Every day I read stories about how retail is dead. The internet always gets the blame. That surprises me because there's no rule that says bricks and mortar retailers can't have on-line shops as well.
According to a recent Commonwealth Bank report into on-line shopping habits, 80% of all on-line purchases are made domestically. But wait, isn't everybody buying from China? Not directly. Obviously, people are still trying to buy from Australian companies.
The more websites and on-line shops I set up, the more convinced I am that every retail outlet must be accompanied by an on-line version of themselves. Why build customer loyalty and then abandon them to other outlets the moment they leave the store?
Even if your customers are not buying from your on-line shop they will still be browsing, comparing, interested.
I have fantastic shopping software that has integrated credit card processing (that means no leaving the site to go to Paypal) and the ability to show the same on-line shop on Facebook. Yes, right on your company's Facebook wall. Only one database and one credit card gateway need to be maintained. When Google+ adds company pages I'll be making my shopping software work on that as well.
Check it out at http://www.aeroplus.com.au and at http://www.facebook.com/AeroPlus1. Here are some screenshots.
A credit card purchase made on the Aero Plus website.
The same purchase made on the Aero Plus Facebook page!
Add a Facebook shop with no extra effort required by you. All credit card processing takes place right there inside your Facebook shop. The purchaser gets a professionally formatted receipt in their inbox. It's amazing and it works.
If you are a retailer, or if you hear a retailer bemoaning internet sales, then call me. After all, if you can't beat them, join them!
Here is some more reading...
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The comments are illuminating. Retailers need to embrace on-line shopping. It is not the enemy. When customers leave the store make sure they know about the on-line version of it. Most importantly, put time and money into it! People shop on-line for many reasons and price is only one of them. Even shoppers underestimate convenience as a reason.
Finally, a clearer picture of on-line shopping
The number of online shoppers grows by over 20% per year; only 20% of on-line sales are overseas; 40% of online shoppers are aged over 45; people under 25 account for just 15% of transactions.
