by Bridget Brennan – Author of “Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the
World's Most Powerful Consumers”
(sponsored
by Amazon Payments – www.amazonpayments.com)
If
there’s one thing everyone can agree on about shopping, it’s that men and women
do it differently. The last time I went
to Nordstrom, for example, an observant saleswoman noticed that my friend and I
were having a great time looking at clothes, so she asked if we’d like to share
a large dressing room together. This meant
we could try on clothes and help each other make decisions without a door
getting in the way. We said yes, had a
great time evaluating each other’s choices and left the store with new outfits.
As I walked out the door, I couldn’t help chuckling at the thought of my
husband and his best friend agreeing to do the same thing. To say it would never happen is an
understatement.
In
the retail environment, there are a lot of things women do that men don’t. The
big question is, how do these behaviors
translate online? In an economy driven
by female spending, it’s one of the most important questions in online retail.
When
women go to stores, they engage in activities like window shopping, chatting
with friends, asking like-minded people their opinions, and seeking out
pleasant and convenient shopping experiences from brands they trust. Online, they are looking for all these
things, plus dramatically more convenience.
Here are a few tips for delivering an online experience that can help
you become a woman’s virtual best friend.
Don’t hide
your customer service number as if it were plutonium. Women are more likely to seek human interaction in
almost every type of transaction. One of the biggest complaints about online
shopping is the inability to speak to a live person about questions or
concerns. Be sure to post your contact information prominently.
You had them
at hello: don’t lose them at checkout. A lousy or confusing
checkout process can deter even the most interested customers, and spike
abandonment rates. Don’t assume people
know how to buy what you’re selling. If
you can, follow Amazon’s lead and make the checkout process just one click. If you can’t do that, try to get as close as possible.
Your customers should be able to breeze
through the checkout process easily and comfortably.
Let women know
they can trust you with their financial information.
Buying
products on the Internet is still considered riskier than buying them in a
store. Minimize your customers’ fears by
using payment options they already trust; by providing order confirmation
numbers as soon as the “purchase” button has been clicked; by sending confirmations
immediately to customers’ email addresses; and by letting them know when a
product has shipped. If you really want
to win over your women customers, ask them to rate their experiences after they’ve
received a product. Even if they don’t
have time to give you their feedback, they’ll appreciate that you cared enough
to ask.
You return
policy can make or break a deal. Most women barely have
enough time to buy a product, let alone return it. The websites with the most generous return
policies are often the most successful.
Recommend
complementary items, no matter what your category. Women think holistically and
like to kill several birds with one stone.
You may not be able to put the shoe department on the same floor as the women’s
clothing department in the “real” world, but you can certainly do it online,
Flag products
that make great gifts. Buying gifts online has been
one of the greatest boons for women since the invention of retail shopping. Ask any woman and she will tell you there is
always someone in her life that needs a gift, and she is the one responsible
for buying it. Your website should help women in their gift-giving quest by
flagging age-appropriate, gender-appropriate gifts in clear language, and offering
low-cost or free gift wrapping where possible.
Show your products
up-close and personal. Women notice and appreciate texture,
design and cut, and depend on great zoom features to scrutinize products
online. Be sure to use the best zoom capability
you can afford.
Keep it
clean. Clutter can make women shut
down -- it just doesn’t work on the Internet.
Keep your site light, bright and clean.
Be transparent
about shipping options – Let people know right away how much they’re going to pay in shipping
costs. If you can, develop a pricing
strategy that allows for a free shipping option. If you can’t, be sure to clearly demonstrate
multiple options, from slow boat to overnight. And if you’re a brick-and-mortar
retailer who tells customers they can order something online and then pick it
up at the nearest store (which is a great option) then be sure to actually have
it in stock when they get there, or all that goodwill goes straight out the
window.
Follow these tips to help your business become a
female favorite, no matter what you’re selling.
