Product Content is King: How to Rule the Retail Kingdom
By Josh Mendelsohn, Head of Product Marketing, Salsify
Brands and retailers are always looking for new ways to get in front of their customers. With today’s consumers shopping and buying when, where, and how they want to – it’s become critical to to shape your customers’ online experience. Knowing what is most likely to drive consumers to click “buy” can make or break your success. A recent survey from Salsify of a thousand online shoppers revealed that product content impacts most buying decisions when shopping online. Below are a few ideas for both retailers and brands to use when trying to win in the endless aisle:
- Incorporate detailed product content. A whopping 94 percent of consumers either abandon a site or give up if they can’t find the information they are looking for. Brands and retailers cannot afford to lose out on those customers. Websites must have detailed product content – things like product descriptions, feature bullets, images, and videos. By providing this level of detail, customers are sure to get an accurate picture of what they are purchasing despite perhaps never seeing the product in person.
- Use several product images. Seeing is believing, and customers want to see multiple images of a product they are considering. In fact, 66 percent of consumers say they want to see at least three images of a product before making a purchase decision. It is also interesting to note that 75 percent of consumers said they would rather see images of products against a plain background or in use as opposed to photos from other consumers who have bought the product. So make sure to have plenty of product photos.
- Give Millennials social content. When it comes to making a purchasing decision, millennials look to social endorsements when shopping for products far more than their older counterparts. According to the research, millennials are 60 percent more likely to click over to a product based on a friend’s social post. In addition, they are 50 percent more likely to rank ratings and reviews as the biggest impact on deciding which site to buy from. To best engage millennials and younger shoppers, brands and retailers should make sure product information includes social and user-generated content.
- Make it mobile for moms. Moms are shopping and buying on their phones more than anyone else these days – so much so that they are 43 percent more likely to click “buy” from their phones. Because the “mobile mom” is always on the go, they are most likely to make quick purchasing decisions and are therefore 47 percent more apt than others to visit only 1 or 2 sites before deciding where to buy. If moms are a target audience, brands and retailers must focus on creating a great mobile experience – regardless if in search on a mobile site or mobile app.
No matter which demographic brands and retailers are trying to reach, product content plays a vital role in getting customers to buy online. By concentrating efforts on creating a user-friendly mobile experience – no matter the device – and delivering content that accurately represents the product they will receive, shoppers will turn into loyal customers.
[author] About the Author: With over 15 years in marketing, Josh Mendelsohn heads up product marketing for Salsify. Salsify enables brands and retailers to get their products to market faster, sell more, and improve their online brand accuracy using our product content management and syndication platform. Prior to Salsify, Josh was the VP Marketing at Dreamfund, where he was responsible for everything from developing strategic partnerships for social media and email marketing to media planning and marketing automation. He holds a BA from Union College in Albany, New York. [/author]
