session, and have a high bounce rate

Fremont, CA: The e-commerce business has shown exceptional growth in recent years and will continue to do so in 2020. To achieve business growth, retailers need to be aware of the changing market dynamics and stay on top of market trends. It is essential to understand how the customer shops, what they are looking for from brands, and figuring out how to create more personalized experiences to meet the customers' needs. Keeping these factors in mind will help retailers to grow their business in the coming year.

Mobile First

Nearly 50 percent of all web traffic takes place on mobile devices, and a large percentage of e-commerce purchases happen on smartphones. These figures could even go higher, depending on the target audience. Retailers who fail to have a mobile-optimized website risk losing out on customers. In most cases, mobile users spend little time on websites, view fewer pages in each session, and have a high bounce rate. Retailers must keep these factors in mind while optimizing their webpages for mobile devices.

Seamless Experience

Retailers, who operate from both brick and mortar stores, as well as e-commerce websites, need to ensure that there is a seamless experience between the two. Many in-store transactions are actually the results of digital interaction since many people do their research online before even stepping foot into a store to try the product or chat with an associate. Apart from ensuring consistent prices across platforms, retailers need to also consider allowing in-store pickups, free in-store returns, and also ensure that the branding on the website is reflective of the store.

Live Chat

Amidst a growing instant gratification culture, customers do not like to have to wait for replies while some may not even want to talk on the phone. This is where live chat provides an excellent option for e-commerce stores to offer support and answer questions that customers may have about various products. Assigning a real person to look after this task gives it a more personal touch, enhancing the overall customer experience.

Using Bio-Tech Platforms

Customers are becoming increasingly aware of the impact that large conglomerates have on their lives, and also the implications on privacy and data protection. Brands need to realize that the cost of doing business across these platforms is not really yielding the long-term, sustainable business growth they want. This is where retailers need to be prepared for a shift, more sustainable growth strategies like personalized marketing that enable brands to use the marketing channels within their control to develop better and more personal relationships with their customers that lead to long-term growth.

Personalized Content

With competition rapidly growing, it is the brand that provides the most customized experience that stands out. As a result, it is more important than ever that retailers use the data available at their disposal about customers and create relevant and engaging personalized experiences. This also means more personalized, spam-free messages using all the communication tools available directly to the company.

Payment Options

One of the primary reasons behind the success of Amazon is its option to save billing and shipping information, which makes it easier for customers to checkout without having to enter data manually every single time. Retailers should explore the various options available to them to make the customers' checkout experience memorable and straightforward. Incorporating multiple payment options such as PayPal, Samsung Pay, or other financing options can improve the overall experience of the customer. Besides, these payment gateways will already have the necessary information stored, making it easy for the customer to complete the payment process, saving the need to enter card details every time a customer wants to complete a purchase.

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