Is your site a superstore?

Let’s begin with a common scenario captured from a number of our WebIQ studies on sites that also offer a “brick and mortar” in-store channel. Visitor Feedback: “I found a product I wanted to buy in your store, but they were out of the color I wanted. I then came online only to find that this product was not even listed on your website. If you sell it in the store, why don’t you sell it online?” What this scenario illustrates is the visitor perception that the website of a multi-channel company should be a “Superstore”.

The customers’ perception is that all products available in the store should at least be available online for purchase. In many cases, visitors think that because the store is limited by physical size/layout, the online channel should have even more items than what is available in the store. This is a very common perception on the part of consumers and it is important for sites to accommodate it as best they can. So how do you deliver against this perception? The obvious solution is to offer everything online for purchase that is available in the store; however, we realize that this is not possible in some cases.

If this is not possible, then the online store should provide, at a minimum, ALL product details with a clear label indicating that the products are only available for in-store purchase. Remember, 62% of visitors to e-commerce sites are there to conduct product research and another 20% are there to price items. Therefore, it makes sense to provide visitors with information on ALL of the products offered by your company, regardless of the channel and online availability.

It might not make your site a “Superstore”, but it can create the perception that it is.