Web to store: definition and examples attracting customers to your shop
When we talk about in-store retailing, the definition of web-to-store quickly comes to mind. This technique is made up of a range of strategies and web marketing levers that retailers use to generate traffic at the point of sale:
- by playing the proximity card
- by making the most of their physical presence
- by organising unmissable events for customers in their shops.
91% of consumers search for information online before buying, to compare product features and prices (source: Wavestone) .
Find out more about the definition of web to store, its benefits, and examples of strategies and levers to activate.
What is web to store?
Web to store: definition
The definition of web-to-store is as follows: the act of going online before visiting a physical shop to buy the products you want.
Web-to-store therefore offers a sales cycle that includes all the online actions and levers that :
- Encourage Internet users to visit a shop,
- give them information about the nearest shop or the item they are looking for.
It responds to a new consumer buying behaviour, ROPO (research online purchase offline) or ROBO (research online bye offline) .
☝️ This is the opposite of store-to-web, which sends a retailer's customers back to its e-commerce site to buy a product that is not, or is no longer, available at the point of sale.
Web-to-store: 7 advantages
Web-to-store has a number of advantages for local retailers:
- reaches a wider target audience and therefore benefits from greater visibility ;
- benefits from an additional communication medium, particularly for promotional operations;
- Gathering customer opinions and reassuring potential buyers;
- is present where its competitors are;
- conveys a modern image, by responding to new uses;
- eliminates delivery times and postage costs;
- encourages additional sales thanks to the proximity between seller and buyer.
Are there any drawbacks or constraints to web to store?
Ultimately, there are few drawbacks to this strategy, as it offers consumers "the best of both worlds". You can :
- take the time to find out about and compare products online, without feeling the pressure of an in-store salesperson,
- while still allowing them to visit the nearest shop to see, try out and touch the product before buying.
In the end, the only constraint would be to have a website and a minimal marketing strategy to attract customers in-store and give them a more human shopping experience than online.
But is this really a constraint, or simply a prerequisite for keeping up with your competitors?
Geolocated local services, the keystone of a web to store strategy
Click and collect: one click for easy in-store collection
60% of abandoned shopping baskets are due to excessive delivery charges (source: Convertize). The click-and-collect principle makes up for this by eliminating delivery charges:
- Internet users order their product online,
- then choose to collect it from a physical point of sale.
Product Locator and Store Locator: geolocated products and shops
Geolocation is the basis of these techniques:
- a product locator service enables web users to find the product they want by suggesting :
- the nearest point of sale
- where there is sufficient stock to satisfy their request,
- or by allowing them to check the availability of the product in their usual shop;
- a store locator service, which enables Internet users to find a shop close to where they are or close to their local area.
💡 Some collaborative mobile applications offer the option of displaying geolocated advertising, like Waze. These can be a good idea when several large retailers are grouped together in shopping areas, to let motorists who stop nearby know that you're there.
Your Google My Business page, your shop window on Google Maps
Your point of sale is geolocated on Google Maps. You can provide your customers with the information they're looking for and encourage them to visit the shop with :
- photos,
- the URL of your website
- associated customer reviews,
- opening times,
- telephone number, etc.
Web-to-store: 3 examples of systems that work
Well-crafted product sheets and website
To meet consumer demand for information and promote your products, you can post the following on the Internet :
- descriptive product sheets,
- photos, videos or enhanced multimedia,
- several descriptions of the same product on different channels (catalogue, marketplaces, e-commerce site, etc.).
💡 A Product Information Management (PIM) platform like Afineo PIM allows you to keep control of the multiplicity of information coming from various sources and :
- Centralise your product information and keep it up to date;
- organise and index your media (photos, videos, sounds, PDFs, etc.);
- adapt and enrich the information for each product depending on the distribution channel;
- avoid duplication of text content (essential to avoid damaging the natural referencing of web pages), etc.
Multi-channel sales operations
A large number of promotional campaigns are launched online to drive traffic into retail outlets.
Via push digital devices
Push campaigns include email to store and mobile to store.
The concept? Launch exclusive promotions or offers, valid only from the digital channel used (emailing, notification on an application or even SMS), which encourage users to visit the shop.
Via drive-to-store games
The advantage of games is that they are fun, popular and create a buzz!
Zadig&Voltaire understood this with its online operation " I should have been a cowboy ":
- the winners received discount vouchers to use on the new collection;
- all participants won a T-shirt to collect in shop.
Via a loyalty programme
Being part of a club where loyalty is rewarded with benefits and services reserved for members: this is a web-to-store strategy that helps to forge long-term commercial links.
All customers have to do is create a personal account to take advantage of preferential rates and exclusive benefits both online and in-store.
A mobile application can be used to concentrate all the benefits of the loyalty programme, like the Yves Rocher & Moi application:
A richer, smoother customer experience
Responsiveness from the first online contact
Customer relations have become conversational and omnichannel. Responding quickly is essential. Anticipating questions with personalised solutions and offers that you can discover in-store is even better!
Preciously keep the history of your exchanges.
💡 A communications management solution helps you offer omnidigital customer service, like RingCentral Experience Client.
You manage interactions on a single platform from which you can engage in conversation with your customers on :
- social networks
- forums
- messenging tools
- emails
- contact forms,
- and even review platforms.
Online appointment booking to organise customer visits
Online appointment booking is an essential web-to-store strategy to adopt for retailers delivering services, in order to generate a constant flow of customers to the point of sale.
💡 By using a dedicated solution such as Agendize :
- you let customers book the slot of their choice completely independently,
- you optimise your booking schedules,
- maximise your appointment opportunities.
In retail, appointments are used to plan a visit to pick up an order placed online, as with click and collect.
A digitalised, signposted shopping journey to the point of sale
Bring digital to the shop for the most hurried, autonomous and hyper-connected customers:
- Install interactive kiosks to guide them;
- equip your sales staff with touch-screen tablets to offer them a personalised experience.
Augmented shops become an extension of the shopping journey started on the web. The boundaries between the web and the physical world are finally blurred and the customer experience becomes unique.
The challenges of web to store
With customers becoming ever more connected, the user experience on digital tools needs to be carefully thought through.
To create a seamless, phygital customer journey, remove any obstacles or points of friction and focus on the comfort provided to customers during their purchase:
- choice of collection method
- comprehensive information,
- the intuitiveness of the web platform used, etc.
Customers are also increasingly demanding and want a personalised customer experience.
Build up a solid customer database that can trace the entire history of behaviour and exchanges that have taken place between customers and your brand.
In this way, you can develop trust and customer proximity even before the actual purchase is made in-store.
Article translated from French