It is impossible to make sales through your store – offline or online if nobody is visiting it. Amidst the rising popularity of online selling and Online-to-Offline (O2O) pivots, many business owners fall into the trap of thinking that just having a website or opening a local store will attract customers.
In reality, not every visitor converts and places an order. Having low-quality traffic from individuals having no interest in what you sell reduces the conversion rates. The higher the overlap between visitors’ interest and your products, the higher the chance of making a sale.
The question that still needs an answer is –
How do you attract more customers to your online and offline stores – the ones who will actually buy?
Firstly, you need to understand that with the habit of online shopping cemented in consumer behavior, individuals now expect even more personalized and engaging experiences in physical stores nearby. As a consequence, offering only the bare minimum to in-store shoppers might not help.
Indeed, the e-commerce industry is now huge and getting even bigger. But offline sales are still significant. A recent study even revealed that 18% of customers do not want to pay the shipping price, 15% hate to wait till they receive the product, and 12% think that the process of returning products bought online is quite tedious. Similarly, many of them want to touch and see the products before making a purchase.
Hence, when you are seeking ways to attract more customers to your shop, you need an omnichannel strategy to deal with various points of friction. By understanding what people do not like when they shop online from your store, you can direct them toward your nearest offline brand outlet, and vice versa.
As the actionable part, here are seven ways to attract more customers to buy from you:
7 Ways You Can Follow to Attract More Customers to Buy From You
Offer Buy-Online-Pick-up-In-Store Facility
One of the core principles of running an omnichannel retail business is to deliver a connected, more personalized buying experience. If you are having your offline stores in several Indian cities already, the chances are you would have customers expecting you to sell items without asking for a shipping fee.
This is where giving the option to buy/pay online and pick up the order in store makes sense. It will not only alleviate the tension of dealing with the ones who do not like having to pay for shipping but also get an edge against competitors that only sell online.
Another benefit of allowing your customers to order products online and pick them up from your store is impulse buying which is less frequent in the online mode. When customers get to see, feel, and touch more items available, they are more likely to add them to their shopping basket, thus increasing their average order value.
Match the online price and value
Over time, the line that separates offline and online shopping has become thinner. More and more consumers now price matches online while shopping through local stores and vice versa. It also means that if the products you sell through your online shop are more expensive than in the nearby offline stores, you risk customers leaving your store without buying.
While it is nearly impossible to compete with other businesses in terms of profit margins only. If it would cut too deep into the profits you make with each sale just to offer a price-match guarantee, you can choose to provide different incentives. It can take the form of a free warranty, quick customer support, 15-days or 7-days money-back guarantee.
Whatever you choose to add to the offerings, make sure it provides more value than the money a buyer would save on buying the same product locally or via a competitor.
Give access to offline inventory information online
Under omnichannel retail, you sell across both digital and physical channels. If you haven’t yet taken this route to sell more, you must know that on-the-fence customers do not visit a physical store unless they are positive that the item they want will be available there. Neither would they want to visit just to ask the store staff about the product availability.
If you are thinking you first need to become a retail behemoth to converge the two ends, you are wrong. A possible way out is to simply make the information about offline store inventory available online. This can be done by adding a one-liner about a product’s availability on specific offline stores on the product page itself.
Similarly, if many customers keep on asking about an out-of-stock product, communicate to them when it is back in store at both online and offline channels.
Interesting Read: Offline or Online Selling: A Data-Driven Guide for 2023
Invest in offline store design to increase curb appeal
A major proportion of consumers find out about nearby brand outlets only by walking in. They are drawn to well-design spaces, which is why you might have even non-branded outlets investing in thoughtful, memorable store design. In just the same way an online shopper wouldn’t want to buy from an ugly, hard-to-navigate website, local customers do not want to enter a physical store unless it feels friendly and has attractive vibes.
Hence, you can attract more customers to buy from you offline by increasing the curb appeal of your stores/outlets. From hiring professional interior designers to utilizing engaging visual merchandising, you can elevate the in-store experience in many ways.
Once you achieve a strong brand image paired with impeccable store designs, you win. In fact, it can lead to a 40% rise in sales.
Streamline the payment experience for your customers
According to Baymard’s study, 9% of consumers abandon their carts because of a lack of available payment methods. Now think from a customer’s perspective –
Why should only online shoppers be able to use credit cards to place orders in your store? Similarly, why should individuals pay different prices for the same product when bought online or offline?
As we have touched several times above, each of the modes of business – e-commerce and offline retail, has its unique advantages. With omnichannel retail, you focus more on making the best out of their convergence, thereby attracting more customers to buy from you.
You can improve the overall buying experience on all the sales channels by ensuring a secure, seamless payment experience. This can happen by facilitating a uniform payment experience and allowing your customers to pay you using any preferred payment option on both offline and online stores you own.
Interesting Read: Three Use-cases of Omnichannel Payments For Online Businesses
FAQs
What attracts customers to a retail store?
Some of the factors that make more customers buy from a physical store include offline buying experience, availability of various payment methods, attractive curb appeal, and reasonable pricing. Unlike online shopping, a customer can touch, feel, and try a product in a physical store to check its suitability.
How can I get bigger customers to buy from your store?
You can improve the retail strategy to get more high ticket orders from customers. Some of the strategies you can follow are:
- Bundling of similar products or those in the same niche to increase the average order value
- Offering periodic sales like festive sale, clearance sale, etc. to attract more customers at bigger discounts
- Inventory enhancement to include big ticket items
What motivates shoppers to buy more often?
When it comes to offline shopping, the most impactful buying motivation is the easy accessibility and quick purchase possibility. One can simply visit a nearby offline store, check the products, make a purchase, and bring them home without waiting to get them delivered later. However, both offline and online shopping has their distinct advantages and disadvantages.
How to get the first sale in one month?
This requires a lot of effort and depends on the type of business you want to start. You need to invest in a physical store (buy or rent), select product categories, pile up stocks of products to be sold, and market your business to the local audience. In case you want to get the first sale in one month for an online business, here’s a complete guide for you.
Benefit from Paytm’s Omnichannel Offerings to Keep Them Coming Back for More
Paytm for Business offers a comprehensive suite of payment products that can help streamline your omnichannel strategy. With Paytm-backed options available for your customers, you can attract more buyers and ultimately, build a loyal customer base.
While you invest time and effort in implementing a business-oriented omnichannel strategy, keep in mind the common mistakes businesses make.
