Online shopping is great. It saves time, provides tons of options in one place, and the customer doesn’t have to navigate swarms of people to checkout. Younger generations value this, and are moving the majority of their shopping online.
But that doesn’t mean retailers can’t pull customers back to their brick-and-mortar stores. Here are four recommendations to entice customers back into your stores:
1. Attentive Customer Service There’s nothing like a helping hand; it’s what separates the shopping experience at many high-end stores from the rest. When a sales rep is available to answer questions in a quick and friendly manner, customers appreciate the personalized attention and the ability to make more informed purchase decisions because of it. Delivering a personalized customer experience is a huge advantage for your in-store business, and can urge your customers to return time and again.
2. In-Store Demonstrations and Take-Home Trials There are only so many online reviews a person can read about a product without actually seeing it and giving it a try. As such, in-store demonstrations and take-home trials are an excellent way to build rapport with customers. With this benefit, they can formulate opinions before committing to a purchase. And by offering product trials, whether in-store or at home, customers recognize you’re not just in it for the quick sale — you’re making your store a reliable source of information.
3. Price Matches Online retail giants like Amazon have customers conditioned to visit their site first when looking to make a purchase at the lowest price. But overcoming these giants is simple: offer price matches to customers who find the same product at a lower price. By getting the customer in store for the price match, you’ll not only be meeting the needs of their budget, but you’ll also be exposing them to other benefits we’ve mentioned, like demos and spectacular customer service.
4. Extra Protection When making an online purchase, many customers opt out of extra coverage. Even if they do add a warranty solution, they often don’t fully understand the conditions of the warranty, leading to potential trouble in the future. By offering in-store warranty solutions, your expert salespeople have the opportunity to completely explain how a protection plan will benefit customers, and save them money in the long run. And your customer can leave with something else extra: the peace of mind that their new purchase is protected should anything go wrong.
Scott McLaren is CMO for Fortegra Financial Corporation, a Tiptree Financial Inc. company. Fortegra and its subsidiaries comprise a single-source insurance services provider that offers a range of consumer protection options including warranty solutions, credit insurance, and specialty underwriting programs.