Retail Strategies to Build Relationships with Online Buyers this Year

A lot of people have retained the habit of buying online, making it especially important with the exponential growth of online shoppers to be able to strengthen customer relationships in a digital environment.

LTV and Retention as main KPIs

The eCommerce development trend is to abandon new consumer acquisitions. It is time-consuming and costly. It is more essential to collect and analyse data about current customers. Brands create portraits of users, including features of behavior in the network, channels of communication with the seller at different sites and stages.

Modern CRM and analytical systems help automate work with data and build the most personal relationships with customers. The data obtained allow retailers to personalize communication and help with the choice. An individual attitude increases loyalty, engagement, and then the average bill with LTV (lifetime value).

Time of Delivery in Minutes

Customers are impatient, the pandemic has made same-day delivery a retail trend in 2021. Last year companies experienced a shortage of staff, orders had to be canceled, as there was sorely lack of couriers.

A lot of users came to the delivery. Therefore, businesses need to automate it as much as possible. Less manual labor, fewer mistakes, and less time to close an order. For the same price, the user chooses the best service.

Individual Product Awareness and Trends

A lot of online purchases are made using reviews: people watch photos and videos, read reviews, ask questions to other buyers. For every fifth purchase, reviews are the deciding factor. It does not matter what kind of purchase is made: expensive, cheap, balanced or impulsive. Most often, users use the information received to understand whether a product is suitable for their personal needs.

Boring Content Marketing

There are still many people staying at home and using technology to connect with the world. Obviously, in such conditions, digital content becomes an important part of the customer journey. And if the company is ready to talk about the reader, his needs and problems, then it’s time to think about content marketing.

Content marketing involves the creation of information products in addition to direct advertising that will attract users. That is, the content that is useful and independent value apart from the purchase: media, blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos. A significant disadvantage is the high cost of production and distribution. As a rule, such projects begin to pay off within a period of one to three years.

Direct to Customer Approach

In 2020, Nike ended its partnership with nine retailers, including Zappos, Ebay, and Amazon. The new strategy involves moving to a direct-to-customer model, where the company sells directly without intermediaries. The philosophy of the approach is “to take control of your own destiny” since the brand knows its audience better and wants to communicate with it through the company’s values.

The D2C model assumes complete control over personal data, communication, loyalty programs, and prices. This is especially important in light of the conflict between Amazon and partners when the marketplace forcibly set discounts on the occasion of World Shopping Day. For some stores, this meant an operating loss. This situation showcased how businesses cannot rely on 3d parties.

In recent time the whole class of D2C brands had formed. Research shows that by 2023, 40% of online purchases in the US market will be D2C. They provide exactly what the educated internet user needs: a personalized, accessible, and customer-focused experience.

In a crowded online environment, power belongs to the consumer. This is why online brands are taking retail by storm.

Video Consultations

During self-isolation, online retailers began to launch video consulting services from offline sales points. Some video consultations end with a purchase, which is 10 times higher than the average conversion of online sales. After the restrictions were lifted, this kind of service remained, as it created a comfortable customer experience.

When a client chooses a technically complex product, just a description is not enough. There is a need to see the product in action and from all sides.

Eco-friendly communication

In the era of information noise, the user quickly gets tired of a large number of involving messages, letters, spam. The next birthday greetings from the company are more likely to cause irritation. Therefore, the request for accurate interaction with a person is now relevant. Users tend to opt for companies that are ethical about their personal space: they do not spam with letters and messages, personalize communication, and are respectful in communication.

AR technologies

Today’s shoppers want to save time, avoid social contact, and shop online. According to a global survey by Nielsen, 51% of consumers are ready to use augmented reality technologies when choosing products. A person sees an ad on Instagram, clicks and immediately goes to a virtual fitting room. The shopping process is simplified. AR solutions are used by Aliexpress, Lamoda, Nike, Gucci, Ikea, ASOS. And this is just the beginning. By 2025, the AR technology market will grow by 400%.

AR filters offer customers a risk-free “try before you buy” scenario. Companies are able to forecast demand, recommend products and offer based on customer habits and preferences. Artificial Intelligence provides detailed insight into which ad investments pay off the best.

Social Commerce

Instagram has radically redesigned its design this year. In the Russian version of the search, the “Store on Instagram” function has been added with offers from retailers. The assortment is formed by editors and algorithms based on user activity. This actually turns the social network into a marketplace, which contains the usual features of online stores, as well as the benefits characteristic of the social network: products from communities and user friends, personal selections and recommendations, the ability to add your own product.

These updates are a step towards simplifying e-commerce. The buying journey is getting shorter: the step “go to the site, which may not be very good” is removed from it. Conversion rises. Another point is consumer protection and increased confidence in online shopping. Sellers will be required to provide legal information. This minimizes the risks of giving money to fraudsters.

The pandemic has become an engine for online trading, and the resulting adjustments will have long-term implications. In the post-coronavirus world, the consumer will be more demanding in terms of the quality of products and services. The focus is on well-thought-out user experience scenarios using technology. Companies that fail to integrate into the process will have to withdraw from the market as the economic situation will weaken purchasing power.

Ways to Build a Real Connection with a Customer and Generate more profit

1. React quickly. Customers do not want to wait for orders for several days. Competitors have learned to deliver in just a couple of hours. Don’t keep waiting for the buyer — automate processing and delivery.
2. Be available. Someone prefers to correspond by mail, someone likes calls, someone — messengers. Communicate with customers wherever it is convenient for them.
3. Communicate green. Tragedy will not happen if you do not wish the client a Happy New Year or May Day. And he will not be annoyed to throw hundreds of the same letters and messages into spam. Build thoughtful and unobtrusive communication scenarios.
4. Analyze the data. Use customer insights to attract and retain customers. Build strategies based on point sentences.
5. Build trust. Indicate that transactions are safe and customer data is protected. Offer only payment systems that are in demand in a specific region.
6. Be loyal. Encourage customers to repeat purchases. Develop a modern loyalty program. Recognize customers by phone number. Consider online and offline purchases and consolidate everything into a single customer profile.
7. Be native. Design a system that doesn’t tell the user what the user should. Don’t force the customer to read huge user guides, fill out hundreds of forms, and hammer in a card number for payment every time.