Online Stores have become the need of the hour. These days people shop online in order to save time and effort going to shops. So, the online stores are being pushed by retail companies big or small. Online shopping Platforms depicting malls in brick and mortar are also coming to the scene like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. These platforms showcase different brands. These big online stores are also available for a particular band. Single brands do create their own online stores like Myntra, Limeroad, Pepperfry, etc.
These online stores have their own set of strategies to comply. They have operating plans and business strategies different from the retail stores. For example, the retail stores have to bear the rental and property cost plus fixed overheads for the maintenance of the store whereas the cost of maintaining an online store is comparatively less. But the online players need to have robust shipping, logistic services so that they can cater to delivering products.
By the time many businesses realize the importance of having a good website design, it’s too late. Do not make that mistake for your online business. Hire a skilled and reputable web design agency for your website.
Some of the parameters on which online retailers need to work are the following:
Clear Logo –
The logo should reflect the brand’s value proposition. It should be clear and attract the attention of customers without fail. A logo makes it easier for the customers to trust an organization or a company.
Promos and Deals –
People do shopping online on temptation at times. Promos and deals grab the attention of the visitors and also inform the audience about the discount offers and the products. Promos and deals should be attractive and the site should be easy to operate and page loading time should not be more than necessary. Discount offers attract a large number of visitors. Ads and Banners should be attractive and picture some discounts and offers which can convert into sales.
Free Shipping Services-
eCommerce websites do not have to bear the cost of showrooms and outlets but they have to bear the cost of shipping and logistics. Shipping and logistics are not only in terms of maintaining the warehouse but also delivering the product to the customer. Thus, there is an additional cost of transportation that they have to take into account. The transportation cost sometimes the e-retailer chooses to share with the customer as delivery charges. Sometimes the product when procured has margins enough that the cost of delivery can be meted out. Then the retailer can choose to provide free shipment. In this way, the MRP is decided by taking into account these details of the prices which the retailer bears.
Branded products at the top-
The strategy to showcase the brands properly is known as visual merchandising. Which brands need to be placed depends upon the popularity. There are filters for keeping the most popular brand on the top followed by the least recommended. They even have indexes for the brands that are majorly highlighted.
Login box, Search Box and Shopping cart
must be placed close to each other. The login icon and box should be placed properly in the right place and should have details that are legitimate. It should not be too difficult to fill and log in. Sometimes, the captcha is so confusing that it seems impossible to log in. It is important to understand that for logging into the shopping website it needs to be a breeze. Sign-in should be facilitated either by Google or Facebook or both and should be made easy. Here the motive should be to invite. With too difficult a login, it will be repelling the visitors. The site can be made secure with a robust payment gateway but if visiting the site is made difficult, it will go against their interests.
Similarly, the pages should not be too bulky to open up. The searches should open up with ease and should showcase the results that are most relevant.
Shopping Cart is also an important feature that can help to convert sales. The shopping cart should be visible enough. It should be placed where the visitor can easily get it converted into sales and make payment.
Icons for payment system –
The payment system needs to be clearly mentioned and the customer should be made aware of the available payment system, the type of card that it can accept like Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, etc. Many sites which do not accept international credit card should make this information available to the customer. Whatever be the limitations in the payment system should be displayed to the customers even before making a purchase. The payment icons help in understanding the payment options much better.
Web retailing is a new trend which has a very different set of operational parameters as compared to the retailing in general. Thus, the companies running e-retailing platforms have to make themselves conducive to these parameters and strategize their business in accordance with them.
