Sample 1 - Blog #online shoppingSample 1 - Blog #online shoppinghttps://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/tag/online-shoppingFri, 02 Aug 2024 12:45:46 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[What does the closure of more shops on the high street say about the changing face of the UK retail industry?]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/What-does-the-closure-of-more-shops-on-the-high-street-say-about-the-changing-face-of-the-UK-retail-industry


The closure of more high street shops has highlighted a transformation in the retail industry and the way that consumers are choosing to shop for fashion items. 


Thanks to a rise in the popularity of internet shopping and a weaker pound, shoppers are choosing to spend less time in their favorite high street shops and the statistics are telling of a worsening crisis for the industry. 


Last year 5,855 UK high street stores closed, with fashion and footwear outlets being the hardest hit according to statistics compiled by The Local Data Company. 


The problem has continued to deepen this year following the collapse of both Toys R Us and Maplin, which has resulted in the loss of over 5,000 jobs. 


While the consumerist element of our society shows no sign of slowing down, what is changing is the way that people are choosing to buy their goods. 


In particular, the emergence of e-commerce is resulting in a shift to online shopping, with customers favouring the convenience and speed of browsing for clothes on websites as opposed to visiting busy shops. 


You only need to look at recent statistics from leading online retailer ASOS, which show that their profits are up 10% to £29.9m, to see that these sorts of businesses are leading the way for the retail industry. 


In order to remain competitive, brands will need to consider utilising websites to sell their goods and will also need to take steps to ensure that their online presence is pertinent with their target market. 


E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of both goods and services on the internet and harbours a number of benefits for both retail businesses and customers. 


For businesses, e-commerce gives them the ability to overcome geographical locations and take advantage of global markets while also gaining new custom thanks to the potential of search engine visibility. 


GIC Capital offers UK businesses operating across a variety of sectors including retail and construction with fast and flexible expansion capital options. The business loans and overdrafts that they provide are from substantial private owned investment companies and their strong connections with such businesses allow them to make suitable matches for businesses. 


For more information about GIC Capital visit their website at: https://www.giccapital.co.uk/ 

We aim to deliver much needed capital to start-ups and SMEs

Call Now +44 (0) 203 2909019

]]>Mon, 20 Aug 2018 22:28:00 -0800<![CDATA[Why e-commerce customer support and interaction is so important ]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Why-e-commerce-customer-support-and-interaction-is-so-important



The e-commerce industry has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, fuelled by a continuing reliance on technology as well as a complete shift in the way that people shop.

While it harbours many benefits for businesses, one area that it can fall down on is customer support and interaction. So, how can businesses continue to practice good communication with their customers via e-commerce platforms and why is it so important?



Customers expect it


You might not realise it, but customers shopping on e-commerce platforms actually expect businesses to interact with them. Most of the time this is because they feel that they need assistance with shopping. A survey even revealed that 83% of online shoppers expect assistance within 5 minutes of visiting a site. In the interest of keeping your customers happy, it’s vital that you have a responsive communication strategy in place for your e-commerce site. 



It ensures that you are seen as a reliable company


With so many rogue traders now operating on the internet, anything that you do to distinguish yourself as being reliable is beneficial. Engaging is positive communication with your customers is one way to do this. When you are just establishing your business on an e-commerce platform strong communication will ensure you are distinguishable from your competitors.



It builds brand awareness


Another important element for businesses that are just establishing themselves, strong communication between employees and customers will help to build brand awareness. There really is no better way to promote your business than through good word of mouth. Customers who have had a positive experience shopping on your site are much more likely to be speak favourably of your services to their friends and family, thus resulting in more business for you.



It improves attitudes and relationships between employees to


If you want to build a strong and successful business it is absolutely vital that there are good working relationships between your employees. Good attitudes towards customers is likely to lead to positive reviews which will boost morale and also improve productivity and efficiency within your workforce.

If you’re struggling to keep your team motivated, consider the benefits of encouraging more customer communication and rewarding positive reviews and progress. 

We aim to deliver much needed capital to start-ups and SMEs

Call Now +44 (0) 203 2909019

]]>Mon, 23 Apr 2018 20:24:00 -0800<![CDATA[Which website mistakes are you making which cost you sales? ]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Which-website-mistakes-are-you-making-which-cost-you-sales

There is no easy route to a stellar eCommerce site and with competition for online sales fiercer than ever, it can seem like it’s almost impossible to make sales via your website. If you are finding that you aren’t recording as many online sales as you’d like, or aren’t generating enough revenue online to justify your digital spend, it might be time to invest in your ecommerce operations. Read on to discover the critical mistakes that many ecommerce sites make, and how to rectify them to win more sales.


1.  You aren’t A/B testing

A/B or split testing is absolutely vital to making sales online. If you aren’t regularly performing landing page tests, you are very likely making fundamental design and copy mistakes which send your shoppers elsewhere.

A/B testing allows you to create two slightly different versions on a page. One element will be different – such as the call to action, the headline, the image or the text. Both versions of the page are served to visitors and performance compared. The best performing page can then be tweaked further, allowing you to constantly eke out additional improvements to drive more sales.

There are lots of A/B testing tools available, most of which are available with a subscription. Try popular services such as Optimizely, VWO or Convert if this is new to you.

 

2.  You aren’t following up abandoned carts

An average of 69.23% online shopping carts are abandoned, according to industry figures collated by the Baymard Institute. If you don’t have specific practises in place to recover those sales, you’re making a fundamental – and costly – mistake.

 

You can set up transactional emails to nudge shoppers back to site to complete their purchase easily using a service such as MailChimp. You’ll need to specify a few rules, such as how soon after cart abandonment an email should be sent. When a shopper adds to basket but doesn’t complete the check out process, an email will then be automatically triggered. Many retailers will send a reminder of what’s in the basket to the shopper as part of that email to re-engage them.

 

3.  You aren’t proactively seeking reviews

Actively requesting reviews from customers can seem like a daunting task and the prospect of having reviews from clients publicly available makes some retailers squeamish. Reviews however are central to the online shopping process and, if you aren’t actively soliciting reviews and working to build a strong review profile, it is undoubtedly costing you sales.

Research by BrightLocal suggests that more than 8 in 10 consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Almost half of shoppers (49%) look for at least a four star review before they will do business with a brand online. This means that if you don’t have reviews or aren’t taking steps to manage your reputation and generate positive reviews, your prospective customers are much more likely to go to a competitor who does have customer reviews to share.

It’s easy to begin building a review profile to encourage online shoppers to buy from your store – register for an account with a trusted review service such as TrustPilot and set up an automated email asking shoppers to leave a review a few days after their purchase. Be aware that you’ll need to keep this process up – a steady influx of reviews is also an SEO ranking signal, so the more often new reviews are added, the better your Google ranking position is likely to be. 

We aim to deliver much needed capital to start-ups and SMEs

Call Now +44 (0) 203 2909019

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