This morning I came across a study conducted by Bazaarvoice and richrelevance that looked at the behavior of today’s online shopper. The take away points were that 48% of online shoppers said they will spend less this year and those that will be making purchases will not be making them hastily.
What does this mean for the online marketer? It’s time to turn on the charm, play up the product, add some reviews, recommendations and sweeten the deals.
The study also shows that consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a site that provides that with content tools connecting them to the opinions and behaviors of other shoppers. This may be because they are looking for more validation in their purchase and if Joe from Virginia says he can’t remember life before he bought his Snuggie, then maybe you can’t live without one either.
I think a good example of this can be seen at one of my favorite shopping sites, SteepandCheap.com. This site promotes one product at a time at a discounted price and offers the deal until stock runs out. Under the image of the product there is a description and product features section and below that a review section. I tend to trust reviews more than product descriptions, as these are testimonials from people who have actually used the product outdoors and comment on the comfort and functionality.
Not surprisingly, the study also said that online shoppers cutting back the most in the automotive, travel and consumer electronics sector – the big ticket items. They are also visiting 3 sites or more to compare prices before making their purchase.
To keep the consumer on your site and get them through your purchasing path, there are a few things you can do. The first is to provide compelling content for your product. The content needs to connect them to the product and build their confidence in making the purchase. Then provide them with previous customer reviews, ratings and testimonials to the products quality.
Another suggestion is to recommend additional products based on the consumer’s purchasing behavior and on other consumer’s behavior. This is a great up-selling technique and you’d be surprised how much more likely people are to buy things when they see how many other people are.
