Setting Up An eRetail Webstore
Businesses today are finding that the online channel is playing an
increasingly important role in the overall success of their business.
Customers shopping behaviors are changing and they are using a mix of online
and offline tools to help them decide where and what to buy. Companies need
to empower the modern customer by providing them with tools to help them
make decisions, access information and obtain products from a variety of
channels. Customers today expect to be able to access and interact with the
brand therefore companies need to stop questioning the value of an online
channel and reflect on their business model in order to create the best
suited eRetail strategy.
One of the more important issues shaping the eRetail landscape
is the changing roles of retailers and manufacturers. With direct access to
the end customer, the Internet provides a level of disintermediation that
makes many retailers anxious of losing customers. Some retailers frown upon
manufactures that sell direct while others encourage this activity, there is
no consistent strategy for managing this relationship and must be dealt with
case by case. This white paper provides a framework for manufacturers and
retailers to develop a score that will categorize their type of business and
provide a fitting eRetail strategy.
Also user experience and usability are becoming increasingly
relevant Internet disciplines since there is a high correlation between good
website usability and online sales. Webstores, which have invested in
understanding the online behavior of their customers and use this
information to influence the design of the webstore have outperformed their
peers. Fulfillment is also a key component of the overall user experience.
Customers expect the timeline arrival of their packages and to be able to
return or refund items easily. If these mechanisms are flawed the overall
customer experience is bad and will reflect negatively on the brand as a
whole.
This paper will help any company determine and launch the
eRetail channel that is best suited towards supporting a company’s goals and
vision. It leverages interviews and data with eRetail marketing managers
from four of Canada’s leading online retailers to inform the framework
developed.
If your company or business is thinking of integrating an ecommerce channel
this should help your cause, click here to download