Question

What could store-based retailers do to attract a greater portion of your business?How have your shopping patterns changed in the past five years, in terms of how you research purchases and where you make those purchases?

Answer 1

Store-based retailers have seen a considerable loss in customer numbers in the past few years due to the inclusion of online shopping websites in the picture. These websites have changed the way consumers approach buying products. The shopping patterns of many consumers like me have changed in a relatively short duration of time. From the luxury of our homes, we can sort through hundreds of products before deciding which one we are going to buy.

With the click of a button, we order the required products from sellers all over the country at a minimal shipping cost. Each product has a customer rating that helps others potential buyers in their decision-making process regarding whether to buy that product or not. All these factors have contributed to the shift away from store-based retailers.

Still, retailers can adopt a few strategies that could help them in attracting a greater business from consumers like me.

Retailers need to provide discounts to the customers on a regular basis. This helps to attract customers to their stores even if they are not looking to buying something. Once they enter the store and see the products on display, they might end up purchasing a few things.

Retailers also need to have multiple sources through which transactions can be done. Most retailers only deal with cash which becomes a major problem for customers who don't like to carry around cash. Most people have various mobile wallets which they would like to use to pay their bills at the stores and earn cash back from the provider.

Retailers also should have a home delivery system. People generally don't like to go out of the comfort of their houses into stores to buy the products. If there is a nearby store that has home delivery facilities, people would prefer to buy items from there as they would take lesser time to deliver as compared to online sites.

Retailers also must accept returns of certain items. People like to use make sure if the products that they buy are suitable for their needs. Online shopping platforms often provide this luxury to the customers as they have a small window in which customers can return the items. Thus even retailers must adopt this strategy if they want to attract customers.