As an online business owner, you’ll be very aware that there is one thing that you cannot offer your customers: the face to face presence that they deserve. Expansion in your business should always include you bringing your online business out into the real world with the purchase of a brick and mortar shop in the high street.
Attracting customers into your business is not always going to be easy for you, especially if you’ve spent time working online only for a length of time. By having a physical presence offline, you can guarantee that you are going to be able to attract customers right off the street and give them the warm greeting you’ve been cultivating on your online store. You hear a lot about moving an offline business to the internet, and there is often a lot less work involved in doing so. However, with the purchase of a new store, you can think about the way you can attract people face to face. You should be thinking about the shop fittings, the outside advertisements and the way that you notify your customers that while you will still have an online presence, they’ll be able to reach you in store if there are any issues.
It’s important to remember that shopping is very much a social activity. People love to go out together and discuss the items in stores, trying them on and bonding over items that they find on the shelves. If they can find staff who are happy to talk them through pieces, offer discounts and are friendly, even better. The goal for most businesses is to grow and a big part of that will come from your customers and how they perceive you. If you are offering a satisfactory and happy in-store experience, then they will recommend you to other locals and drive more footfall into your store.
You should also remember that people like to try before they buy. Selling clothes online is big with the larger retailers, but consumers know that they take a risk on sizing and quality when they order online. Selling clothes in store gives people the chance to try things on, feel the quality of the clothing and understand the sizing of it. Renting a premises and decorating it and setting it out in a way that is appealing to customers is going to take research on your part, so make sure that you hit social media and update your website months in advance of a shop opening day. People get an appetite to shop by touching and feeling what’s on offer, and if you are able to offer that to people, you’re going to be filling a demand.
Your new store can be just as successful as your online one; all you have to do is ensure that you are giving the people what they want in terms of items, aesthetics, service and price. Don’t skimp on quality and they’ll not skip out on you!
