Ecommerce and Retail
ROI in the Time of COVID-19: How small investments in your website design can reap big returns.
01 May 2020 • 4 min read
The start of this decade is certainly not one that any of us could have predicted, with the outbreak of COVID-19 causing shutdowns across many industries, including bricks and mortar retail businesses.
There is, however, one area of the economy that is showing signs of growth, and that’s ecommerce. The limitations on person-to-person contact are causing seismic shifts in human behaviour, not least in relation to how we shop.
Many online retailers, both old and new, are now recognising the huge opportunity to not only increase revenue from their existing base of online customers, but to captivate a whole new audience of buyers, who have never before dipped their toes into the world of online shopping.
With the clamour from retailers reaching a crescendo as they capitalise on one of the few areas experiencing growth, it is more important than ever that you ensure your website is not only able to compete, but able to thrive, in an environment that is more competitive than ever before.
While it might be easy to acknowledge that you need to make changes to your website, in reality, it can be difficult to assess what should sit at the top of the priority list. One of the best tools available to you when considering potential changes to your website, is viewing them through an ROI (return on investment) lens, essentially asking yourself the question “will this deliver a clear benefit for my bottom line?”. This is especially relevant now, at a time when you want to ensure that you are making the best use of your resources to navigate the current COVID-19 crisis, but viewing through this lens will continue to set you up for success long after this crisis has passed.
To give you some inspiration and spark a few ideas of your own, we’ve put together a list of some of the most popular improvements you can make to your website right now to give you that crucial competitive edge. If you have the design and development resources available in-house, then you can use our developer resources to carry out these jobs yourself. But if you don’t have an inhouse development team, don’t worry, we’ve recently launched the new Job Request Wizard that you can use to request a quote from one of our specialist design partners.
With a myriad of distractions, like the latest Netflix docuseries, keeping an eye on that loaf of sourdough in the oven, or worst of all, browsing your competitor’s site, it’s easy for your potential customers to abandon their cart without completing the transaction.
Reach out and grab their attention with a custom-designed “abandoned cart” reminder email and seal the deal with a well-timed promotional coupon.
Now, more than ever, is the time to celebrate what makes your business stand out against your competition. This could be the awesome free shipping offer that you make available to your customers or it could be the fact that your business is Australian owned and operated, something that a whole nation of shoppers can get behind right now.
Shout these unique selling points from the digital rooftops by adding them to your website header.
This is the time when you may want to start discounting underperforming or dead stock allowing you to generate some extra cash flow. Or you may want to make your customers an offer they simply can’t refuse.
Having a dedicated “Sale” page that lists all your sale products in one place makes it easy for customers to nab themselves that amazing deal.
At times of economic uncertainty, you might need to sweeten the deal for your customers in order to get a sale over the line. This could be something like offering a free shipping promotion on orders over $50.
Of course, you’ll want to let your customers know about your awesome deal so why not add an announcement banner to the top of your website? Your customers and your balance sheet will thank you.
You’ll find these popular website improvement jobs and many more great ideas on our new Job Request Portal. But if you’ve got an idea of your own that you’d like to bring it to life on your website we’ve got that covered too! Just request a custom job with one of our expert partners via the portal.
