Retaining customers is a smaller amount cheaper than attracting new customers, and to retain customers retailers must give them reasons to be loyal. A standard E-Commerce study has proven that an increase in customer retention even by 5% can increase profits by 25-95%.
The combination of all these economic factors means that the value of loyalty is often greater on the internet than in the physical world. For all the businesses doing business on Web (E-Commerce Store), the implication is clear; you can’t generate superior long-term profits unless you achieve superior customer loyalty. Covid has significantly proven that healthy customer retention makes your store more profitable and more resilient to a fluctuating marketplace.
The question is, how do successful E-commerce small businesses increase customer retention? It’s all about making it easy and pleasant to buy , providing rewards for repeat visits, and showing shoppers that you simply care about their businesses. This text features five factors to consider that helps in customer retention.
Return Policy
Ungenerous return policies have a disastrous effect on customer loyalty. Online shopping is risky for shoppers: they can’t see or touch what they’re buying. they need to be sure that if they end up with a product they don’t really want, they will return it for a refund.
Retailers don’t like returns, but don’t be tempted to supply a restrictive or inconvenient returns process. the primary time a shopper runs up against it, any loyalty you’ve got generated will evaporate. Make returns easy, convenient, and free from arbitrary restrictions.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs aren’t an original idea, but it’s surprising what percentage online retailers are resistant to a tried-and-tested strategy. Loyalty programs reward customers for loyalty, providing discounts and other incentives to return back to the same store.
Major e-commerce applications like CommerceUp provide the tools retailers need to build loyalty programs. And, as we’ve already discussed, any loss of revenue related to loyalty discounts is likely to be offset by increases in repeat business.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions provide a perfect combination of convenience for customers and a stable revenue source for retailers. Subscription-based businesses like Dollar Shave Club, Birchbox, and Loot Crate base their entire business model on subscriptions, but they’re also an excellent option for retaining customers who might otherwise shop around for each purchase.
Customer Support
Customer support is challenging for smaller e-commerce retailers because they are often expensive. But customers value the power to ask questions and receive a fast answer. Customer support can often make the difference between a cheerful customer and a lost sale. Customers who receive speedy and informative support feel a deeper connection to a retailer and are more likely to return within the future.
A Positive shopping experience
A fast, well-designed, responsive e-commerce application is table stakes for e-commerce success within the modern marketplace. Shoppers are less tolerant of slow online stores than they once were, and as more customers prefer to shop on mobile, it’s increasingly important to provide a fast and responsive shopping experience.
Global e-commerce Study showed that one bad shopping experience is enough to discourage customers from returning to a store and people who do return spend less. Retailers should pay particular attention to e-commerce performance optimization and mobile friendliness. Platforms like CommerceUp have taken this in consideration and developed a mobile first PWA so as to help businesses to unleash maximum returns and sales of their businesses.
Balancing customer Retention and Customer Acquisition
Two basic ingredients combine during a successful e-commerce store: a constant stream of new customers and a loyal core of regular customers. Businesses that focus entirely on customer acquisition lack the steadiness a loyal customer base provides. People who focus entirely on keeping their current customers happy lose business to competitors and eventually to customer attrition over time — even the most loyal customers can be tempted away by a better deal. The foremost profitable businesses find a balance between the two.