Fashion News :: Competition and Sales Soar Among eTailers

According to a recent study done by Kiplinger Business Resource Center, eTailers stand to see a 16% increase in online sales - to nearly $200 billion this year; according to their projections, sales won’t level off until somerwhere around 2012 - and that’s at a steady 10% growth each year.

Not too shabby; especially if you’re already set up as an eTailer.

So what categories are going to be the big money makers?  Luxury goods and fashion.

As retailers, and eTailers, begin to utilize new technology such as 3D imaging that will allow customers to virtually “try on” clothing before buying it and other multimedia page designs that incorporate video to better showcase product, you can expect sales numbers to soar.

Let’s face it, we’re living in a Web 2.0 world now - shouldn’t our fashion be 2.0 as well?  I certainly think so.  To me, the sheer simplicity of sitting down at my desk, drinking a cup of coffee, and clicking through a virtual showroom of fashion is simply fabulous.  See something I like, point, click, and check out.  It’s at my doorstep within a few days.  No waiting in line at a checkout, and no dealing with the unsupervised, noisy teenagers running around the mall.

“What if I need to talk to a sales person?”

It’s a legitimate question.  But I’ll bet you’ve noticed more and more of your favorite stores offering the option of “live chat.”  Having used the “live chat” option on a number of occasions, I can say that I prefer that over picking up the phone - whether I’m purchasing clothing or paying my utility bill.

So, it begs the question, with all the new software available, how do we, as eTailers, stay competitve?  How do we close the sale instead of our competition?

It’s simpler than it seems.  Keep it simple. Don’t over complicate things.  Make your product offerings to the point and display them well.  Make your website appealing with clean lines and limited flash. Above all, invest in some sort of monitoring software; nothing over invasive, but a software that will prompt your customer after they’ve been idle for 3 minutes or more.  Monitoring software can give a consumer that might be talking themselves out of completing the sale, the perfect nudge to help them complete it.

Tracking software can help you monitor your customers clicks and tell you what is working and what isn’t; mid-to large-size firms can turn to firms like Coremetrics, WebTrends, or Ion Interactive.  If you’re a small business, you can get the help for free through Google Analytics.

Finally, if you keep both an online and brick-and-mortar presence, make the shopping experience seamless, regardless of where they make their purchase.  As Home Depot found out not so long ago, it makes no sense to offer items online that you don’t offer offline; it only serves to confuse your customer and skew your brand identity.