Rory O’Connor explains how going digital can help your garden retail business thrive, despite the pandemic
Digitalisation has never been more relevant to businesses within the horticulture sector, thanks to the COVID 19 lockdown. Few areas of the economy have been as transformed as much as garden retail. Even when things have returned to “normal” post lockdown, there are many ways in which retail will probably be changed completely and forever.
The social and economic hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic is a major crisis, but it is one that generates new opportunities for many of us. In recent months, many retailers have been fast-tracking their digitalisation plans. Getting themselves online to offset some of the damage caused by social restrictions, but also as a realisation that online shopping – even among the older generation – is fast becoming the norm. Many customers are still wary of venturing out of their front doors, so their first point of differentiation will be a garden retailer whose products are online and can deliver.
“ Many customers are still wary of venturing out of their front doors, so their first point of differentiation will be a garden retailer whose products are online and can deliver.“
Since March, I have witnessed a growth of +262% in “Home and Garden” online sales. With a significant rise of lawnmowers, garden furniture, barbeques and hedge trimmers in online searches. Forty-one per cent of shoppers have received a “Home and Garden” parcel during this pandemic.
People have seen the benefits of online shopping and “click and collect” services. There are efficiency gains for both sides; the consumer can avoid shopping in peak hours and shops can plan their work more efficiently.
On top of that, setting up a shop online allows businesses to reach wider audiences, be open 24/7, and have more sales opportunities.
MOVING ONLINE
Fortunately, moving your brick-and-mortar store online isn’t as difficult as you might think. But it does take a measured, well-thought-out approach that encompasses the following five steps:
Step 1: Decide which online channel or platform to use
To move your brick-and-mortar store online, you first need to decide which e-commerce platform is right for you. Depending on what you’re selling (and who you’re selling to), you can opt for a fully-fledged e-commerce store, get a seller’s account through an online marketplace, or sell via social media.
As a business owner, you should think about your goals and purposes for selling online. Is it the simple goal of wanting to sell more merchandise or building relationships with customers? Is there enough time to build and maintain a fully-fledged e-commerce site or would it be best to hand over the reins to a third party? These are just some of the questions every business owner should ask when making the decision.
Another important aspect is to research your customers. Do they shop at online marketplaces? Are they following your business on social media? It is important to strike up a conversation in-store or chat them up at the checkout counter and see if insights can be gained into their online shopping habits.
Also, there is no rule against selling on multiple digital channels, so if you have the time and resources why not try using several selling platforms to move your brick-and-mortar store online. Doing so will not only allow you to test each platform, but you will get in front of more people and potentially make more sales.
Step 2: Design your online store
One thing to keep in mind when designing a digital shop is consistency. You want your customers to have a similar experience whether they’re browsing products in your brick-and-mortar shop or your online store.
So have a look around your existing shop and pay attention to any themes or design elements that you can bring online. Admittedly, implementing certain elements would be a little harder in marketplaces and social networks, but there are still steps you can take to incorporate your brand into these selling channels.
Whichever marketplace you decide to sell on, be sure to explore their customisation features, and take full advantage of them.
Step 3: Build and optimise your product pages
Your product pages are crucial to closing sales online. Customers often make their purchase decisions right on these pages, so make them great. The main challenge here is making people feel at ease about buying your products online. Unlike in a bricks-and-mortar store, where shoppers can touch and feel the merchandise, online customers rely on product photos, descriptions and reviews to determine if they should buy an item.
This is why you should go the extra mile to ensure that your product pages are attractive, easy to navigate, and compelling.
Step 4: See if you can get your brick-and-mortar and online stores to work together
Having both a bricks-and-mortar and an online store is good, but making those channels work together is even better. Modern customers love it when retailers allow them to shop across multiple channels, so linking your physical and digital stores will result in better shopping experiences and happier customers.
Step 5: Analyse your store’s performance and make improvements accordingly
Once you have successfully moved your brick-and-mortar store online, you then need to ensure your store performs well. Therefore, you need to keep a close eye on metrics such as your sales and conversion rate. These numbers can help you gauge the performance of your store, so you can react quickly.
The metrics available to you depends on your selling channel. If you have an e-commerce site and are running Google Analytics you have access to a host of data that paint a clear picture of how your store is doing. If you are selling through social or online marketplaces, then your metrics will be limited to what they allow you to see.
CONCLUSION
Setting up a shop online may take some time and work, but when implemented correctly the sales and customer satisfaction will be well worth it. If you have not set one up yet, now is the time to start exploring and researching different ways to move your brick-and-mortar store online.
It is important for the local horticulture sector that customers keep buying plants online and enjoying them in their home and garden. By shopping online it allows customers – old or young – to self-isolate and social distance and have their items delivered, so they can spend more time in their gardens.
It would be a pity if small companies disappear because huge online platforms take over. Shopping local is, therefore – along with digitisation – an important contribution after this pandemic.
 RORY O’ CONNOR is founder and CEO of Scurri, a Wexford-based software company that connects and optimises the e-commerce ordering, shipping and delivery process. Scurri adds value at multiple stages along the e-commerce journey: from helping get the purchase over the line in the basket, to selecting the most effective delivery option for each package, creating accurate labels, tracking the packages, and running analytics to deliver insight to support process improvement. Visit: www.scurri.com. |
