Why eCommerce Businesses Need Physical Retail Stores

Significantly, eCommerce has sort of transformed how people shop and do business online. It offers real convenience, ease of doing business, competitive pricing and unlimited varieties in products and services. All these you can do at any time of the day 24/7 and from anywhere there are internet services. With just a few clicks on your computer or smartphone, you can browse and purchase products from anywhere they are. Despite the online shopping convenience of eCommerce, business owners now recognize the value of having a physical presence as a retail strategy. Welcome to physical retail or brick-and-mortar stores! These stores provide unique advantages that complement online retail and can significantly support business growth.  Many eCommerce business owners are presently taking good advantage of this as part of their retail strategy.
 
Here is how such stores can aid eCommerce businesses to thrive in an increasingly competitive market. They help them to:

Build Trust and Credibility

In matters of physical business identity, a physical store gives an eCommerce business a tangible, physical and verifiable presence. A known business address really! This helps to make the business appear more legitimate and trustworthy. A physical store helps to allay the fears of consumers who are still hesitant to buy directly from online-only retailers. A physical store location reassures consumers that the business is real and reliable. In addition, a physical store allows consumers to return or exchange products easily. This can be a major factor in helping the business to build trust because when shoppers know they have a convenient way to resolve issues quickly, they are more likely to make a purchase confidently. For business identity purposes, a well-designed store can help to reinforce this identity. By contrast, an online store relies solely on digital branding that may not be too impactful. But, a physical store’s layout, decor, and ambiance can create a memorable experience that significantly helps to strengthen customer loyalty.

Leverage Omnichannel Retailing

E-commerce businesses that can integrate both online and offline channels usually provide a seamless shopping experience that meets all the needs of modern consumers. Welcome to omnichannel strategies where the future of retail lies. Omnichannel retailing allows ecommerce businesses to offer services like, Showrooming and Webrooming, In-Store Returns for Online Purchases and Buy Online, Pick-Up In-Store (BOPIS). Consumer convenience and trust building is better enhanced by these services.

Strengthen Customer Relationships

Physical stores always provide good opportunities to engage with customers in person-to-person conversations. This helps business owners to better understand customer needs and to drive more quality feedback on what really matters to them back to an eCommerce business. Such face-to-face interactions in a physical store allow businesses to build stronger customer relationships. This type of personalized service, friendly interactions, and a welcoming environment create a sense of connection that is difficult to achieve online. That in addition to, loyalty programs, exclusive in-store discounts, and personalized recommendations further enhances customer retention. This is because when shoppers feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to return. Recommending the business to others also arises from such pleasant experiences in a physical store.

Expand Market Reach

A highly visible and attractive physical store can attract new customers who may not have discovered the business online. Even though digital marketing may be an effective marketing technique, it has some limitations particularly in reaching certain demographics. Additionally, many shoppers may prefer in-person experiences or may not even be very active online. Physical stores help to attract these kinds of shoppers. If such store is in a high-traffic location, it can easily generate lots of walk-in customers who might not have otherwise noticed the business. Such stores directly help to increase business exposure and create new and highly valuable sales opportunities for the business.

5 Ways Ecommerce Businesses Can Create Local Business Reputation

Every business is essentially local. That’s inclusive of ecommerce business. Significantly, most consumers always have a strong affinity for local businesses. Many spend a large percentage of their disposable income patronizing local businesses. This is something ecommerce businesses can always tap into if they use the right strategy. When ecommerce businesses create a local reputation for themselves, they continue to attract local business loyalty. They can even deepen this loyalty by being overly responsive to local community needs. This means they must as a matter of policy employ local people, give back to local causes, and attract local customers. This ultimately helps to drive revenue to the area. By deliberate strategies as discussed below, ecommerce businesses can easily acquire local reputation.
 
1. Experimenting with Geo-Targeting

By way of geo-targeting, ecommerce businesses can personalize their brand to a specific local audience. This is because, with geo-targeting as a marketing technique, these businesses are able to deliver content or advertisements to users based on their location. Doing so helps to increase conversions because these businesses can translate their content into local languages. They can match local currencies, serve specific offers locally, and adapt their marketing to make it relevant to a specific area. When this technique is used through native geo-targeting options on your GMB, Google Business Profile, it is very effective. You can also use location-specific hashtags on social media or location-based apps and services like Foursquare or Yelp to reach local customers.

2. Personalizing Shopping Experience Elements

Significantly, most (more than 80%) of consumers prefer local businesses because of the personalized attention they get from such businesses. This attention comes largely by way of socializing with staff, asking for recommendations on products or being helped to pick the right gifts. Ecommerce business owners can take advantage of this by using online tools to help personalize customer experience and even to deliver the same level of care and attention to customers. Some of the tools can help suggest products based on browsing history, past purchases, and items in shoppers’ carts. Some of these tools are designed to use historical data to show relevant content based on customer interests and past interactions. These tools help ecommerce businesses to personalize practically everything from email outreach to website design and layout. Adequate care must however be taken to ensure customer data collection is not interpreted as intrusive. Obtaining permission before collecting customer data is about the best way to avoid this.
 
3. Humanizing Your Brand and Team

Most consumers really feel at home if they know they’re dealing with real humans and not just machines or robots. This is exactly why many consumers prefer to deal with product merchants they can greet by name. To humanize your ecommerce business, you can use your ecommerce site and social media pages to showcase the names and faces of the good people behind your business. In addition to showcasing your team in your content, make sure you empower your team to respond to direct messages, host live video chats, and reply to comments to keep conversations flowing. This is one great way to humanize your brand and it helps a great deal in enhancing local business reputation for your business.

4. Sponsoring Local Events

If you want patronage from locals, be there for them in a visible way. One of such ways is to sponsor local events the people really identify with. Even if you are unable to physically host such events you can sponsor an event in your target community. You can consider donating free products to a local charity for instance. Sponsoring a local sports derby or providing a specific discount for nonprofits in the area is another great idea. If you explore all ways to give back to the community, local opinion molders take note and that creates a boost in your business. It helps your business reputation a great deal if you explore all ways to give back to the local community even if you’re not physically present there.

5. Partnering with Local Influencers

Smart ecommerce business owners like to tap into prominent, famous or influential members of their target communities to facilitate local connections. They never overlook Influencers in this quest. This is because Influencers with an active geo-specific community following can help spread the word with relative ease. With relevant geographic messaging, such Influencers can always provide the authentic messaging that resonates with their audience. This can help enhance local business reputation a great deal. It is therefore advisable to focus more on local micro-influencers. They are a great resource for ecommerce businesses because they are often more affordable. They in addition have high engagement rates for their specific niches.