What makes shopping more enjoyable

Mays, founder, Just Add Content , a website platform for businesses. If your website loads too slowly, customers won't wait around. They'll go elsewhere. Amazon, for example, has shown that every milliseconds of latency cost them 1 percent in sales, while Walmart reports conversion rates rise 2 percent for every second of reduced load time.

Remember that a good photo can be worth a thousand words and maybe a thousand dollars. For example, next to that photo of a vase, show that same vase placed on a table, filled with flowers.

In addition, give shoppers the ability to zoom in and see multiple angles and views of products if relevant. The girl was knowledgeable and helpful; she told me which brands she liked best, what their top-sellers were, and she explained the distinctions between different products. She even showed me how to apply the product to my hair. I walked out of that Birchbox store with a product that I was excited to try, and I was reminded of just how powerful in-store customer service can be.

Strive to offer that same level of service in your stores. Evaluate the performance of your associates. How well do they know your products? Can they effectively recommend items to your customers? Provide ample training. Finally, instill a deeper sense of service in your employees. Help them realize that being genuinely helpful is the best way to earn the trust and business of your customers. Every six to eight weeks, STORY reinvents its entire space — from store design to inventory — around particular themes.

The store itself sold gift items and unique trinkets around themes of magic and wonder, which made it an excellent destination for holiday shoppers. Walking into a shop and seeing the same old things is one of the most disappointing experiences a shopper can have. Consider implementing a similar strategy in your business. While it might not be practical to completely transform your store and merchandise every two months, there are still several steps you can take to switch things up.

Showcase new products. Move things around. Keep your window displays fresh. Do what you can to ensure that people come across something new with each visit. Getting these things right will keep shoppers coming back to your store and website. Facilitate your customers shopping journeys as the move from channel or device to the next, by making it easy for them to purchase from you wherever they are.

And when it comes to order fulfillment, give people the option to get their hands on their products in the most convenient way possible. For some shoppers, this means shipping orders to their house.

For others, it means giving them the ability to pick up their items in-store or curbside. One of the best examples of a retailer that does this is Target. The company has invested in omnichannel, BOPIS, and curbside even before the pandemic, and this effort has paid off tremendously.

They know who their customers are and what they value. Using tools like geofencing through their mobile app, they can anticipate when a customer is nearby and have that order ready to go. They also give their store associates the ability to compensate customers who may be waiting too long at curbside.

The process is built to be seamless and customer-first. Use it to your advantage. Figure out how you can use your shop to build communities. Can you hold classes or events? Are there spaces or elements in the location that would encourage people to meet and get together?

Take, for example, Solfire , an athleisure apparel retailer in Brooklyn. Want to learn more about how Solfire builds a strong community? Read their story here. Find what works and see how shoppers react. If you have an online store and you totally should , see to it that your ecommerce site works hand in hand with your physical location s. Remember, modern consumers are using multiple channels and devices in their shopping journeys.

In other words, you need to be an omnichannel retailer. This past holiday season is a testament to that, with nearly a third of shoppers opting for in-store pickup.

Not only that but according to the ICSC, 69 percent of shoppers who went in-store to pick up their orders ended up buying additional items. So how exactly can you implement click-and-collect? The first step is to have a centralized retail solution that lets you manage orders, sales, and customers from one system. Or, if you have separate systems for your physical and digital stores, then you need to find a way to integrate the two programs.

Whatever the case, talk to you solutions provider and ask them about their omnichannel retail offerings. Consider enhancing the brick-and-mortar experience by allowing shoppers to browse your online shop in your physical location. Enabling people to browse your ecommerce site in-store lets them see products or variants that you may not have on-site. If they see something they like, you can just have your associates place an order for them and ship it to their home.

Have a look at what Nike is doing. In some of its stores, the sportswear retailer has large touch-screens so customers can browse Nike. Long lines at checkout are big a turn-off and can result in customers abandoning their purchases. Below are a few suggestions:. Are long lines slowing you down? Open new registers and make sure you always have enough cashiers on staff to serve shoppers. To make things even easier, consider using an iPad as your POS.

Another benefit of using an iPad is that it lets you untether the checkout process. Rather than being stuck behind the cash wrap, you can quickly take the checkout process to the customer and ring up sales from anywhere in the store. Looking for a more innovative and tech-forward way to combat long checkout lines? The warehouse store has a mobile app called Scan and Go which lets customers scan and pay for their purchases within the app itself.

No doubt this the app makes shopping easy and convenient, and it hints at what the future of in-store checkout might look like. What kind of retailtainment should you offer? That depends on your store and customers. In some cases, bringing in celebrities or industry professionals could do the trick. Last year, for example, Walmart stores in Little Rock Arkansas brought in professional bullfighters to sign autographs in-store.

The stunt not only attracted a ton of foot traffic, but it got Walmart plenty of coverage from the local press. Unique window display by nyandcompany : Using real people instead of mannequins. If it makes sense for your business and customers, find ways to bring people together in your store.

Invite customers and community members to events where they can learn new things, interact with like-minded individuals, or simply get a break from staring at their computer or phone all day. In addition to selling fabric and other supplies, The Workroom also holds sewing classes and workshops.

Community building requires cultivating real relationships with customers and communicating with them on a regular basis. At The Workroom, Karyn says they gather information from customers who purchase their products and attend their events. They also send newsletters regularly to keep people in the loop and to gather feedback.

According to Karyn, doing these things helped her get to know customers better. Want your store to attract shoppers and make a long-lasting impression? Create a store environment that envelops customers and grabs their full attention. Some retailers are doing this through technology. Shoe retailer TOMS, for instance, deployed virtual reality VR headsets in of its stores to enable shoppers to experience the brand in an entirely unique way. Another retailer doing a great job with immersive experiences is IKEA.

Last year, the homeware retailer opened The Dining Club, a temporary pop-up store in which guests were given a chance to run their own restaurant.