Answer the GD phone! (and 4 more low-tech hacks to improve online shopping)

Despite the excitement over the growth of ecommerce, shopping stats show something that doesn’t make many headlines: the vast majority of purchases — more than 80 percent of total sales — are still made at the mall and in stores. Why? A big part is the human connection. For all the sophistication of our technology, online shopping has, if anything, grown more impersonal and alienating over the last decade.

I grew up in a traditional retail landscape, working right on the floor and interacting directly with customers. And I still reflect back to that when thinking about the right way to shop online. Sure, it’s impressive what AI and data can help us do, but engineering feats and algorithms should never trump the user’s experience. And with so many tools at our disposal, it’s more important than ever not to hide behind tech or overuse it.

With that in mind, here a few ways progressive online retailers are building a real human connection through a computer screen:

Answer the GD phone!

People overwhelmingly still prefer the phone to email or chatbots when it comes to getting help with a purchase. There are even full websites dedicated to cataloguing contact info and tips for reaching a “real person.”

I know that as a company scales it’s tempting to do away with human reps and help lines. But let’s be honest — those automated phone trees just don’t cut it. In my experience, the best businesses never lose the hunger or personal touch of the “little guy.” As basic as it sounds, companies like Zappos have built their reputations on hands-on customer service, answering more than 7,000 calls a day within an average of 25 seconds.

Of course, tech can help to supplement and streamline these efforts. Anything you can do to assure your customer you’ve heard them — even if it’s a quick auto-response by email or a message promising to call them back — is going to make for a more positive interaction. And if you simply can't keep up with customer calls, it’s likely a sign your business has deeper problems. Get to the real root of complaints, and any bottleneck should disappear.

The forgotten art of the follow-up

I bought a new set of sheets from Boll and Branch the other day. It was a totally unremarkable transaction — except a week after I received the sheets, I got an email sharing care tips and checking on my satisfaction with the purchase. It was a small gesture (and one that would’ve taken almost no effort on their part) but a move that made me feel appreciated as a customer.

It’s amazing how few brands follow up after the sale, whether with helpful tips or a customer survey. A purchase should be the start of your relationship with a customer, not the end. Smart brands find ways to stay connected with users long after money changes hands. Basic marketing automation can help, but the trick here is to make outreach meaningful and take the time to personalize messages — sending at appropriate times with relevant information. Dyson, for example, can reach out to vacuum customers once a year with a reminder to change their filter. It’s helpful info and good incentive to get customers to visit the website.

Don't build a moat around returns

Back in the day, returns were a matter of taking things down the street to the store where you bought them. Return policies were improvised at the till. Now, not having a clear path to return is a major source of fear for online shoppers.

Forty-nine percent of online shoppers will forgo a purchase if the return policy isn’t great. Conversely, 95 percent report that positive return experiences drive loyalty. Little surprise that the companies ruling ecommerce are ones who take away that hesitation with free or easy returns. Amazon might be the king of the process, with its no-hassle policy — 91 percent of people who make returns to Amazon say they would shop there again.

In my work with Diff, I’ve seen plenty of companies hesitate about an open-door return policy. But in my experience, thinking you’re going to have a problem with something before you have the data to back it up is pointless. Try it out; if it doesn’t work, change it. But If you’re basing your business on hunches, you’re just holding yourself back.

Give your brand a stance

This is marketing 101, but so many online companies miss this key concept. Loyalty isn't built around pricing or even products — it's about values-alignment with a company. In fact, studies show that two-thirds of customers are wary when brands don’t take a clear stance on social issues.

Patagonia does this really well: half the emails I get from them have nothing to do with product and are more about political issues or conservation efforts. I’ve never been into a Patagonia store, but I nonetheless feel deeply connected to the company. They do more than get me to try to buy polar fleece, and by doing this they wind up driving me to their website.

Other examples aren’t hard to find. AirBnb embraced refugees this past year in its marketing, while Nike sided with Colin Kaepernick in an already iconic campaign.The takeaway: don't just blast consumers with buy-now messages; show there's a human, with real passions and principles, on the other end.

Think twice about that bot

As sophisticated as AI can be these days, we’re still a long way from handing customer-care reins over to a machine. It’s important to remember that customer support is often your only opportunity for real, human interaction with the people buying your product. It’s an occasion to build loyalty and connection and should be outsourced to an algorithm only after careful deliberation.

Yes, bots can be helpful in terms of routing questions to the right people or answering simple queries. But even in a best-case scenario, chatbots max out at 85 percent efficiency, so you’ve got to anticipate failure and make sure a human is there to pick up the slack. Sephora gets this mix right, using chatbots to provide makeup tutorials and product recommendations but having real people on hand when a customer really needs help.

Ecommerce is taking up more and more of the shopping landscape, but the strongest players ultimately are those who take a cue from old-school retail. No matter how fancy your tech is, you’re in this to serve real people. To succeed online, we all still need that human touch.

A version of this post was originally featured in Forbes. Stay up to date with my latest by following me here and on Twitter.