Negozio fisico
Physical store 10 good reasons to open one today
We talk too often about e-commerce, but a physical store still has a lot to offer. Let's find out the 10 good reasons to open one today.
In recent years, between the growth of online commerce and the impact of the pandemic, businesses have suffered serious consequences mainly due to changes in shopping habits. Although grocery stores and pharmacies continue to be affected less than other businesses, the vast majority of brick-and-mortar stores have experienced a major downsizing in turnover.
From the first months of 2020 there has been a dizzying increase in e-commerce business and many shops and public establishments have shifted their sales online, organizing with shipments, home deliveries, take away, delivery etc.
It would therefore be logical to think that this change is now irreversible, and that offline activities are destined to die out, supplanted by the excessive power of e-commerce.
Fortunately, that's not the case. This is demonstrated by the fact that major online shopping brands, such as Velasca or Tela Blu, are investing more and more in the opening of physical stores and retail outlets.
Velasca has in fact decided to inaugurate 20 stores by 2022 between Italy and abroad, while Tela Blu has opened two important stores in Turin and Padua.
The two dimensions? online and offline? in reality they are increasingly destined to coexist in a complementary way, thus integrating the specific advantages of the different dimensions. Also, let's face it, there are opportunities that can only be seized with a traditional store. Below we have listed the main ones benefits to open a physical store.
1- Buying in a shop is easier and faster
Shopping comfortably seated on the sofa at home is undoubtedly comfortable and often convenient, but making them directly in the store can be much faster.
However fast a shipment may be, the goods will be delivered in the best case the day after the purchase. In case of urgent need, therefore, the best thing is to go to the nearest point of sale. Direct in-store purchase not only allows you to instantly take possession of the asset purchased, but also of avoid wasting time obsessively searching for the best offer among dozens of e-commerce sites, having to juggle the cost of the product, costs, shipping methods and times. Direct in-store purchase can therefore also be less stressful, taking away the thought once and for all.
Returning to the shipping costFurthermore, it must be said that in some cases they can even exceed the cost of the object itself, or in any case affect the final expenditure in a percentage considered excessive, which makes many users difficult to purchase online.
Giving customers the opportunity to go to a store and personally collect what they have purchased can therefore be an excellent strength compared to online sales.
2- It offers the possibility to try or touch a product before buying it
What fragrance will that perfume have? How will that item of clothing fall on me? How comfortable will that chair be? How will that sound system sound?
Deciding to buy something based on some photographs and information that, however detailed and well presented, cannot be verified, is not always easy.
When you are in a shop, on the other hand, you have the option of try and touch a product, and to ask for further advice and information about someone, thus making a purchase fully aware and without unknowns.
In short, it allows to carry out a shopping experience in the most concrete sense of the term.
A well-stocked store, where customers can physically interact with the products they want to buy, therefore offers something more that an e-commerce will never be able to give. Without forgetting the importance of being able to count on trained staff and motivated, able to give information, demonstrations and advice accompanying the customer in his purchase process.
3- Create relationships of trust and courtesy with your customers
Online shopping is increasingly popular, and has now conquered even the most suspicious and less savvy public, thanks to its simplicity and immediacy of use and the rigorous security standards offered by marketplaces and payment tools such as Paypal, prepaid cards, etc. .
Yet, physically going to your trusted shop, especially in the case of small businesses where you know each other by name and can also chat, is an experience that no one would want to give up. Especially after it has not been possible for many months due to anti Covid restrictions.
It seems that even two thirds of consumers prefer l?purchase in store than online.
This is also due to the fact that, apart from the most well-known and considered reliable marketplaces, the consumer is often troubled by not knowing who he is actually dealing with, especially in the case of those platforms that limit themselves to connecting supply and demand, leaving then to the respective parties the finalization of the purchase, but also the choice of shipping options, the management of any returns and so on.
The network is still teeming with scammers, and for less attentive users it is easy to run into scams, which are not simply economic in nature but can involve identity theft you hate sensitive data.
Attending a physical store, knowing the owner or who works there inspires much greater confidence, giving the customer the feeling of always being able to achieve the best deal in total. safety.
4- Offer personalized shopping experiences
According to US research, nine out of ten customers say they leave a business if their experience has been disappointing two or three times.
Although an e-commerce service can be well organized, there are always many limitations to being able to offer customers a?experience of purchase really personalized.
A physical store, on the other hand, can offer the possibility to browse, inquire, try and buy. Many shops offer customers a tea or coffee, or the ability to browse magazines or access free Wi-Fi, perhaps with pleasant music in the background. They seem like small things, but an e-commerce will never be able to offer such an experience.
But in addition to this there are many aspects that make a physical store a pleasant space to go shopping, for example the furniture, the light, a captivating shop window regularly renewed.
Small attentions that, however, especially in the case of large brands, are the result of great research.
Just think of Ikea. There is an online shop, of course, but for most of the public the real shopping experience is only and exclusively the one inside their stores, together with the whole family, with breakfast, lunch and all that the physical space is. able to offer.
5- Use the showcase as advertising space
Those who buy online the aesthetics of an e-commerce site are of relatively little interest.
It is important that it is user-friendly, that it is clear and that the purchase process is simple and safe.
Conversely, in the case of a physical store, the?aesthetics it is fundamental, starting from the sign up obviously to the window, to the interiors, to the look of the staff.
All these elements represent the business card of the shop, especially for those who do not know it, and which therefore will be based on the first impression received.
This is, to all intents and purposes, the first form of commercial break to present and make known a commercial activity.
Whether it is a small commercial company or an e-commerce point of sale, nothing should be left to chance, because customers will arrive (and return) attracted by a captivating logo, a showcase full of appeal and attention to detail. .
6- Inspire your customers
People don't just shop when they actually need something.
Giving customers the chance to walk into a store and browse through the goods on offer can to entice you to buy, attracting their interest in products which they may not have immediate need, but which could for example become a gift for themselves or for someone else.
And even if a customer just has to take a look around, they will still know where to find certain products when they need or simply want to buy it.
7- Be an integral part of neighborhood life
An internet company has no direct relationship with local communities, while a physical store becomes part of the neighborhood life.
In addition to becoming a point of reference for the local community, a physical store can, for example, participate in neighborhood Markets And neighborhood parties or country, promoting its sales space and using alternative channels to offer its products.
It can also sponsor events and demonstrations, thus strengthening their belonging to neighborhood life.
8- In a physical store, impulse buying is more frequent
When people shop online, they are usually focused on one targeted purchase, and rarely, after completing the entire purchase process, do they choose to add other products to the cart. Generally, e-commerce sites offer other purchase hypotheses (the classic?Have other customers who have chosen this product also purchased?? or ?Recommended for you?, etc.) but these suggestions are often interpreted as something invasive. We all know how they work Cookies, pixels and other forms of tracking And retargeting, but in reality we are often bothered by it. For example, when after making a purchase or simply browsing an e-commerce site we find the message boards of our social profiles invaded by purchase proposals.
In a physical store, on the contrary, we let ourselves be carried away more by the?emotion of shopping, and is it easier? even without the direct intervention of the seller? buy on impulse. A physical store can offer the customer several opportunities to indulge in that "something extra", thus increasing the chances of sales and earnings.
9- It is possible to accept multiple payment methods
Although electronic payment methods are becoming more and more popular, many people still prefer to pay in cash.
When buying something online, the most used forms of payment are through credit card or through systems such as PayPal. Bank transfer is also often proposed, but many are still skeptical of using these forms of payment.
This does not happen in physical stores, which can now offer all forms of payment, even in the cases of small businesses that thanks to systems such as SumUp but also Google Pay or Apple Pay allow you to pay electronically, but also in cash, by check, debit card or, perhaps in the case of purchases of a certain importance, by bank transfer.
10- Encourage customers to support local businesses
A physical store, as mentioned, can become an integral part of a community.
This can help guide consumers' purchasing choices towards the so-called reality of proximity, for example, favoring the small artisan coffee shop over the large local part of a franchise, and preferring to support local realities to the detriment of the great e-commerce giants.
More and more people, in fact, also base their purchases on ethical choices and on the basis of often negative (pre) judgments (eg do they not pay taxes, do they exploit employees?) towards large chains and multinationals.
However, even in the case of shops belonging or affiliated to large commercial groups, it is possible to enter this dimension local. The important thing is to be able to be perceived as a point of reference, to have an open and cordial attitude towards the public and, possibly, not to risk giving the impression of damaging other realities already present in the area.
Some small and medium-sized supermarkets and stores, for example, are able to position themselves locally thanks to hiring policies and of treatment of employees who go to privilege resident staff near the point of sale. This has advantages for employees (such as the possibility of going home for lunch, or being able to go to work without necessarily having to use the car), which in turn, as effective members of the local community , will ensure that the store is perceived by the other inhabitants of the neighborhood as one local reality to rely on and to support.
Conclusions
The service that a physical store is able to offer to its customers remains one of the main reasons why the consumer prefers to search for the human factor, can guarantee a personalized treatment and the opinion of an expert who knows your needs.
The sensory marketing, that is the possibility to see, touch and test the product before making the purchase is another strong point that the customer will hardly want to give up.
A physical store can offer experiences who are able to go beyond the simple purchase, such as workshops, presentations, small events or even simply the possibility of conversing, comparing, learning.
How many times have we made a purchase based on the?impulsiveness, perhaps passing in front of a shop window during a walk or perhaps visiting another city? An experience that an e-commerce can hardly give.
Finally, it should be remembered that online and offline realities do not necessarily have to be in conflict.
Indeed, the two ways of selling can create one complementarity between two different distribution channels, increasing the possibilities of growth and of sales.
Consigliati per Easyfatt, E-commerce
