bicycle retailers today must have websites & omnichannel...
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BicycleRetailersTodayMustHaveWebsites&OmnichannelShopping
Whatisthefundamentalobjectiveofaspecialtybicycleretailer?
Settingasideprofitandotherkeyperformanceindicatorsfornow...
Tosellproducts.
Towhom?
Consumers.
Whereandhowdotoday’sconsumerswanttobuyproducts?
Here’swhereitgetsinteresting!Let’slookatthestats…
84%,71%,39%and50%chooseonlineshopping?Clearly,consumerswanttobuyproductsfromretailersthatareabletoprovidelocalproductknowledge,same-dayavailabilityandexpertserviceblendedseamlesslywithonlineshopping,inventoryvisibility,purchaseoptionsforship-to-homeorpickupin-store,andexpertservice.
Whydoconsumerswantthis?Theanswerisquitesimplefromtheirperspective–convenience.It’sreferredtoastheOmnichannelexperience.
Whyit’sessentialforretailerstobeOmnichannelWe’veestablishedthatconsumerstodaydemandtheconvenienceofonlineandin-storeshoppingfromretailers(andthattheywon’tevenshopwithyouifyoudon’t).So,youcanunderstandhownot
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providingthisOmnichannelexperienceisbothfrustratingandharmfultoyourbrands.Theypartnerwithyoutoselltheirproducts.But,unlessyougiveyourcustomerstheonlineandin-storeshoppingtheywant,youwon’tsellyourbrand’sproductsaswellasyoushould,becauseyou’renotshowingthemonlineandhavebecomeinvisibletoyourcustomersasaresult.
ThreatstobicycleretailersfromoutsideourspecialtyindustryIfbecominginvisibleandlosingcustomersisn’tbadenough,youneedtoalsoknowthatsavvycompetitorsoutsidethespecialtyindustryarealreadyusingOmnichannelconveniencetowooconsumersawayfromyourlocalstore.Nationalretailersincludingsportinggoodschains,REIandPerformance,andevenAmazon,astheymovebeyondlargewarehousesandnext-daydeliverytolocalbrick-and-mortarandsame-daydelivery,arealltakingsalesfromlocalspecialtystores.
So,byfailingtotakeactiontosatisfytoday’sconsumerswithtrueOmnichannelshopping,bicycleretailersarehandingovermarketsharetocompetitors.Evenworse,thisinactionputsretailersandthesupply-chaincompaniesdependingontheirsuccessatriskofirrelevance,evenextinction.
Bicycleretailersmustactnowandembracetheonlinechannelasadoortotheirlocalstore.
Whataboutbrandsgoingdirecttoconsumersontheirwebsites?BecauseofthethreattoourindustryfromoutsidecompetitorsandfromnotenoughretailersbeingOmnichannel,we’renowseeingsomebrandscreatingbrand-direct-to-consumerwebsitesandsomethatareofferingbrand-specificwebsitesforbicycleretailerslikeyoutoswitchoverto.
Asleadersinprovidingwebsitesolutionsforbicycleretailers,wewanttomakeitcrystalclearthatthesenewchannelshaveseriousdrawbacks.Werecommendthatifyouchoosetouseabrand-directwebsitesolution,thatyoualsomaintainyourownstore-brandedwebsite.Also,besuretoread,understandandtakemeasuretoavoidthepitfallsofbrand-directsolutions,whichweoutlinebelow.
Herearejustsomeofthepotentialrisksofgoingbrand-directforyourwebsite
• Thebrandestablishestherelationshipwithyourpotentialcustomer(capturingtheirpersonalcontactinformation,too),whichintermsofcustomerlifetimevalueandthenumberofsalesthatoriginateonline,isabigdealforretailers.
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• Brandsthatselldirectmaysharesalesrevenuewithyou,however,youusuallywon’tmakefullmarginontheseitems.
• Brand-directprogramscanforceyoutoacceptreturneditemsandpaythebrandforthem.• Customersaretrainedtoreturntothebrand’swebsiteforfuturepurchasesversususingyour
storewebsite.• Brandscanonlyselltheirlimitedproductselection,whichcan’tbegintosatisfyconsumers
shoppingtheentireWebandlearningofmanymorebrandsandproducts.Onlyyoucansatisfyyourconsumerswithyourhandpickedselection.
• Retailersareexpectedtotreatbrand-directcustomersastheirownwithserviceasiftheitemwaspurchasedfromthem.
• Yourbrand’smotivationforbrand-directsalesistodrivesalesoftheirproducts,nottopromoteyouruniquestorebrand,selection,services,specialtiesandcommunityevents.
Youcanseethatbrand-directwebsitesareasbadforthefutureofbicycleretailingastheyareforyourshoppers.They'retoolimitedandtoomuchaboutthebrandratherthanyou,theindependentretailerandyourcustomersandcommunity.
Reviewour5-PointChecklisttomakesureyou’reOmnichannel
Inconclusion,themostimportantthingbicycleretailerscandotodaytoensuretheirbusinessthrivesistoprovidetheircustomerswiththeOmnichannelshoppingexperiencetheydemand.
But,there’smuchdisagreementastowhatittrulytakestoofferthisexperience.With15yearsofhelping1,000leadingretailersmeettheonlineneedsoftheircustomers,SmartEtailingisqualifiedtodefinewhatittakes.Readthroughour5-pointchecklisttolearnifyoumeetthecriteria.
5-POINTOMNICHANNELCHECKLIST
1.Completeproductselectionfromyourbrick&mortarstoreisdisplayedonyourownwebsite.
Omnimeans“ALL”inLatin.ConsumerstodayareresearcherswhowanttocheckALLtheiroptions.Providinganonlineshoppingchannelintheformofyourbikestorewebsite,alongwithyourbrickandmortarstore,givesconsumersALLthechannelchoicestheydemand.
2.Yourstorebrandidentityisretainedwhilealsoofferingproductsfrommultiplebrands.
Youruniquepassion,knowledgeandpersonality,alongwithyourhand-selectedvarietyofbrandsandproductsarewhatdefineyourindividualstorebrand.Thechoicesyouofferaredesignedtomeettheneedsofyourcustomers,whetherthatsaletakesplaceinyourstoreoronyourwebsite.RetailerswhoreplacetheirownwebsitewithaBrand’swebsitegiveuptheabilitytooffermultiplebrands,don'tmakefullmarginsandmostharmful,theyforfeitthepersonalrelationshipwiththecustomerpossiblygivingupalifelongstorecustomer.
3.Consumerscanviewonlineonyourbikestorewebsitewhattheycangettoday-yourinventory.
InordertoofferALLshoppingchannels,theretailermustmaketheirin-storestockavailabilityvisibletoconsumersonline.71%ofconsumersexpecttoseethisinventoryand39%ofthemwon’tbothertovisitthestoreiftheycan’t.
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4.Consumerscanalsoviewonlineonyourbikestorewebsitetheproductsthatcanbeshippedtothestoreortheirhomequickly-thesupplier’swarehouseinventory.
Becauseretailerscan’tstockeverymodelineverycolorandsize,activatingthesupplier’sinventoryfeed(SmartEtailingSupplierSyncservice)expandstheselectionbeyondwhatcanphysicallybefoundinthestore.Thisprovidesmorechoices,increasescustomersatisfactionandleadstomoresales.
5.Theshoppingcartisturnedonwiththeabilitytoorderonlineandpickupinthestore.
Havingastorewebsitewithoutofferingtheabilitytobuyonlineisn’tenoughforconsumers.Theywanttocheckonlineiftheirproductisinstockandthenchoosetovisitthestoretopurchase.But,Omnichannelisallaboutconvenienceand50%ofconsumersexpecttobeabletobuyonlineandpickupin-store.Theywanttobrowse,buy,pickupandreturnbywhatevermethodtheychoose.TurningtheshoppingcartonallowsforALLpurchasepathscenarios,nomatterwhattheconsumerprefers(thefullOmnichannelshoppingexperience).
Specialtybicycleretailersremainthebackboneofourindustry
Whilewe’vecoveredseveralwaysconsumersshoponlinetoday,thefactisthatyourcustomersstillwanttotouchandfeelproductsandwillgetthebestintroductiontocyclingwhenexperiencedlocalretailershelpgetthemintothesport.Naturally,whentheycan’tvisityourstoreinperson,thesepeoplealsowanttointeractwithyourstore(you)onlinefromtheirphones,tabletsandPCs.And,theyexpectyoutoprovidetheOmnichannelshoppingconveniencewe’vedescribedsothattheycanbrowseandfindwhatthey’relookingforandbeabletobuyonlineandpickupinstore.
Technologyandshoppingbehaviorareevolvingsorapidlythatit’shardtosayhowthingswillshakeoutbutweknowthat,ifanything,technologyisgettingmore,notless,ingrainedinourlives.Retailerswithagreatstoreidentity(brand)andaproduct/brandmixthatengagesandsatisfiestheircustomers,whomanagetocommunicateiteffectivelyonlineandintheirstorewillbebestpositionedforsuccess.
Thanksforreading!SmartEtailingprovidesallthetoolsandservicestobecomeOmnichannel.Info@SmartEtailing.com303-776-2018