Easy > Easier >> Easiest
What is the real driver of change in the world of retail commerce? One word: Easy. Easy is at the heart of eCommerce. In the way back machine, we see small farms and craftspeople making things and selling to neighbors. Then the village market day made it easier to reach more customers and shopping there made people’s lives easier. Then the town main street developed making it easier, once again, for customers to find what they were looking for. Then the strip mall developed to concentrate retail a bit further, and the ’60s gave birth to the mall and the even bigger mall. All of this occurred to make it easier for customers to find what they were looking for and to spend less time doing it.
Now to the 21st century. Retail store traffic is down and 15 percent of U.S. malls are closing. Why? They’re not the easiest. Traffic, compressed family schedules, and limited selection are the norm. Not everything is their fault, but when is it ever? Check out the annual reports of mall stalwarts such as Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle and you’ll read about drastic store count reductions. Worker productivity is at an all-time high, but there is still only 24 hours in every day. Packing more into these 24 hours has never been more of an American priority. So where’s the EASY shopping now? It’s online and it’s booming. According to a recent Goldman Sach’s report, eCommerce sales will grow in excess of 17 percent annually for the next three years. What’s a business to do?
eCommerce Questions Your Business Needs to Answer
- Am I making it easy for my customers to buy?
- Am I where they want me to be?
- Is my purchasing environment easy?
- Is my selection easy?
- Can customers see what I have, easily?
- Is my checkout easy?
- Is my delivery and return activities easy?
Getting Your Business Online. What You Need to Do
- Develop a strategy. This is the heavy lifting part. Don’t skimp. Do the work. Know where you are going and why.
- Make sure your website is ready. Is it a platform that can truly handle online sales? Will your customers be happy there? (think “easy”)
- Select an eCommerce platform that works well, can grow with you, and is easy to manage.
- Develop an online marketing strategy and plan that supports #1.
- Have the will and the patience to work the plan.
- Measure, analyze, adapt and implement. Every week, every month, ALL YEAR.
Need Help?
At FirstTracks, eCommerce is what we do. We are experienced business people who have the technical skills to get the job done. eCommerce, like any business, is hard work based on a will to succeed. Make it easy for your customers to find you, easy to understand that you have what they want, and easy to process and to deliver what they order. Yeah, we can help you do that!
Contact us at FirstTracks today and let’s get this figured out for you. Call 603-924-1978. or fill out our contact form and we’ll call you.
