Today, Comscore forecasted flat growth for e-commerce holiday spending. Many online retailers are experiencing slowing growth due to customers deal-hunting and buying fewer, less expensive gifts. As customers become more frugal and spend with discretion, it’s important for online retailers to engage customers. The E-Commerce Times recently published an article about enhancing customer experience that mentioned that “traditional e-commerce sites are almost absurdly passive,” (which is also true about most company web sites in the service industry).
Part of good marketing and earning new customers is knowing them and anticipating their needs. Engaging customers — and touching on emotion — can help generate sales. The article discusses a few examples of website features and microsites that are good examples of “out of the box” sales generation tools.
During a client presentation back in September, I used the example of JC Penney’s “Get that look” microsite as a good example of how online retailers can use online video and interactivity to engage customers and sell products. The video was for the “back to school” timeframe and has been taken down, but the “choose-your-own-adventure-style” interactive rich media featured well-merchandised products available at JCPenney’s web site.
The Ecommerce Times article lists other examples of retailers that engage customers if you’d like to see examples.
Get some other ideas to respond to the economic downturn:
- Download and watch the “No Retreat! Investing in eCommerce Despite the Times” webinar from Lauren Freedman and the Acquity Group
- Read the PlumbersSurplus interview with e-commerce analyst Linda Bustos
- Boost your site’s average order size. Learn some tips to do this at Blue Acorn’s blog
- Carefully weigh the costs and benefits of offering free shipping
- 80% of customers say they would likely increase coupon use if coupons were tailored to their interests and delivered online.
