Headline FeedsE-Commerce Times Talkback
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See Full StoryIt appears there is a whole lot of window surfing
going on at e-tail Web sites and not enough buying.
Why can't e-commerce close the sale? What's
so alluring about the brick-and-mortar environment?
Especially when the real-world store is selling the
same merchandise at a higher price?
These questions keep cropping up, demanding an
answer.
Re: Why Can't E-Commerce Close The Sale?
Posted by: Graham Ball 2001-08-09 11:09:37 In reply to: ECT News
The big deal is "Trust" - people (i.e. non-geeks) just don't trust online shops. The media is full of failure stories and pessimism and the general opinion is "if they can't run their business, how can I trust them with my money?"
There are a number of additional reasons:
- you can't touch or feel the goods
- (normally) no service
- very difficult returns (postage, time, shipping)
- people feel unsafe paying over the web
- poeple worry about being bombarded with advertising after having bought something online.
Until online shops can make up for these deficits, people won't buy. Making up for this can take different forms - free returns, live chat-based service or, most importantly, low prices.
Closing the sale? What have you done to deserve it?
Posted by: Yann 2001-08-07 04:29:51 In reply to: ECT News
No, the main point is CREDIBILITY and closing the sale. You have to adapt to your targeted clients and offer an environment that answers their needs. My website is designed to sell to women 40-65yo, thus to fit the surfing pattern AND ACQUIRE CREDIBILITY I have to put a lot of text, articles and nice pictures. Why? Because women like to read about the things they may buy and showing your knowledge of the product, the techniques and presenting the artists (I sell Art of the Table and Decoration pieces) will bring you credibility. A basic online catalog just won't do for my "soon to be clients". The drawback? A lot of content to create, which means time, which means money. But content creates keywords... [thus can be seen as a marketing effort too!] After earning credibility, you then have to close the sale: you have to finish your articles with "call to action" verbs, symbols, buttons, navigation patterns without forcing too much the hand.
In other words, you can simplify all that by saying that FOCUS (on your market cluster) will drive your web development (to create a adapted surfing experience) which in turn will bring credibility and it would be up to you to close the sale smoothly. Don't complain if you don't close the sale without having those rules of thumbs followed since CLOSING THE SALE IS THE FINAL STEP IN A PRECISE (AND ADAPTED) PROCESS.
Sincerely,
Yann
Focus->Design->Credibility->Call2Action->Sale!
Re: Why Can't E-Commerce Close The Sale?
Posted by: Fraser 2001-08-02 22:36:32 In reply to: ECT News
Generally they wish to stick to the established mode of operation which has ben in place for remote purchasing for a hundred years. This is not conducive to encouraging on-line purchasing.
New systems ARE available specifically designed for the the new environment.
It has not been good enough to provide a website and just leave everything else to the horse and cart.
Re: Why Can't E-Commerce Close The Sale?
Posted by: ziya erdem 2001-08-02 03:11:31 In reply to: ECT News
- Ecommerce pricing is rarely cheaper than brick and mortar.
- Customer service is generally deplorable, even if it isn't actually worse than customer service in total, the perception is that it is (and rightly so)
- Shipping is a pain, it cost $$$, I have to wait for it - and in many cases, if I'm not home to sign for it, I have to wait, or go get it anyway
- Sites for "browsing" merchandise are still a long way from emulating the shopping experience
- Payment method is inhibiting
- Finding an online store for a particular product isn't worth the effort
- Overall, taking into consideration the above notes, it's a very unsatisfactory experience.
