Web to store: definition and examples attracting customers to your store
When it comes to in-store retailing, the definition of web-to-store quickly comes to mind. This technique is made up of a set of strategies and web marketing levers that retailers exploit to generate traffic at the point of sale:
- by playing the proximity card ,
- by emphasizing the value of physical welcome,
- by offering customers unmissable appointments in their stores.
91% of consumers search for information online before buying, to compare product features and prices (source: Wavestone) .
Discover the definition of web to store, its advantages, and examples of strategies and levers to activate.
What is web to store?
Web to store: definition
The definition of web-to-store is: the act of going online before visiting a physical store to buy the products you want.
Web-to-store offers a sales cycle that includes all online actions and levers that :
- encourage the Internet user to visit the store,
- provide information on the nearest store or the item they are looking for.
It responds to a new consumer buying behavior: ROPO (research online purchase offline) or ROBO (research online bye offline) .
☝️ This is the opposite of store-to-web, which refers a retailer's customers to its e-commerce site to purchase a product that is not or no longer available at the point of sale.
Web-to-store: 7 advantages
Web-to-store offers a number of advantages for local retailers:
- reaches a wider target and therefore benefits from greater visibility ;
- benefits from an additional communication medium, particularly for promotional operations;
- collects customer reviews, reassuring potential buyers;
- is present where its competitors are;
- conveys an image of modernity, responding to new uses;
- eliminates delivery delays and shipping costs;
- encourages additional sales thanks to the proximity between seller and buyer.
Are there any drawbacks or constraints to web-to-store?
Ultimately, this strategy has few drawbacks, 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 leaving the option of visiting the nearest store to see, try out and touch the product before buying.
Ultimately, 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 cornerstone of a web-to-store strategy
Click and collect: one click for easy in-store collection
60% of abandoned shopping baskets are due to high shipping costs (source: Convertize). The click-and-collect principle makes up for this by eliminating shipping costs:
- Internet users order their product online,
- then chooses to collect it from a physical point of sale.
Product Locator and Store Locator: geolocalized products and stores
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 enabling them to check the availability of the product in their usual store;
- a store locator service, which enables Internet users to find a store close to where they are, or close to their home town.
💡 Some collaborative mobile applications, like Waze, offer geolocation advertising. Their use can prove judicious in cases where several large retailers are grouped together in shopping areas, in order to signal your presence to motorists stopping nearby.
Your Google My Business page, your store window on Google Maps
Your point of sale is geolocated on Google Maps. You provide your customers with the information they're looking for, and encourage them to visit your store with :
- photos,
- your website URL,
- associated customer reviews,
- opening hours,
- telephone number, etc.
Web-to-store: 3 examples of systems that work
Well-crafted product sheets and website
To respond to consumer demand for information and to enhance the value of your products, you can post on the Internet :
- descriptive product sheets,
- enriched photos, videos or multimedia,
- several descriptions of the same product on different channels (catalogs, marketplaces, e-commerce sites, etc.).
💡 A Product Information Management (PIM) platform like Afineo PIM enables you to maintain control over the multiplicity of information from various sources and :
- centralize your product information and keep it up to date ;
- organize and index your media (photos, videos, sounds, PDFs, etc.);
- adapt and enrich product information according to distribution channel;
- avoid duplication of text content (essential to avoid damaging the natural referencing of web pages), etc.
Multi-channel sales operations
Numerous promotional operations start online and help drive traffic into stores.
Via digital push devices
Push actions include email to store and mobile to store.
The concept? Launch exclusive promotions or offers, valid only from the digital channel used (emailing, app notification or SMS), which encourage users to visit the store.
Via drive-to-store games
The advantage of games is that they're fun, popular and create a buzz!
Zadig&Voltaire understood this with its " I should have been a cowboy " online operation:
- winners received discount vouchers to use on the new collection;
- all participants won a T-shirt to collect in store.
Via a loyalty program
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 build long-term commercial links.
All customers have to do is create a personal account to benefit from preferential rates and exclusive advantages, both online and in-store.
A mobile application, like the one for Yves Rocher & Moi, concentrates all the benefits of the loyalty program:
A smoother, richer customer experience
Responsiveness from the very first online contact
Customer relations have become conversational and omnichannel. Responding quickly is essential. It's even better to anticipate questions with personalized solutions and offers that you can discover in-store!
Preciously preserve 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,
- contact forms,
- and even review platforms.
Online appointment booking to organize customer visits
Online appointment booking is an essential web-to-store strategy for retailers delivering services, to generate a steady 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 independently,
- optimize your reservation schedules,
- maximize your appointment opportunities.
In retail, appointments are used to plan a visit to pick up an order placed online, just like with click and collect.
A signposted, digitized purchase path to the point of sale
Bring digital to the store 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 personalized experience.
Augmented stores 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
Faced with increasingly connected customers, the user experience on digital tools needs to be carefully thought through.
To create a seamless, phygital customer journey, remove any potential bottlenecks or points of friction, and focus on providing customers with a comfortable shopping experience:
- choice of collection method,
- comprehensive information,
- intuitiveness of the web platform used, etc.
Customers are also increasingly demanding and want a personalized customer experience.
Build up a solid customer database that can trace the entire history of behaviors and exchanges that have taken place between customers and your brand.
In this way, you'll build trust and customer proximity, even before your customers make a purchase in-store.
Article translated from French