How to fill the customer experience gap between stores and sites

In the wake of changing in-store environments, there is a need for digital channels to fill the experience gap caused by social distance and evolving shopping habits. My previous articles discussed the considerable surge in traffic generated by the pandemic, the essential features for eCommerce and the crucial characteristics of eCommerce UX. (Lockdown shows customers may not be as loyal to Amazon as you think and 5 things to get right for a successful eCommerce UX). This article will delve deeper into what customers are missing from in-store shopping since social distancing and how online businesses can differentiate themselves by filling that experience gap.

Smash the funnel and take advantage of every customer interaction

The e-commerce experience funnel has become recognised as the de-facto approach for constructing eCommerce customer journeys. Most of the established eCommerce players use the funnel as the blueprint for their user experiences. They all provide homepage, landing page, product lister page and product details page templates as standard.  

The eCommerce funnel assumes a customer takes a progressive linear path for shopping, entering at a landing page and completing at check out. At each stage, the customer is narrowing down options until they convert on to a purchasing path. 

Even the use of content mirrors the same pattern. More expansive content such as inspirational content revealing what's on offer appears at the start of the funnel. In contrast, listers display product snippets optimised for comparison. The product details page concentrates on narrow content and media to facilitate the decision to purchase.  

The funnel so far has served us well, but the impact of social distancing on physical stores is rapidly changing customers shopping habits and what they want from online shopping experiences.

Fun not 'frictionless' experiencesR

Natalie Berg (Retail Analyst & Founder of NBK Retail) said at the Amplience Customer Summit that online consumers desire the 'fun' fulfilling experience they used to get from shopping in stores. Not so much the 'frictionless' eCommerce journies we have today.

Every page, every interaction and every digital moment is an opportunity to differentiate.

Melissa Liotus (Director of eCommerce Marketing & Merchandising, Crate & Barrel), explains that now customer experiences are non-linear, that every page is potentially an entry-point. As such, every interaction is an opportunity to differentiate the brand and products.  

The key message is that we are entering a new stage in the evolution of Commerce where you can't rely on the physics of the traditional funnel. To build the right UX for your customers look closely at your own customers' shopping paths and what they are missing from the online experience.  Harry Rosen and Myplanet spent a lot of time in-store and talking to customers and store employees, to ensure they develop an online white-glove customer-first experience they are renowned for. 

Why customers love to shop in stores

So what do customers need from eCommerce experiences today? Immediately before the lock-down in March Retail Focus released the article Benefits of Physical Store vs Online Shop. It helps proffer insight into the reasons why customers enjoyed shopping and buy more in-store:

• In a physical outlet, sales assistants can guide customers to product locations. Online they should know the name of a product to search for it.
• Inspiration. When shopping, customers discover new products they didn't even know about before. Online browsing to search for new items seems never-ending.
• Displaying items in-store encourages more shopping. Product displays and excellent presentation entice customers to pick up and buy more things than planned. Online content is optimised to be less inspirational and more product-specific the further down the funnel you are.
• The shop attendants assist customers in making the right purchasing decisions. Customers can inquire about the best products for a particular need. The outcome is that customers rarely make the wrong purchases in physical stores. Online customers have to rely on product reviews, researching using other sites or buying multiple items and returning.
• The shop attendants can provide expert knowledge. Customers learn about product attributes, the dimensions of product categories and the benefits associated with each brand. Many eCommerce sites either assume the customer knows already or places the content in alternative locations outside the shopping path.

In essence, people enjoy shopping in-store as they become inspired, discover new things and learn about products and brands throughout the in-store experience. Whereas online stores tend to assume the customer generally knows what they are looking for and the further down the funnel they enter the more they know and are closer to a purchasing decision.  

For eCommerce to fill the void left by diminishing in-store experiences must they need to shift from data and facts to make humanistic emotional connections with customers that inform, guide and inspire.  

Facts tell, Stories Sell

A great way to do this is through storytelling. Enjoyable shopping experiences are full of great stories, why you are shopping, the things you learn from the assistant's stories and why you just had to get that extra special thing you didn't know you needed.  

Storytelling grabs customer attention and can make an emotional connection with the reader. Telling your origin story and stories of how you live your brand values builds credibility and differentiates you from the competition.  

Stories engage and educate

Stories about products bring them to life, explaining why they make your experience better, how they can help you achieve more. Stories of the materials used, their sources and how the product is crafted, will create authenticity and help sell the product more than a list of specifications.

Stories guide you through how to use products and educate customers on what are the most important things to consider for choosing a product and why.

Discover new things and be inspired with great stories

Lifestyle stories inspire a customer to explore new products and with curated sets of products discover a more extensive range of products in your assortment. Kate Patts (manger, e-commerce brand marketing, Crate & Barrel) examples of using inspirational content at the Amplience Customer Summit was a great example of using lifestyle stories in the shopping path. She explains that customer craved inspiration and placing the gift guide into the shopping path increased visits by 77%, lowered bounce rate by 48% and increased the conversion by 10%.

Previously in e-commerce, story-based content has been placed outside the shopping journey to reduce friction, either providing a destination for more info or used as a way direct customers to landing destinations in the e-commerce site. As Melissa Liotus points out to be effective, the story content needs to be where the customer is, and that's throughout the shopping journey.  

Summary

Customer online shopping habits and expectations have and are continuing to change. They are looking for online experiences to replace some of the things they loved missing from the in-store experience.  

By not relying entirely on the funnel and default templates and understanding your customer's shopping paths, there are opportunities to differentiate through better digital experiences and engage more deeply with your customers

In my next articles, I'll plunge more in-depth into how you can differentiate and develop experiences for your customers that fill the experience gap. 

My special thanks to Steve William for providing an amazing photo for the header and Gordon Williams for letting me use some brilliant photography in the article all in aid of helping me raise awareness for #neurodiversity