With COVID lockdowns a fact of life, online sales continue to soar. Worldwide, eCommerce has boomed with consumers not only embracing online shopping for essentials such as food and groceries and health and wellbeing, but also as a form of retail therapy for indulgence items to help them through the pandemic.
According to Jam Pathirana,CEO and founder of eCommerce organisation B dynamic, businesses that moved quickly to offer their customers a simple end to end seamless experience online are winning the online race in 2021. Despite this, online shoppers are becoming even more demanding.
“Shoppers are becoming more and more online savvy as each day of COVID goes by. In short, they know what they want and if brands don’t deliver, they will go elsewhere. Online businesses need to weaponise elements of their service in order to survive and thrive,” Pathirana said.
5 things online shoppers want post-pandemic
Incentives to purchase online
“As more businesses shift to eCommerce, consumers are being inundated with special offers, discounts, 20% off codes, and more,” Pathirana said.
“Incentives to purchase are key to winning new business. If a consumer has a number of buying choices, they will often select the one that gives them the best type of reward for purchasing.
“Businesses need to ensure they have captivating incentives in place to capture new customers. These need to be sufficiently enticing to lure them away from other sites. Once a new customer is on board, you are able to continue to marketing to them with special offers and other deals.”
More ways to pay including crypto
“In addition to offering captivating incentives to purchase, shoppers also are looking for more and different payment options on mobile and desktop sites including the ability to purchase using crypto,” Pathirana added.
“With a sharp rise in online fraud and scams during the pandemic, shoppers need to feel safe and be able to pay using a platform they trust.
“Payment facilities such as PayPal and Apple Pay are widely trusted by online shoppers on an international scale, providing a frictionless checkout experience. In addition, many online businesses are providing shoppers with the option to save their payment details for a fast and easy checkout experience.
“Businesses that offer tech enhancements to normalise the checkout experience and also reduce the fear of fraud, make consumers more likely to buy from their site.
“Payment options that include crypto will attract a different type of buyer. The latest research shows that one in four people in Australia hold or have held crypto. In Japan, Bitcoin is widely used as a payment option. My advice is, be innovative and offer different and interesting solutions. This will generate support and a strong customer following.”
Simple online return policy
According to Pathirana, return policies and processes are as important as sales policies.
“Online shoppers do their research before they buy and often they will compare return policies as part of the consideration process,” Pathirana explained.
“Shoppers return products for a number of reasons – change of mind, doesn’t fit, wrong colour. It is important to ensure you have excellent return policies and processes in place as this will set you apart from your competitors.”
Instant customer service through different avenues
“Every shopper is different. Some like to chat over the phone. Others like to send emails and some want immediate help in the form of online chat,” Pathirana emphasised.
“In 2021, businesses need to offer shoppers the ability to access customer service via a number of different methods and some of them must be immediate.
“Consumers are used to getting their information online fast and they want to receive assistance just as fast. Providing instant customer service will help to win customers ahead of your competitors.”
Fast, cheap and reliable delivery
“When it comes to online shopping, the biggest differentiator is delivery. Shoppers want the fastest delivery possible, and the online business that provides this type of service will win the business,” Pathirana said.
“Shoppers want the fastest, cheapest and most reliable delivery possible with highly visible tracking capability. Speed of delivery is the new ‘compete’ weapon. Weaponise this and you’ll annihilate your competition.”
Pathirana states that any business can succeed online as long as they do the right things. Third-party fulfilment providers that offer turnkey solutions can turn a physical business into a highly tuned well managed successful online business in a short amount of time.
Pathirana believes that with assistance, many Australian businesses will be able to drive growth online through the pandemic as long as they take meaningful steps towards onboarding the right ecommerce systems and fulfilment support.
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