By using Competitoor, the store manager has the guarantee that the prices of his online shop remain competitive over time. Whether he is monitoring a subset of products with the Starter plan or entire competitors’ domains with the Pro plan, if a competitor changes a price the shop manager will be promptly notified.
Keeping prices below or above the average is a strategy strongly correlated with other factors that determine the sale and the importance on which the target market depends.
In fashion, for example, the perception of the brand and the ability to change the size are the most important factors of usability of the website, whereas for websites selling Consumer Electronics, it is essential to have detailed data sheets that convey confidence and quality.
Here below are listed 10 factors you should consider in order to increase sales at a similar price.
Today we will see the first 5, and the following 5 next week.
1) Loyalty
If the customer has already purchased from your website and enjoyed the experience, he or she will prefer to purchase there again rather than going to another website. It is therefore important to constantly work on existing customers, especially if our products are consumables. What kind of revenues come from one customer in a year? What is your customer acquisition cost?
2) Popularity of the brand
Buying online, as common as it has become (in northern Europe over 90% of the population regularly buys on the Internet), is still virtual, untouchable. You can only see the purchased items and wait a few days to get them. You just have to trust the shop and the seller. But popular brands play an easy game, because thanks to their history and reputation they are perceived as solid and delivering what they promise. Moreover, with over 12 million people in the world who sell online, it is easy to imagine that dozens of online shops open and close every day.
3) Feedback from users
Reviews from happy customers increase the prestige of the brand and instill confidence in others. This all started in the late 90s with eBay, where the positive feedback from those who had already purchased from the website convinced new visitors to buy. Those people were willing to purchase even when the prices were slightly higher than the competition.
Many store managers are afraid of feedback because they fear unfair criticism. At the same time, it is always better to keep a link with customers, as this is valuable information that can improve service.
4) Return Policies
Buying on Amazon is an experience without risk – this is the first message that the website wants to communicate to those who browse it. If a customer wants to return a product they have just purchased, they can do so free of charge with a fast and automated process. Zalando allows the return of any product after trying it without having to justify the reason why.
As customers, would you be willing to spend €3 or more for this kind of guarantee? And, as sellers, would you be willing to raise the price of your products to provide an efficient system of returns and conditions of sale?
5) The bargain
The bargain. Everyone likes to get a bargain and tell about it. Offering bargains on your online shop not only increases your chances of selling, but it will expand the popularity of the website by word of mouth. A bargain is nothing more than an attempt to sell at special conditions. For instance, one-time discounts, free shipping for the weekend, a notice that alerts the visitor that there are 5 other people who are going to buy the product and that stocks are low (as does Booking with hotel rooms).
An online shop that doesn’t offer daily bargains is not taking advantage of a major marketing weapon that only marginally affects the price, working mainly on the buying experience and on recurring customers.
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While these five points are essential, irrespective of the market in which you operate, there are others which we will discuss next week that are just as interesting.