We’re currently living in unprecedented times as the novel COVID-19 virus is impacting every corner of the globe. As a result, businesses and consumers alike are having to adapt in order to minimise exposure and personal risk. One significant change is how people are shopping, choosing to make their purchases online to avoid busy shopping malls and supermarkets, whether by choice or enforced social distancing.
Of course, for retailers this means online shopping is likely to see a surge in sales over the coming weeks, months and possibly even until the end of the year. In order to ride this wave and adapt to the shift in shopping habits, this post will be sharing a number of insights on how to optimise your online store, so it’s equipped to meet increasing demand for online retail, both now and for the future.
Assess your website usability
User experience, also known as UX, has become a key focus for website design, ensuring visitors can easily and quickly navigate through the site to find exactly what they’re looking for.
When it comes to ecommerce sites this is even more important, as shoppers have no qualms with shifting their loyalties elsewhere if they can buy the same product with far less hassle. Therefore, ensuring your website offers a positive browsing experience and a checkout process that’s slick and simple is essential. However, behind the scenes you also want to ensure your website and business model have the right capabilities to handle an increase in order volumes.
By focusing on key areas of UX, such as browsing and purchasing, and making a few minor tweaks to how your site looks and functions could make all the difference in bolstering usability – delivering a far smoother customer journey from your virtual shelves to the checkout.
Some areas to consider are, streamlining website navigation for products and categories, updating product descriptions with more details and high quality photos (remember shoppers won’t be able to physically see the product), adding an in depth FAQs section and simplifying the check out process. All these elements will ensure visitors to your online store have a positive experience and are able to find the relevant information as quickly as possible.
Prioritise customer service
Every interaction you have with customers provides an opportunity to build a rapport with them, and in the current climate where shoppers are likely to be spending more time online, now could be a great time to start honing in on your customer service skills as a business.
One idea is to install a live chatbox on your site, allowing customers to get instant answers to their questions. However, other mediums such as using your social media channels and email marketing campaigns can also be effective methods for improving customer service.
Whether it’s hosting online Q&As, notifying customers of industry-related news through an e-newsletter or simply opening up your Twitter account to individual enquiries, giving your customers a simple way to reach you will demonstrate that you’re prioritising their needs.
As part of your commitment to deliver exceptional customer service, during these uncertain times it’s also advisable to keep the lines of communication with your customers open. From adding coronavirus updates on your website to keeping up morale with engaging social media posts, making the effort to keep in regular contact with customers is a good exercise in maintaining your online presence and building stronger relationships with them in the process.
Streamline your order fulfillment process
When it comes to meeting the demands of increased online sales and growing your business online, you’ll also need to evaluate your current order fulfilment capabilities and make suitable upgrades to ensure they’re able to handle more orders.
Start by formulating a budget to ensure you have ample financial means to invest in upping your order processing capability, such as employing more manpower or outsourcing delivery to a third-party logistics company. Take the time to negotiate the best possible deal to suit your business and ensure you’re able to meet customers needs.
Next, carry out a thorough inventory check so you have a clear view of current stock levels and contact suppliers to ensure you have a plan in place for necessary replenishments. You should also discuss any potential issues or delays given the current climate that could impact order delivery – communicating any delivery schedule changes with customers to manage their expectations.
Prepare your packaging
Packaging plays an integral role in ensuring goods arrive to the end user safely and securely, so it’s important to choose your packaging materials wisely when you’re growing your online shopping capacity.
However, packaging is also an important part of your brand perception, too. In an age where more consumers are favouring products and brands that use eco-friendly packaging materials, such as recyclable cardboard boxes and biodegradable void fills, it is likely to be beneficial to align yourself with this growing trend.
When it comes to choosing your packaging, cost is naturally a driving factor too, but you shouldn’t compromise on quality, if it means products could get damaged in transit or you lose customers by not catering to their ethical values. The result could be lost business and more product returns that could impact the overall efficiency of your order fulfilment pipeline, as well as eating into profits.
In addition, you also need to ensure you’re being responsive to the current climate, ensuring high sanitary standards are adhered to at each stage of the supply chain, such as wearing protective gloves when handling packages and frequently washing hands. Communicate the steps your business is taking to apply these to reassure consumers that you’re doing all you can to minimise the risk to them. You could even include safety advice on your packages for customers on delivery, as it’s thought the virus can stay viable for hours, even days, on certain surfaces.
Optimising your online business to meet increasing demand is a great way to put the right foundations in place for significant growth, and while the current economic situation is full of uncertainty, it doesn’t mean you can’t still put the right building blocks in place that will pay off both now and in the future.
AUTHOR BIO:
Elizabeth Raw works for R+R Packaging, providers of biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging materials for businesses within a wide variety of industries.
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