Online stores
E-commerce marketing
Shoppers are not comparing stores. They are working out whether to risk their money with someone they do not know, and whether the product will do the job. Our work is to remove the doubts one by one: a clear price, clear delivery and clear returns, before they even reach the basket.
The numbers come before the budget, so we first make sure every order is recorded once, and with the right value. Then we look at the path to payment, because most abandoned baskets have a specific cause: expensive delivery, a forced account, or a total that changes at the last step.
Where the order is lost after the shopper already wants the product
The final price appears too late
The shopper has one figure in mind and sees another at the last step because of delivery. The difference feels like a loss, and the basket stays full.
The store asks for an account before the order
The person is ready to pay but not ready to create a profile. One extra field on that screen costs more than an entire advertising budget.
Returns are not explained, so they are assumed to be a problem
When nothing says how to return an item, the shopper assumes it will be difficult. A clear condition removes the risk, and that is why it sells.
Advertising sells what would have sold anyway
The campaign reports orders, but most of them come from people who were going to buy regardless. Meanwhile the warehouse fills up with low-margin stock.
The first order is won, the second never comes
You pay for a click every time, because nobody writes to the customer after delivery. The second sale is lost along with the profit in it.
What changes in the order of work for an online store
In an online store the whole sale happens on the site, so every step from the visit to the payment can be measured. This is how the four steps of the way we work look when you sell online.
Goal
The goal is set in revenue and cost per order by product group, because two campaigns with the same cost per order can bring in very different money.
Check
We check that every order is tracked once and with the correct value, how quickly product pages open, how many fields there are before payment and whether the final total appears early.
Channels
Advertising reaches people who already intend to buy, search brings the categories and models, and emails bring back those who have bought before. The second order costs less than the first.
Report
The report starts from revenue and spend by product group, and orders are counted after delivery so that refused parcels do not enter the maths.
The services that matter for an online store
Who is buying, and what stops them
An online store has several different shoppers, and each of them stops in a different place. So the pages and the emails are arranged around the occasion rather than around the product.
Some things are not negotiable: before the order, the final price with all charges, the delivery time and the return conditions have to be clear, and the order button has to say that the order carries an obligation to pay. Several of those duties also help the sale, because they remove uncertainty exactly where it stops the shopper.
- A shopper who knows what they want: They are looking for a specific model and comparing price, availability and delivery time. The store that shows all three without scrolling wins.
- A shopper still choosing: They are weighing up two similar products and hesitating. A short explanation of the difference helps more than another product in the list.
- A returning customer: They have ordered from you before and cost far less than a new one. Emails and a reason to come back work here, not advertising.
- Buying a gift or buying for someone else: Delivery time, packaging and easy returns decide it, because the risk of the other person not liking it belongs to someone else.
- An expensive purchase: Postponed for days and checked in several places. Reviews, photos of the actual product and clear warranty terms are what help.
- An order through a marketplace: The customer is on someone else's ground and you pay a commission. The website earns its keep by making their second order yours.
- Cash on delivery: It removes uncertainty for the shopper but brings refused parcels. So orders are counted after delivery, not at confirmation.
Sectors where the purchase also starts online
Customers buy online
How the work changes when the decision is made on the site.
Retail
When you have physical stores as well as a site.
FMCG
When the product is sold through other retailers and chains.