Ecommerce sales increased by 19% in the UK between 2019 and 2020, while retail sales increased by only 2%. Is your shop ready to tap into this expanding market?
The typical British shopper buys around 4 new items of clothing monthly. The majority of that shopping happens in-store, but that trend may be shifting. Not only do shoppers spend more when online shopping, but they are also shopping online more often.
While these statistics may look like physical retailers are dropping to online ecommerce shops, the nature of the industry is much more complicated. Nearly all online clothing purchases begin in-store, most probably because shoppers can try on things for their appearance and feel and then search online for better deals.
Rather than losing sales to an online competition, clothes boutiques can build an internet shop as well to catch sales further down the buying cycle.
Choose an ecommerce platform
Deciding what system to use is your first step in converting a physical store into an internet ecommerce store. In the old days of the world wide web, managing inventory, collecting payments, and running other core business functions was a challenge. Many smaller companies didn’t have the resources to construct a virtual presence.
Now, entrepreneurs may choose from platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce. These services supply nearly all of the tools required to construct a profitable online store. In actuality, almost 46,000 businesses chose BigCommerce to run their e-commerce companies, and roughly 18% of these merchants are in the apparel sector.
The Global Awarded Magento POS – 2021 Stevie Awards Product Innovation winner provides you witha powerful Magento POS as well as 24/7 support
Search for these features when choosing your e-commerce program:
- Content management
- Search engine optimization
- Reporting tools
- Promotional alternatives
Digitise your inventory
After picking what platform you may use, now is the time to catalog all of your items and add them to your online shop. For those who have an electronic point of sale system, this might be an easy procedure. It may just take a few clicks to get the majority of the heavy lifting done!
For traditional retailers, you might want to assess your stock and categorise all of your items. While you’re at it, you can imagine tags, product descriptions, sizes, and other information you may need when listing your goods.
Most of all, you will need to take excellent photographs. Customers can’t physically interact with the item, so you will need to do your very best to show it in its very best light. Here are some tips for taking top-notch product photos:
- Use good light
- Take Numerous pictures from various angles
- Make Sure to show size and scale (ex: Display a ring on someone’s finger)
- Use a lightbox or alternative clean background
Pick a digital payment gateway
Buyers want a safe shopping experience. Much like how some folks won’t need to buy name brand purses out of a doubtful street vendor, online shoppers don’t need to purchase from unsafe websites.
In the first six months of 2019 alone, 23 million stolen credit cards were recorded for sale online. Payment gateways assist e-retailers gather and process payments to protect shoppers and shops. Encryption ensures that malicious actors can’t intercept the information and steal a client’s information.
Furthermore, payment gateways provide many straightforward ways to buy goods and services. Clients can use credit and debit cards, ACH transfers, and recurring billing when purchasing online.
Sources
https://www.connectpos.com/5-pos-systems-support-offline-mode/
https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-magestore-pos/
https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-toast-pos/
Get the word out and build your customer base
Once your website is online, ensure that your clients know where to find you! You wish to keep them from trying clothes on in your store and purchasing similar items in a competitor’s website.
Listed below are a handful of ways to market your new website on your shop:
- Hand out business cards with promotional discounts
- Add special online offers at the conclusion of receipts
- Collect email addresses and use a tool like MailChimp to remarket to your previous customers
Once customers start visiting your new website, you want to demonstrate your shop’s value. Maybe you can offer a pop-up that provides a 10% reduction in return for joining your email list. Another alternative is to give discounts if they package several items into one buy. The goal is to supply these offers from the beginning so that shoppers will feel like they’re getting a bargain and might want to shop with you again.
Incorporate a few of these marketing practices once customers start to See your website:
- Send out weekly emails with special promotions
- Use retargeting advertisements to encourage previous visitors to continue purchasing
- Send abandoned cart emails with a small reduction to improve sales
- Start a loyalty programme that rewards repeat shopping on your website
References
https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-shopkeep-pos/
https://www.connectpos.com/pricing-options-for-different-pos-systems/
https://www.connectpos.com/offline-mode-in-pos-does-it-matter-to-your-business/
Upgrade Your Physical Shop
Lastly, you shouldn’t forget about your existing store during this procedure. Most earnings still happen in-person, so you would like to provide an unbelievable experience digitally and physically.
As we mentioned previously, a cloud EPOS system can integrate with your e-commerce platform. Installing these systems may be the best investment you will make for your organization. Along with supplying a seamless experience with your online shop, a cloud EPOS provides:
- Reporting tools to monitor expenditures, inventory, income, payroll, and much more
- Advertising integrations to keep in touch with clients and build a loyalty program
- Online backups so You’ll never lose data due to theft, injuries, or hardware failures
Epos Now provides the most current in cloud EPOS hardware and software, and over 30,000 companies chose us for their stores and internet e-commerce stores.
See also
https://www.connectpos.com/6-must-have-pos-integrations/
https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-vend/
https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-lightspeed-retail-pos/