Sunday, May 04, 2008

Is Your Website "Shop-able?"


You may have thought that all you needed was a spot on the WWW that showed pictures of your goods and services, hours that you are open, and maybe a phone number, address and email address.

You are wrong.

Sorry to be blunt, but it's true.

If there is a way to make your website an extension of your brick & mortar business, please look into it. You may not just get new customers, but retain customers that are looking for ways to save time and money.

This is from MarketingCharts.com:

Online Shopping More Popular as Gas Prices Hit New Highs

Gas prices are having an effect on shopping - fully one-third (33%) of online US adults say they are more likely to shop online rather than at a store because of high gas prices, according to a Harris Interactive study conducted for iCongo.

Below, some highlights from the study.

Incentives

Consumers give various other reasons they would be more likely to shop online as opposed to a physical store:

  • 57% cite free shipping.
  • 55% cite lower prices.
  • 61% cite the ability to shop at any time.

If a store were out of stock of a certain item, 6% of online adults would complete their purchase in store and have the merchandise shipped to them, said iCongo. (This is a relatively large proportion, taking into consideration that only a small percentage of shoppers entering a store actually end up completing a purchase.)

Rebates: To Spend or Not to Spend

Rebate checks will also have an effect on shopping attitudes. Both The National Retail Federation survey and iCongo found that a considerable proportion of consumers (41% and 45%, respectively) plan to spend their upcoming Federal tax rebate on retail purchases.

“While there has been much speculation that consumers will seek to avoid making retail purchases, our survey found a healthy number do plan to do so,” said Irwin Kramer, founder and CEO of iCongo. “Whether purchases are made online or in a store, these rebate checks are going to have an effect on the overall economy.”

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