Indian online shoppers are a happy lot with the choices they have. As a result, they can make or break the success of an online retailer. Buyers are a choosy lot, and can change their mind about making the purchase at any time.
So what is it that keeps a buyer away from checking out? We weigh the two favourite shopper grouses – no discount and no free shipping – to see which one wins the most unpopular vote.
Paid shipping
It is true that if a shopper has to pay for transport, she or he may not buy. Free shipping is the strongest pull for any shopper, and taking it away would pose a risk to the etailer. In fact, shoppers would rather forego a discount than forego free shipping. The contrary is also an established fact. Free shipping can help increase sales.
This sentiment is not limited to India. A Comscore study has noted that 61% of shoppers will cancel an order if it does not offer free shipping. Almost all shoppers will frown if they have to pay for shipping. They might just turn to a competitor who offers free shipping for the same product/products.
This sentiment also holds good for reverse shipping. If a shopper has to pay for reverse pickup, she or he might end up not ordering again.
However, there is a small ray of hope. A Google and consulting firm A.T. Kearney study indicated that lack of discounts will not be a major deterrent to shoppers.
Ajay Gupta, partner at A.T. Kearney says, “Our data reveals that majority of buyers will continue to purchase online even if there are no discounts.”
No discounts
Inshorts, a news aggregator app, and Ipsos, a marketing and analytics company, conducted a study on the online shopping habits of the youth. The results show that a good 54% of the respondents would rather not buy a product online if the price is the same as in the shop nearby. Likewise, a BusinessLine survey (with a sample size of 850 people) established that 65% of the respondents would not buy if there were n discounts.
So what now?
The smartest thing to do in the situation is to follow a blended model. Try using a combination of partial discounts on a product and free shipping on another.
Other things that you can do (or things that you can avoid) to retain your customer include:
- Split the reverse pick up bill – if you must charge your buyer the reverse shipping, offer to pick up a part of it so that the customer is not left feeling high and dry.
- Give free shipping if they can pick it up – many leading ecommerce companies like Amazon follow this policy. Offer to drop it off at a retail store nearest to the shopper and waive the shipping charges.
- Eliminate mandatory signing up – allow your buyers to complete their shopping as guests. If you insist that they part with their telephone number and email ID, chances are they might simply close the browser and walk away. Leave the choice of subscription to the shopper.
- Offer a gift voucher or discount on the subsequent purchase – picture this: if you are unable to offer a flat discount, offer something similar. Say something like, ‘X% off on your next purchase upon shopping for Rs. X’. This not only piques the shoppers’ interest, but also ensures you a return purchase.
- Offer a discount if the shopper buys using a particular mode of currency – in order to nudge your shoppers to a cash free transaction, offer to knock off a few bucks if they pay by card or your currency (if you have a mobile wallet).
Need more help? Get in touch with Browntape here. We are India’s leading ecommerce solutions experts.
