After a decade of eCommerce, users expect “Buy Now”

Brick and mortar stores have been converting in-store chic to online cool for years, with differing levels of success.  Sadly, many marketing departments are missing the bottom line when doing online, literally.  As brands spend more and more online, they need to be sure that web can hold the same principles as POP (Point of Purchase) marketing.  High-end websites often attract the customer with aesthetics or features of the site, which works well for promoting brand equity, but often forget to offer the conversion step to promote an actual sale.

The majority of retailers’ new online presence require several iterations before online user conversion becomes a priority.  This obviously misses a large group of dedicated consumers, many of whom are already brand loyalists.  All but the most youth-focused brands can have overt calls-to-action or purchase without any loss to brand equity.  The first iteration of interesting features on H&M has caused a sizable buzz for the impressive set of tools to help you choose from their line of clothes.  A user could spend upwards of a half hour uploading their own picture and customizing the measurements of the model, but once you’ve created a great outfit, there’s no way to purchase.  This overlooked feature earned H&M a place on the Retail Commerce ‘Most in need of improvement’ list.

Consumers don’t get upset when the option to buy the product in question is overt.  This is a common mistake by those for whom the web is not a familiar environment.  Upholding commerce standards when online isn’t a negative, it is the part of a proper user experience.  Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie and Fitch, Express and hundreds of other brands have made the leap online.  They’ve realized that the consumer can value convenience over the experience of visiting a brick-and-mortar store.  If companies learn to pay as much attention to their online presence as they do designing stores, their investments could pay off ten-fold.