Tech providers offer e-commerce site help
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, September 22, 2008
HIGH POINT — Retail technology providers are finding that online commerce is a hot topic these days, particularly as a means for retailers to brand their stores and products and become more interactive with prospective customers.
“When it comes to e-commerce, the numbers speak for themselves,” said Gloria Walsh, product marketing manager for Storis Software Solutions. eStoris, the company's online application, has a variety of services that allows customers to see and price a retailer's product, check its availability, buy it and follow the progress of delivery.
According to Comscore, an Internet performance and consumer behavior site, almost three-quarters of all customers shop the Internet before making a purchase. Online purchases last year for big-ticket items increased 67%, said Walsh, for close to $1 billion in total sales.
“Google is not just a search engine. It's a verb,” Walsh said. “People 'Google' brands and products they want to research jobs, salaries, even potential dates. When it comes to your company, what do you want customers to see when they type 'XYZ Furniture?' If you don't have a Web site that defines your brand and your style of service, you are at the mercy of competitors, disgruntled employees and dissatisfied customers.”
Walsh said consumers shop the Web for a number of reasons.
First, they like the convenience of being able to investigate brands and comparison shop. They also like the privacy — they can shop without sales pressure and apply for credit online instead of doing it in the store.
Then there's customer service. People appreciate e-mails, Walsh said, informing them when merchandise arrives or delivery dates change due to shipping delays. They also like “thank you” e-mails, targeted discounts and coupons based on brand or merchandise interest. Such service can encourage repeat business.
For working families and other busy people, the Internet allows customers to shop more efficiently, saving time, gas and money.
A forum for feedback
Finally, there's the review factor — dozens of Web sites feature positive and negative reviews of products and services written by actual customers.
But doing business with the help of the Internet can be a two-edged sword. Walsh cautioned retailers to remember this axiom: If customers like your product, they will tell two people; if they don't, they'll tell 10. And with Web sites like complaints.com, displeased and disgruntled users can potentially tell hundreds, if not thousands, about their dissatisfaction.
“Add that to the blogging community and social networking sites where like-minded users forward information to others, and the numbers increase dramatically,” she added, noting that once on the Web, information is hard to remove.
Walsh recommends that retailers have an abundance of information on their sites about how well they treat their customers, so if an online complaint does surface it will seem like an atypical event. Invite positive feedback by creating an area on the Web site where customers can communicate how satisfied they are with your service.
Shelley Parlin, vice president of professional services for ProfitSystems, said the company has noticed a growing interest in e-commerce among its retail clients and now keeps the Internet in mind as it develops software.
“Retailers are using their Web sites as a way to brand their business, show merchandise, and offer clients a way to sign up for newsletters and even download cleaning and maintenance tips for their furniture,” Parlin said.
The ProfitSystems system allows retail clients to create an online display for consumers that automatically loads product from an item file without the usual hands-on manipulation.
“We just tell it to load,” said Parlin. “It's an easy way to create a virtual showroom.”
Having an online presence is becoming more essential, especially as younger groups like Gen Y gain purchasing power, Parlin said.
“We're starting to realize some of the older advertising forums are just not working like they used to. We're a much faster-paced society. We change channels during commercials — even on the radio.”
She said doing business online “is on the forefront of the clients' minds. Quite honestly, that's why we're pursuing it corporately. The response has been overwhelming because of their interest.”
The Pew Internet and American Life Tracking study, conducted in May, found that 73% of the adult population in America uses the Internet, up from 71% last year. Similarly, The Prospective Marketing Survey Group, in a study released in February, found that 66% of respondents reported they were spending more time online researching consumer goods, and 74% welcomed more brand e-newsletters, online offer and coupons.
Linda Forte, creative director with CDS Group, notes the lasting impression a company's Web site can have on a viewer in terms of image marketing.
“Every element that exists on your (retail) Web site should have an irrefutable purpose — focused on the goal of selling your brand and romancing viewers and motivating them to want your products,” she said. “A top-quality Web design team can help establish a virtual “look” that supports and promotes this goal.”
Effective Web sites can encourage consumers to visit regularly. To do this, Forte suggests that dealers refresh their home page content on a regular basis, promote special offers and showcase products. Be sure, she said, that there is a consistency in the treatment and graphical quality of these messages.
Creating community
“Create a sense of community,” said Forte, “by using a writing tone that resonates with the target audience. The consumer should be able to visualize furnishings in their own home environment. Large, up-close and professional quality photos that depict furniture in an attractive setting are invaluable — contributing to the credibility of the brick-and-mortar store. These efforts result in an increase in customers' confidence to purchase furniture.”
When retailers have neither the time nor the resources to revamp their main site, Forte suggests a microsite as an alternative. The microsite is a separate Web site used as a marketing tool, a sort of “living” ad, to inspire and engage the audience with ideas and encourage interaction. She said it can serve as a “virtual circular,” or highlight a specific event such as the introduction of a new line of furniture.
In addition, Forte said the microsite can also pinpoint and address specific needs of a select audience, such as seniors or families furnishing a vacation home.
At Myriad, software is available to help capture information when customers visit the sales floor, providing a helpful tool for salespeople during repeat visits. For example, the consumer looks at a table but needs to talk to her husband. The store captures a picture of it and has it available to show the couple when they return.
In addition, stores can use that information as a base for e-mails to tell prospective customers that the table has gone on sale, or is now available in other colors. Information collection also allows the store to alert prospects of new products, sales and holiday promotions.
According to President Carolyn Crowley, Myriad now is laying the groundwork for a new technology that can pull similar information from a retailer's Web site (such as products that drew the consumer's interest online) for integration into business management systems.
“We are very aware of the great benefits of the Internet to our customer,” said Crowley. “We are excited about this direction and we know that our offerings will be well received in the market.”
