The COVID-19 crisis has dealt retail a solid uppercut, but putting everything on the defensive is never a good idea in the middle of a fight. "Today, shops and e-commerce can strengthen each other more than ever."
Small kitchen appliances are selling like hot cakes online at the moment, but anyone
who sees this as proof that e-commerce can absorb all the blows of the COVID-19
crisis is wrong. As omnichannel specialist, Nayan, knows this all too well. The
online sales of travel suitcases for instance has plummeted.
"If you know that the typical split between your offline and online sales is 80/20,
the impact of this crisis is clear," says CEO Wim Decraene. “Imagine: pre-crisis
your brand turned over 100,000 euros per month. During the lockdown period with
shops closed, you are down to 20,000 euros. Even if you double your online revenue,
you still have a 60% drop in your total sales. ”
Betting everything on online sales does not compensate for all losses. Sustainable
profit is obtained by finding the right balance between online and offline. “A good
example can be seen in the way some pharmacists now guide their customers towards
the appropriate channel for their purchase. Customers can go to the pharmacy for
help and advice when making their first purchase, but for subsequent repeat
purchases they are invited to place their order online. ”
All too often, brands have the misconception that one channel or the other is not
for them, Decraene observes. “A furniture business will assert "We are active in the
furniture sector, so online is not an option for us". It is a fair assumption that,
if I want to buy a garden set, I probably want to see that product with my own eyes
first. But that extra side table or seat cushion? I can perfectly happily purchase
that online. Getting down to brass tacks, suppose after the lockdown there is a
restriction on the number of people who can enter your store. You'd rather spend
time advising a customer who comes to buy a full living room set than someone who
needs a maintenance product, right? ”
Even outside times of crisis, your online and offline offerings can reinforce each
other, the omnichannel expert explains. “Evidence of this can be seen in the
activities of one of our clients, a Belgian chocolate producer. They sell their
products online to just about every state in the US, but do particularly well in New
York and California. It is no coincidence that these are precisely the states where
the brand has the most physical stores. ”
“Continuing with the chocolate theme (we have many chocolate brands among our
clients), just before the lockdown was announced, many shops had just purchased
their supply of Easter eggs. Those brands that had aligned their online and offline
channels prior to this crisis, were able to benefit hugely when the crisis hit. As
online orders could be picked up in the store or sent from the shop, this helped
reduce store inventory and offered welcome relief to over-burdened eCommerce
distribution centres.”
It is risky to think of this crisis as pushing the pause button on your activities,
Nayan reports. Shops will open in due course and, as a brand, you can only hope that
your customers will not have forgotten about you. "Online tools such as a store
finder or a 3D tour of your flagship stores filled with the new collection can
encourage customers to rediscover your stores sooner rather than later."
On the other hand, brands can also take advantage of interesting initiatives
necessitated by this crisis. “You can see, for example, how shop managers today post
Instagram stories about their products from home or give fashion advice via Facebook
Live. Why not offer those kinds of services permanently after the crisis? Shop
assistants could, for example, take advantage of the quiet moments in the shop to
boost the brand online. ”
For those who are not yet online, Decraene has only one bit of advice: do it, and do
it quickly. “If you don't have the knowledge to set up and manage your own webshop,
outsource. After all, companies like ours are here to save you time and money. We
also help brands make their products available online relatively quickly via
marketplaces such as Bol.com or Amazon. ”
The conclusion? Do not let old stumbling blocks such as traditional commission
models slow you down in your actions. “Use the crisis to overcome such barriers. Now
is the time to bring together offline and online more quickly.”
Translated from interview De Standaard 27/04/2020