Can Customers 'Experience' Online?

Can online retailers compete against the customer experience given by large brick and mortar retailers? Ask anyone from a fresh faced B-school hopeful to CEOs/CMOs of large retail corporations, one of the first scores for traditional brick-and-mortar retail as against online is the customer experience that stores provide. However this is soon becoming a myth with online retailers vying against each other to provide customers unique experiences. From packaging to exclusivity to great customer service, these retailers are leaving no bastion unique to brick-and-mortar retailers. 

Take shoe retailer Zappos for instance, which is making waves with its levels of customer service. While the retailer promises a free and within four days delivery, it manages to deliver the shoes the very next day. How is that for customer delight! Zappos is currently pioneering the call center service where their employees are free to engage with customers in their own friendly style and not adhere to any script. Also employees are given a free rein behaviorally as long as they make the customers happy. For those familiar with the voice-service industry and its standards, this is nothing short of revolutionary.

Be it great customer service or wow-ing with branding & packaging, online retailers are turning every trick in the box to make an impact. Retailers like Everlane ship some of their apparel in chic and silken style, with premium packaging that makes as much of a statement as the clothes itself.

Let us take the example of an in-store experience that might be hard to mimic, say like a personalized bra-fitting done at lingerie stores. I give you True & Co, an online lingerie start-up that has a smashing online bra fitting service and get this, a 'Bra App'. Both the online fitting and the app are as useful and as close to the real thing, as they are quirky and stylish. 

 Last but not the least, you have the online retailers that give you exclusivity and customer engagement like 'by invitation only' sites like Gilt. Gilt gives its members access not just to some exclusive brands, but also at exclusive prices which are sometimes 60-70% discounted. With lots of insider perks and facilities to reserve products for frequent purchasers, how is this any different from that friendly clothing store down the street, many years back, where your parents and their parents bought clothes for generations. 

All these examples are testimony to how online growth is outpacing store growth rates. In the first quarter of 2013, the online retail economy grew at 13% compared to a mere 1% offline. With improving levels of customer experience online, ecommerce and mobile are becoming not just alternate, but mainstream channels, poised to leap forward in terms of growth and potential. Retailers would do well to explore, balance, and innovate in these channels if they wish to stick around for the next couple of decades.

(Image: https://trueandco.com/)