Before the internet, you could sell almost anything without crazy competition. However, increased access to technology has made it harder for online businesses to attract customers.
Here are the common challenges that online fashion businesses face:
Indecisive Shoppers
Whether the customer is buying at a physical store or online, it is normal for him or her to procrastinate. Although high visitor numbers are exciting, converting them into buying customers is difficult. The percentage of online shopping cart abandonment has risen over the past few years.
This is mostly because people are afraid to make the wrong choice and would rather abandon their purchases altogether instead of choosing the wrong items. However, long before the shopper abandons the items in his or her cart, there is a pattern of indecision. For instance, a customer will visit a page severally to look at items that he or she might be interested in but does not want to commit to buying yet.
Most of the time, a customer will want to research a product before buying it, which extends the period between perusing and buying. Online product choices overwhelm most people, and this makes the research necessary. Even a self-controlled shopper can be spoilt for choice once he or she sees the array of products available.
Consumers Have Shorter Attention Spans
According to studies, people dedicate a specific amount of time browsing the internet. Even when something new comes along, most people do not shift their focus to the new website or abandon the old ones. This means that consumer loyalty is now more sensitive than ever before.
Fashion stores have to fight for the consumer’s attention since browsing of websites is a filler activity – something that they do between their offline tasks. This means that fashion websites have a short window within which they can capture the consumer’s attention.
Generating Targeted Traffic
The digital channels for marketing are advancing. Therefore, retailers can no longer rely on a single channel to gain traffic. Fashion retailers have to rely on emails, social media platforms, SEO, display ads, and PPC to drive traffic to their stores. As an online fashion retailer, you should aim to be visible wherever your audience is paying attention.
Capturing Quality Leads
Online retailers have to spend most of their time directing traffic to their stores as found here. Since conversion rates range between 1 and 3 percent, retailers have to put plenty of effort into lead generation to get the most from their marketing efforts. The key to prolonged success is building an email subscriber list.
With an email subscriber list, you will be able to communicate your message properly. However, you need to know that not all leads are equal. For this reason, you need to create the right message for the target audience if you want to convert them into leads and customers.
Choosing the Right Partners and Technology
You might be facing growth challenges in your online business because your technology is limiting you. Moreover, you might be working with the wrong agencies or partners to assist with your projects. If you want to grow, you must build a good technology foundation.
You need to choose the right shopping cart, CRM system, email software, and inventory management software for your store. In addition, you need to choose the right agencies and partners to work with – to avoid limiting your growth.
Conclusion
The challenges that online fashion retailers face include choosing the wrong partners and technology, generating targeted traffic, capturing quality leads, indecisive shoppers, and shorter consumer attention spans. You need to find a way to keep the attention of your visitors.
