How to match your online publications with the customer experience of the consumer

Posted July 20, 2015

New online technologies are going through explosive growth and will change the retail sector more than ever in the years ahead. A smartphone transformed into a digital personal shopper, stores are using iBeacons to push special deals and will we get a same day delivery service by drone? Research by ABN AMRO and Capgemini has shown that these developments will give the consumer even more influence, more influence than companies will even admit.

The online shopping experience in retailing is one of the most important ways to persuade a consumer into buying your products. The customer is even willing to pay extra for this unique shopping experience. We all know that an online publication is an important instrument for a retailer to increase sales and one of the most important webpages on the retailer’s website. Unfortunately mostly the online publication is an exact copy of the offline version. A sin if you know that there are lot of opportunities to increase the online reading experience for your customers.

Increase sales by adding smart features to your online publications

The consumer expects convenience and great service from a retailer. By adding useful features to an online publication you’re able to create an extra opportunity to increase the reach, sales and service! By simply adding our ‘shopping cart feature’ you’re giving your (potential) customers the opportunity to buy products directly from your online publication. A smart way to make sure that they can continue shopping within the online publication and doesn’t have to scour your website for products. Make the shopping cart feature even more powerful by adding features like related products and ‘others bought this’.

The integration with major social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp will make it easier for your customers to share products and even increase the reach of your online publication. A powerful way to share a product with family and friends.

Start with the basics: take a closer look at your customers to become more relevant

All those useful features will contribute to creating a better online experience within your publications. But we advise to start with the basics. Your customers are online and mobile minded, make sure that your online publication is fully responsive. At this moment many online publications can’t be opened on mobile devices. Make sure your customer can open your publication on desktop, tablet and on a smart phone. Give your audience the ability to continue reading wherever they left off, on whatever device they pick up next. Get relevant!

Bastiaan Neurink is Digital Content Marketeer bij Publ.sh.