As a consumer, I want to be treated with respect from retailers I regularly purchase from. This can affect the retailer negatively, as they cannot sell as much as they expected to actually make a profit, or the consumer’s when online stores cut corners in order to become more competitive or products are purchased from illegitimate retailers because they had the best price.
Consumers prefers free-shipping offers as they compare it to the shopping experience in the physical store; you take out your car, drive to the store, burn gas, buy the item, burn gas again, move through traffic, reach home, park your car and finally open the box on your living room table – well, the retailers mind compares all these with the phrase “free-shipping”.
According to research and standards company Global Reviews, “After several years of being mocked as dinosaurs, some of Australia’s largest retailers have fought back to create effective and functional internet interfaces.” Of those listed in the Global Reviews report, Aussie retailers attained an average score that was 15{125f75fe1fe50ec3facf904a856a594b63a23537d601ebeb418a5307d60fca5d} higher than the mean average for all e-retailers listed.
Buying from your online store should make customers feel special, should leave them with an overall sense of “I love this place,” and a deep desire to come back to support your brand and continue shopping because they liked what they saw, what they bought, and how smooth the process was.
In today’s recessionary world, everyone is a bargain hunter and the fact that you can simply type the item you are looking for into the search engines and immediately find several online stores selling that item and compare prices is a huge advantage.