Sigma Micro

For years the online shopping craze has been thought of as a “from home” experience.  You could wake up on Sunday morning, shop in your bathrobe, drink a cup of coffee and avoid all the traffic.  As technology progresses, the ability and desire to shop from multiple locations is gaining popularity.

On cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) in 2008, 50% of online spending was done from the workplace as reported by comScore.  That is up 15% from last year.  Doing this allows shoppers to purchase items over ultra fast and very reliable connections out of view of their family members.  I prefer to assume the best in people, and commend them for waiting until a scheduled break to do their shopping.  Well done.

As an online retailer, it is important for you to understand the environments your customers are clicking around from.  Customer demographics are good, but what comes from between the lines is even more important.  A day care supply website may not be the best place for large blocks of text, assuming children may be screaming during the entire shopping experience.  This is a factor, as an online retailer, you cannot control, but can allow for in your website planning and design. 

Distractions are not the only worry for online shoppers in the new age.  With free Wi-Fi at many area restaurants and businesses, people will choose to shop while on the go.  These connections can be unreliable, unsecure and slow.  Make sure your website holds the customer information in a secure way so that they do not have to re-shop your site after a connectivity problem or a dead laptop battery.  This is also helpful in the work environment just in case the man comes by and there has to be some quick window closing.

The human element to online shopping is a dynamic and ever growing challenge for multi channel retailers.   With the right planning, a solid ecommerce platform, and the right content management tool you can keep your edge on the variables, and continue to convert.

Posted By: Dan Ratliff