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Retailers should test using digital experimentation and discover new methods that can win the hearts of today’s customers.
FREMONT, CA: The measure of retail business success relies on the quality of its customers’ digital experience. And it’s no secret that only a digital approach can influence the emotions of the customers. By engaging with the customers digitally across hundreds of channels, devices, and interactions, businesses can win over the hearts and minds of the customers. Of course, getting to the heart of the customers requires a thorough understanding of what the customers want. In this regard, data comprising the audience’s behavior and preferences play a crucial role in strengthening this understanding. Companies need to examine each data to make them actionable for the business while determining which specific data has the potential to establish a great experience and not a good experience for the customers. Notably, brands like Nike and Amazon are always experimenting on the digital experience that they provide to their customers.
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Eventually, retail CIOs observe that without experimentation, retail owners cannot determine if their use or interpretation of data will drive the intended action, response, or business result. In view of today’s decision-makers, digital experimentation is the driver of the growth of the retail landscape. With digital testing, businesses can replace the guesswork with hard data leading to a higher revenue lift. Here are some experimental ideas that retail CIOs can adopt to drive more revenue.
Simplifying Customer Experience
It is quite challenging to attain tremendous responsive behavior from the customers by attracting them through gifts and rewards. Usually, shoppers find it easier to select products when they are provided with a limited list to navigate through and make a purchase decision. Retailers can try presenting a list in different formats, occasions, staff-created lists, leverage frequently purchased items, user reviews, or price points. In this way, customers will find a smaller list to browse, and can confidently buy products. Retailers can also make a curated list of gifts for visitors to add products to their cart without searching on multiple websites. Further, retailers can try experimenting with product carousel that provides a delightful experience for the customers. This method involves the creation of a beautiful layout and gives the perfect experience for last-minute buyers who don’t have time to search.
Urging the Customers
During special occasions, shoppers are excited to buy and send gifts to family and friends in time. Retailers can take advantage of such occasions and trigger the customers to purchase gifts by a variety of means like displaying the number of days for a festival that is approaching. Counting down days left to order for items to arrive on time will urge the shoppers to buy before it’s too late for fear of missing out. In this regard, using different displaying methods so that consumers will be attracted by the sight of it pushing them to buy. Using different positions for the banners, inserting the hero image, and integrating banners in the email campaigns are some typical methods to gain the attention of the customers. Additionally, retailers can employ the A/B test, an experiment where two or more variants of a page are shown to users at random to help them compare two or more versions of a web page, or other marketing assets to conduct comparative analysis.
Providing Accelerated Shipping
Retailers can provide the customers with better delivery services, for instance, if there is a need for express shipping, but not necessarily for every order. It can then be executed by deploying categorization for specific items. For instance, retailers can offer next-day shipping for more lucrative goods: either those that demand continual purchases or those with higher price tags. Sometimes, if the retailers’ operations do not have resources for next-day shipping, they can consider other ways to A/B test the option. For example, they can limit it to specific payment options, making it easy for those who complete the transaction with a brand-specific credit card. Also, A/B testing option at an additional charge makes it feasible for specific customers who demand express shipping.
Employing “Benefits” Bar
When the competition among retailers is reaching its peak, retailers must look for options that can put them ahead of others. While many online businesses succeed in explaining their brand’s unique benefits, they fail to address the value propositions like why should a consumer buy from them and more. Displaying a “benefits bar” on a retailer’s site, especially above the fold and below the navigation menu, which is unique for each business can make this value proposition apparent.
Forging ahead, customer expectations continue to rise, and retailers have to experiment with new ideas and deliver the most relevant and seamless experience for their customers.
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