The impact that online shopping has had on the retail industry cannot be overstated. Shopping online has provided consumers with an unparalleled look into a store’s offerings, all while offering a safe and convenient experience. The possibilities of what you can find shopping online are seemingly endless, and you may even stumble upon a few deals you would’ve otherwise not found in store. This e-tail impact can be seen through its earnings throughout these past years. In 2019, online shopping for products and services totaled above $3.5 trillion dollars spent with close to 2 billion people shopping online.
It’s no surprise that the company that currently rules this space is Amazon. Amazon has continuously raised the bar with regards to online shopping and the e-commerce industry over the years. At any given moment, any user can scan through over 12 million different products, some offered by Amazon, many more offered by the third-party sellers they allow on their platform. Their monthly-average user base is upwards of 200 million, so you can imagine the effect this can have on other companies in the online retail industry. In fact, Amazon is partially to blame for the high standards that many customers expect when purchasing products online. One example of this are the shipping expectations that have been established due to Amazon’s prime shipping options.
This can often lead to challenges for other online retailers who don’t possess the shipping resources that Amazon has. Online retailers struggling to keep up with this expectation should focus on finding methods to increase their shipping speeds in order to please their customers. Alternatively, these companies can look to build a package tracking page on their site for customers to track their orders. A tracking page on their own site increases brand recognition and improves the overall customer experience.
For another improvement to the customer experience, consider how convenient it is for your customers to purchase from your site. Are users able to create accounts in order to save their shipping and payment information for additional purchases? Are these users given product recommendations based on previous purchases they’ve made? Or do they receive some sort of discount code from creating an account on your site? Creating opportunities for customers to save time and money makes them more likely to make repeat purchases.
Author bio:John Hinchey is VP of Sales for Westfalia Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of logistics solutions for plants, warehouses and distribution centers. He has more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing and warehouse automation.