Why consumers dont shop online

Get the word out. What you can do The option to opt-out. Provide guest checkout. Less fine print. Prominently display your privacy and security policies throughout your site. Actually bolster security. Talk is one thing, but upping your on-site protection is better. What you can do Free shipping. Offering free shipping is an obvious, albeit potentially expensive, solution.

Yes, you can make a lot of money by placing a markup on shipping. Do an experiment. Then monitor their long-term purchase value versus your controlled base.

You may be surprised just how much more you make by eliminating the shipping cost barrier. Create and publicize a great return policy. Do another experiment. Include pre-paid return labels in a small percentage of your shipments, then see if customers end up returning more products. Bottom Line Online shopping statistics show that having a digital presence is critical for retail businesses. Learn how to take your online sales to the next level.

Meaghan Brophy is Fit Small Business's authority on retail and ecommerce. Agatha has a decade's worth of experience writing online content for small business and marketing industries.

She also served as a content strategist and digital marketing manager for many entrepreneurs. Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Fit Small Business content and reviews are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More. Published October 19, Table of Contents. Millennials are the largest group of online shoppers in the US Millennials aged 25 to 34 comprised There are a number of ways to add an online store component , which allows you to reach a larger customer base than a traditional retail store alone.

Although the growth rate of ecommerce should not be ignored, in-store shopping will not completely go away. Instead, it will evolve. We are seeing it happen with curbside pickup, click and collect , augmented reality, and artificial intelligence AI assistants. Explore events, markets, pop-up shops , and other in-person retail activities to appeal to all groups. Your permanent retail store is still important.

Key Takeaways: Free shipping is one of the leading drivers of online sales. Learn how to offer free shipping on your products. Read our tips on how to grow your ecommerce business. Learn how to offer customer financing and buy now, pay later options to your customers. Setting up a blog on your site is one of our recommended ecommerce marketing strategies. You may use it to provide valuable information for research purposes or highlight local products and artisans. Key takeaways: Your desktop and mobile sites are equally important.

Using an ecommerce platform like BigCommerce or Shopify makes it easy to create a responsive, mobile-optimized experience for all online shoppers. Eliminate distractions in your product images and make sure they stand out and are clear to see, even on small devices—learn how to take high-quality product photos.

Try to be detailed but concise when writing descriptions for your products. Customers tend to quickly scan items on mobile devices, so ensuring they scroll less when reading descriptions can help increase online conversions. Learn to write product descriptions that sell. Leverage technology to enhance the ecommerce journey.

You can also create a virtual tour of your store to entice shoppers to visit. Key takeaways: Facebook and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms consumers use for purchasing online. Reach these shoppers by setting up a Facebook Shop and using it to create a shoppable Instagram page. These platforms also provide many tools for listing products and creating ads to help drive more sales. Mix your social content with engagement and promotional posts.

Read our guide on social media marketing and how to collaborate with influencers. Key takeaways: If foot traffic is slow or your retail store is closed, consider using it as a fulfillment or warehouse space.

Adopt new processes like curbside pickup, local delivery, or click and collect to encourage more sales. Shop around with different carriers to find the most cost-effective option for you. Remember to balance budget and delivery time. You can also consider allowing the customer to choose from various shipping options.

Encourage customers to shop by having a clearly communicated return policy that includes free shipping. Have it easily displayed in your website footer, in product pages, and the FAQ section. Create as few steps as possible to make it easy for shoppers to complete a purchase. Three out of every four consumers who shopped for their holiday purchases on Black Friday this year made at least one of those purchases online, and three in 10 exclusively shopped online, according to exclusive PYMNTS Black Friday data.

The PYMNTS Consumer Satisfaction Index shows online natives — the consumer group most likely to begin and complete their shopping journeys via digital channels — are the most satisfied, scoring Mobile natives — shoppers who begin and complete their shopping journeys via mobile phones — follow closely behind.

The reason is rather obvious in retrospect. Consumers use — and merchants offer — far more features when shopping using digital channels, with everything from product reviews to price comparisons to the all-important inventory status. The data further demonstrates that the most popular features are those that make the shopping journey feel efficient and rewarding for consumers.

Consumers want rewards — They want more certainty and efficiency in the shopping experience. That includes features such as the option to purchase online and pick up curbside The absence of those features makes the in-store shopping experience friction-filled, less efficient, less rewarding and less satisfying.

But to give consumers what they want, the Digital Shopping Index reports, merchants themselves need to get a clearer picture of what that is — and a better awareness of the blind spots the data reveals they tend to have.

The availability of free shipping stands as an excellent example.