Experience a fresh take on ecommerce that combines digital convenience with real-world interactions.
The Gist
- Combine digital and real. Blending digital interfaces with tangible experiences increases ecommerce revenue and customer satisfaction.
- Human touch matters. Integrating real human interactions in ecommerce, like personal calls, enhances customer trust and reduces cart abandonment.
- Optimize with AI and data. Utilizing AI for personalized recommendations and data from real interactions can significantly refine the ecommerce journey.
According to Doofinder, there are more than 26.5 million ecommerce businesses, with approximately 14 million of those in the United States. In order to be successful, or even just keep the lights on, these brands will need to get creative and employ blended ecommerce strategies to drive customers through their funnel. Creating blended ecommerce strategies of digital and tactile is one approach already showing increases in revenue and could be key to future success.
As REQ Marketing put it: “An ecommerce brand isn’t simply an online catalog that offers products and services for sale. It must offer an experience that verges on what a shopper would expect from a real-life interaction —only more convenient.”
Take the hospitality industry for example. A large travel company like Expedia has been investing in AI and automation to nurture users while smaller vacation rental companies have invested in hiring local people to answer phone calls and call people who visit their websites to help them choose the best place to stay based on their requests. Not that these two business models are competing against each other —they essentially help each other in the big picture.
Getting an Edge
By putting QR codes, welcome gift baskets and offering return booking incentives, vacation rental companies have an edge by offering an IRL (in real life) experience in addition to an online booking experience. Putting physically branded pieces (like beach balls and candy) in the hands of their guests, they provide a rewarding and endearing experience, not just visual eye candy on social media.
What’s interesting about Expedia’s approach to ecommerce is that it is trying to own the entire journey by cutting the line (ahead of Google even) to be the search source for researching, planning and booking travel. Once inside its realm, the company plans to use AI to personalize recommendations and generative AI to guide the user’s planning process.
But what if the human touch is still important?
Related Article:How the Right Ecommerce Strategy Leads to a Successful Business
Human Assist for the Win
Based on these interviews, there does not appear to be one magic formula for blending ecommerce journeys between online and in-person. This means each brand will have to experiment for themselves. But the one secret ingredient that does seem to work every time is a skilled human —especially the more complex the purchase.
Companies can use the data they collect around the ecommerce journey to inform how a blended experience would reduce friction —meaning, make for a smoother experience from start to finish.
Lucie Buisson, chief product officer at Contentsquare, which provides analytics to brands like Sephora and Converse, also believes the reverse can be true. Companies can use insights gained from real life or chat exchanges with customers to further optimize the ecommerce journey.
According to Contentsquare data, the cost per visit for ecommerce has risen nearly 10% year-over-year, which sounds like a good reason to make sure there are no technical website errors or slow page loads. According to Contentsquare, most people browse on mobile (70% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices), but they don't buy there. Contentsquare said they go to the desktop to purchase because the conversion or buying process on mobile is still not a great experience for a lot of people.
Related Article:3 Steps to Integrate Digital Commerce Operations Into the Marketing Machine
B2C Examples
Outreach
Eric Gunderson of PointKarting.com, a scaled performance motorsport ecommerce business, started with random cold outreach to customers who were already in their ecommerce funnel. No strategy, no goals, just doing it to see what would happen.
“We would do so via email at every step of the order process, and then eventually resorted to phone calls to save time,” said Gunderson. “The response rate, and return customer rate we got with these clients was noticeable, and it was virtually all positive reactions to our outreach.”
His staff would introduce themselves on the call and explain why they were reaching out, even if nothing was wrong with the order or inquiry —just provide “that extra warm touch.” Gunderson said he wanted to be direct, honest and show they cared about the order. He also mentioned they were up against a COVID-altered supply chain.
Learning Opportunities
“Eventually, we were more segmented with this, and would 'save' these calls for both opportunities we saw to upsell, cross-sell, or simply improve the purchasing experience for a premium product,” Gunderson said. “But even with delays beyond our control, simple outreach and proactive communication practices reduced our cart and order abandonment (and returns) by about 65%.”
Human Support
Matt Little, director and owner of Festoon House, an ecommerce lighting supply store, doesn’t need a research study to tell him customers want a blended experience during their buying journey.
“Let me tell you, running a lighting store online isn't just about showcasing products and clicking ‘buy,’” said Little. “In today's market, people crave that human connection, even when browsing virtually.”
Festoon House supports the ecommerce journey with virtual consultations, online chats and showroom appointments. Specialists on staff work with buyers to provide expert advice and guidance, answer electrical questions and share design principles. Little said he has seen this type of support increase customer confidence in their selections.
“We've literally seen a noticeable reduction in returns and exchanges since we've implemented these support measures,” said Little. “This personalized support not only streamlines the shopping experience but also minimizes the likelihood of customers needing to return or exchange products. It's been a win-win for both our customers and us.”
Related Article:7 AI in Ecommerce Trends Marketers Should Consider
B2B Examples
Sure, B2C might be “easier” for blended ecommerce strategies between online and in-person touchpoints, but what about B2B funnels? Or not having a store at all? These factors haven’t deterred successful brands from finding ways to get creative about “warm touches” throughout the funnel.
A 3PL (third party logistics) company called Red Stag Fulfillment has multiple warehouses across the United States. However, it doesn't use any of them for in-person experiences. These locations are used by their clients —ecommerce websites —to store and distribute their products. It can be an incredibly complicated decision-making process, which is why they consult with each client to help them figure out the best areas based on their orders.
Colt Agar,Red Stag Fulfillmenthead of marketing, shared how after 14 years in ecommerce, supporting the journey this way is basically a “no brainer.”
Related Article:Why Ecommerce Needs to Evolve for Gen Z
No Brick and Mortar? No Problem
For almost every product or service on the market, there are many similar offerings from many different suppliers and brands. With so much market saturation, online brands without a brick-and-mortar location are using voice calls, SMS and website chats, as well as social media direct messages to stand out from the competition.
“Our focus is social media management, so when we see customers engaging with our brands, we love to send them a message and a voice memo to show our appreciation,” said Abbey Bruggeworth, owner of The All In Haus, a branding and marketing agency. “The sincerity in your voice for the support you've received will take the business to the next level. This can also be done by handwritten notes or video messages.”
Blended Ecommerce Strategies Takeaways
A research report on what works and what doesn't for ecommerce brands on Amazon was recently conducted by SW & Associates. The company's executive director, Andy Bhatt, found some surprising insights from the report —as well as some not-so-surprising results. When asked what he didn’t expect to find, Bhatt mentioned the potential for influencer marketing as a way to stand out. He also included the incredible power of customer reviews on Amazon.
“The report underscores the importance of positive customer reviews, emphasizing them as the gold standard for trust on Amazon,” said Bhatt. “This reinforces the need for exceptional customer service to cultivate brand loyalty and encourage repeat business.”
If one of the world’s top ecommerce sites can hold breakout success stories using blended ecommerce strategies, similar business models should consider revising their approach to reflect one of these models if they haven’t already. The trend appears to be headed in this direction.
Learn how you can join our contributor community.
