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…From Bridget Brennan – Author of “Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World’s Most Powerful Consumers”
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.
Bridget Brennan is the author of Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World’s Most Powerful Consumers (Crown Business, 2009) and CEO of the business strategy firm Female Factor. More information can be found at www.thefemalefactor.com. Pick up a free copy of Why She Buys at the Amazon Payments booth (#313) on Tuesday (9/22) or Wednesday (9/23).
