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Does Your Site Transform Desire Into Need?
August 6, 2007

Online shoppers are like your in-store shoppers:  they justify what they buy and why they buy the same way.  Special occasions, decorating their home or themselves, relaxation and stress relief, entertainment, pleasure, replacing a worn item, education and emotional satisfaction are the main reasons people browse through goods determining what, and if, to buy.  You must tap into these justifications online the same way you do in the store.  Help give them permission to make purchases they otherwise don't need by appealing to their senses. 

How do you give permission?  Easy.

• Special Occasions:  Have a section on your web site that emphasizes gift giving and gives advice on what is selling well, what is in style, and what people are giving for each birthday or anniversary.
• Decorating Their Home or Themselves:  People buy these items to give themselves an emotional boost.  What are the beauty impacts the items will give them?  The cashmere sweater feels luxurious against their skin or the framed art piece will be a welcoming centerpiece in their front entrance, greeting their guests as they arrive, beckoning them to feel at ease and enjoy the evening...
• Relaxation and Stress Relief:  Ahhhh....buying a new item can be so much better than sitting in a tedious meeting or waiting in traffic.  Just the thought of it can trigger an endorphin rush in customers and propel them to buy.  Retail therapy anyone?  Are you targeting that need effectively?
• Entertainment:  Shopping relieves the boredom of life, or so the saying goes.  It can stimulate the mind and the imagination and creates a recreational element of its own.  Are you providing entertainment as part of their experience on your web site or does it make people yawn when they browse your site?
• Pleasure:  Shoppers derive pleasure in buying, owning, having and using something.  Anticipation can be a type of enjoyable drug and it needs to be stroked.  Provide pleasure on your web site by showing good images, enticing descriptions and ease-of-use.
• Replacing a worn item:  Although this may be what gets them to your web site, upselling them has long been a successful practice.  Are you upselling as they browse your site (check out Amazon's personalized recommendations), showing them other items that would complement their purchase, or what they could achieve if they bought the deluxe edition?
• Education:  Being better educated helps people achieve their version of the "American Dream".  Help them decide on their purchase by providing tips, hints, glossary of terms, FAQs, etc. to help educate them on their larger purchases. 
• Emotional Satisfaction: Half of all customers get an emotional thrill just from browsing. Ensure you hit that aspect by making your site fun to search.  Look at your metrics to find out how long people are staying on your site and what they're seeking. 

Posted by Suze Bragg on August 6, 2007 | Comments (0)