Things couldn’t be better for
ecommerce right now, with growth holding steady even during the economic
downturn, and the explosion of mobile
internet that promises to keep the future of online shopping rosy.
But the thing with Business is,
just when things start looking easy, the challenges appear.
And in the case of ecommerce the big challenge could be consumer fatigue with the online medium, and the missing "shopping" experience, especially on the smaller screens.
Imagine the excitement of dressing up well, getting your friends along, arriving at a posh store, experiencing the ambience of well designed windows and displays, walking through the aisles of lovely merchandise and attentive sales people, touching and smelling objects of desire, trying on stuff, buying it, discussing the buys over lunch and finally returning home with the kill, this is a beautiful part of life for most people, especially young women.
Perfectly delightful image.
Now imagine sitting alone in your pajamas, on your unmade bed, browsing an online store on your laptop squinting your eyes and hoping the sizes mentioned are okay and that the style you’ve selected suits you. Disturbingly geeky and dull image.
Even if online stores can offer more choice, better and cheaper merchandise, the experience of real shopping has plenty of pull left in it to spoil the party for many a pure-play ecommerce store.
So how, if at all, can an ecommerce store try to capture the experience of shopping rather than just the mechanics? While it is possible to create great in-store experiential retail moments with the use of technology, as discussed in this recent article in TIME, and in this article about the recently opened experiential Golfsmith Christiana store ; it is far more difficult to create personalized and exciting life-like shopping experiences online.
We can augment reality with digital experiences but how does one augment digital experiences with reality?
And in the case of ecommerce the big challenge could be consumer fatigue with the online medium, and the missing "shopping" experience, especially on the smaller screens.
Imagine the excitement of dressing up well, getting your friends along, arriving at a posh store, experiencing the ambience of well designed windows and displays, walking through the aisles of lovely merchandise and attentive sales people, touching and smelling objects of desire, trying on stuff, buying it, discussing the buys over lunch and finally returning home with the kill, this is a beautiful part of life for most people, especially young women.
Perfectly delightful image.
Now imagine sitting alone in your pajamas, on your unmade bed, browsing an online store on your laptop squinting your eyes and hoping the sizes mentioned are okay and that the style you’ve selected suits you. Disturbingly geeky and dull image.
Even if online stores can offer more choice, better and cheaper merchandise, the experience of real shopping has plenty of pull left in it to spoil the party for many a pure-play ecommerce store.
So how, if at all, can an ecommerce store try to capture the experience of shopping rather than just the mechanics? While it is possible to create great in-store experiential retail moments with the use of technology, as discussed in this recent article in TIME, and in this article about the recently opened experiential Golfsmith Christiana store ; it is far more difficult to create personalized and exciting life-like shopping experiences online.
We can augment reality with digital experiences but how does one augment digital experiences with reality?
No easy answers, but here are some
things that real life shopping delivers, that ecommerce can try and emulate better.
1) Personalize the buying experience beyond just the basics of “ Hi so-and-so!”.
Keep track of what I liked, wish-listed, browsed and spent time looking at, offer me personalized merchandising and promotions, be my trusted adviser.
1) Personalize the buying experience beyond just the basics of “ Hi so-and-so!
Keep track of what I liked, wish-listed, browsed and spent time looking at, offer me personalized merchandising and promotions, be my trusted adviser.
2) Merchandising needs to be spectacular, given
that I can only see the items through the camera’s eyes, I need all the
details you can give me. Can you show me how the garment moves? Can you show me
how the fabric looks when crushed? Can you zoom up real close and show me the
finishing on the garment?
Is there virtual fitting app or can I get an online video assistant at the store to
hold up the garment and show me the details I need to see?
No, that’s not science fiction.
3) What about the unique story of the interaction between the brand and each customer? Does each transaction that happens create a unique story in the mind of the buyer, a story that will make them tell others about the experience, smile when they remember it and come back to your store, when they need to feel a certain way?
No, that’s not science fiction.
3) What about the unique story of the interaction between the brand and each customer? Does each transaction that happens create a unique story in the mind of the buyer, a story that will make them tell others about the experience, smile when they remember it and come back to your store, when they need to feel a certain way?
ecommerce stores that make the extra effort will reap the rewards.
But know this, real life stores aren't (and shouldn't be) going away anytime soon.
So online and real-life Retail will have to learn from each other and evolve together while pure play ecommerce stores will really have to up their game to keep the customers coming back for more.
To Know more about our ecommerce testing solutions contact:
Arun Kumar
arun.Kumar@tcl-asia.com
arun.Kumar@tcl-asia.com
.....................................................................
TCL is a specialist consultancy in software testing. As a company, our core purpose is to Develop and Deliver World Class Solutions in Software Testing that are Innovative, Structured and Professional.
The company exists to meet the needs of our clients who strive to ensure that their IT projects create value and demonstrate return for their investment. We are geared to deliver services in all areas of software testing including functional, non functional and process improvement.
The first TCL company was based in the UK (Transition Consulting Limited) and the group has now expanded to include enterprises in the US and India. A further expansion into Australia or New Zealand is expected within the next five years.
For more details visit: http://www.tcl-global.com/
The company exists to meet the needs of our clients who strive to ensure that their IT projects create value and demonstrate return for their investment. We are geared to deliver services in all areas of software testing including functional, non functional and process improvement.
The first TCL company was based in the UK (Transition Consulting Limited) and the group has now expanded to include enterprises in the US and India. A further expansion into Australia or New Zealand is expected within the next five years.
For more details visit: http://www.tcl-global.com/
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-hutchison/online-retail-shopping-technology-_b_1568631.html?ref=technology&ir=Technologyhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/2012/jun/12/e-commerce-website-destinations-retail
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