Moving from E-Commerce to In-Store - How to Keep Customers Happy

 

Moving from an ecommerce business to a physical store can be an exciting step when it comes to growing your business. However, apart from the product you are selling, running a store will be a completely new encounter. There are a lot of factors to consider in order to successfully open and run a physical store. Once everything is in place and you are ready to open your doors to the public, you will need to take care in making sure your customers appreciate and enjoy their in-store experience. To help you get on your way, here is how to keep customers happy when moving your business from ecommerce to in-store.

Keep Things Consistent 

To keep your ecommerce business thriving, it's essential to stay in tune with what customers truly value. Always offer a high-quality product that meets customer needs - perhaps utilising Conjointly's Kano Model Tool to identify which features are most valued. Your current success and customer base have been created by your online ecommerce business. In order to attract and retain customers, you need to keep your product, service and pricing consistent and make sure that your digital and physical store work together. These days, buyers will use multiple devices and channels during their shopping journey, so you should do your best to allow customers to shop across your digital and physical channels easily. This is known as being an omnichannel retailer.

Visible, Accessible Displays

One of the reasons people turn to online shopping is because it is easy to see and view all of the items you want or need. To help keep customers engaged during their in-store shopping experience, you should do your best to make your displays visible and accessible. Using Gridwall and Slatwall Display Grids from a specialist store like The Retail Factory is a great way to do so. By utilising gridwall and slatwall displays, you’ll be able to make the most out of your store space, while providing a good amount of choice and stock to customers.

Stress Free Checkouts

Another factor that convinces many people to shop online is the ease of checking out. In most cases, people have their details saved on their electronic devices, making it easy to purchase goods. To keep customers in your store happy, you should work hard to avoid long queues and malfunctions. You can do so by preparing your store with additional registers and self-checkouts (where possible). Implementing in-app checkout using the mobile app ‘Scan and Go’ allows customers to pay for goods within the app. 

Build Strong Relationships

Building strong relationships with colleagues and customers will promote a sense of community in your store. Taking care of the workforce will make them more enthusiastic about the business. You can bring people together by inviting colleagues, locals and customers to events, where they can interact with likeminded individuals, learn new things, or just get away from home. Cultivating real relationships with customers and communicating with them regularly will also form a firm community.

Opening up a store can be daunting, especially when you are used to dealing with customers via technology. However, with the right planning and attitude, this experience will be extremely rewarding and the positive feedback that you get from staff and customers will make it worthwhile.