Winning the E-commerce Game in DIY - Webinar

ROPO is a tale of two trends. This acronym iswidely recognized as Research Online Purchase Offline trend but it can also easily describe the opposite: Research Offline Purchase Online. As difficult as they are to differentiate while reading, they’re equally difficult to recognize in person. Is the customer visiting your brick-and-mortar store there to research a product or to purchase it? With a mobile phone in every customers’ hand, it’s impossible to be sure. Increased difficulty is due to these trends not being mutually exclusive – consumers will choose whether to buy online or offline depending on the industry. 

Research Online Purchase Offline, sometimes referred to as 'webrooming,' is when shoppers first research online for product information - price, reviews, images - before going to a physical store for a final evaluation and purchase. Shoppers who practice webrooming do so because of some advantages physical businesses have over e-commerce. The main advantages are:

• No shipping costs associated with the purchase
• Instant gratification - they receive their product immediately
• Easier exchanges or returns

Retailers can capitalize on webrooming by implementing an effective omnichannel strategy that seamlessly integrates online and offline content. First, your e-commerce site should enable shoppers to find products, quickly. Making your online shop mobile friendly should be a priority as large numbers of shoppers use smartphones. Additionally, store location is a critical feature to help guide consumers to your store. Retailers must think about how to reach and appeal to consumers across all channels. 

A few years ago, the term ‘showrooming’ was appointed to describe shoppers who visit a store to check out products – browse, see, touch, test, evaluate, and resolve their purchase decision – then subsequently go home and complete their purchase online. Basically, brick-and-mortar shops became showrooms for online shoppers. Although it may seem almost rude on the customers’ behalf, there are reasons why they take part in this shopping behaviour. Researching in-store then purchasing online gives shoppers:

• The convenience of receiving their purchase at home
• The ability to choose from a wider selection with greater availability
• Most importantly, lower prices and better deals with exclusive-to-online promotions

For retailers, showrooming might not seem like the best of news as online purchases made through a competitor’s site can hurt the bottom line. However, retailers are also simultaneously presented with a golden opportunity: potential consumers are physically in your store. This in-store presence is a given chance for meaningful interaction. Retailers must focus on their value-added services that compete with the inevitably lower prices available online. 

ROPO1, or webrooming, and ROPO2, or showrooming have become less of a trend and more of an established reality. Understanding and embracing this reality presents retailers with an opportunity to gain customers, regardless of the platform. There are multiple ways to blend the two. Retailers can offer online coupons for in-store purchases, provide in-store pick-up for online orders, maintain inventory up to date both online and in-store, and ensure a consistent customer service experience both digitally and face-to-face.

To learn more about the future of ROPO in DIY and how to take advantage of it, join us for our free webinar where you will learn:

• What ROPO is, and how it affects DIY retailers in 2 very important ways
• How ROPO influences the customer journey
• What the future of e-commerce in DIY will look like, and how to prepare for it
• Best practices in DIY e-commerce

We're proud to have Steve Collinge, the Managing Director of Insight Retail Group, as our special guest speaker. Don't miss it! Register now for Winning the E-Commerce Game in DIY: The ROPO Effect.

Register here.

Source: This is a sponsored post on behalf of FACT-Finder.

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