5 Must-Have Website Features For Successful Retail Businesses

By Greg Harris

To remain relevant in the rapidly evolving landscape of online/hybrid commerce, businesses must have a top-notch website. No longer a landing spot to obtain additional information, the modern website serves as a business’ de facto storefront, creating the first impression that will ultimately determine the trajectory of the business relationship. Getting it right is essential, with research showing that a company has less than 15 seconds to captivate a shopper or risk losing them forever. With this in mind, the following 5 features are must haves for any successful retail business’ website. 

1. Mobile Compatibility

The most beautifully designed website is severely undermined if it is not formatted for mobile browsing. Statistics show that of the 230 million smartphone users in the United States, some 79% have made a mobile purchase in the six past months. Clearly, to miss out on this demographic is to miss out on some serious revenue.

Among the ways to make a website mobile friendly include:

• Large boxes and buttons - shoppers do not like to have to continually enlarge to click in the correct field
• No side-to-side scrolling - mobile scrolling should be limited to up-and-down motion so shoppers can quickly scroll with their thumbs
• Guest checkout - having to create a username and password greatly increases the likelihood that you will lose a mobile shopper

Although there are hundreds of platforms on which to build your business website, with little to no technological know-how required, very few of these come with automatic mobile compatibility. Therefore, it is worth your time to hire a professional who knows how to code and format to get all features to show up correctly on mobile. 

2. Top Notch Retail Locator Page

While there is no denying that home delivery has revolutionized retail, especially in the wake of the global pandemic, there is still a surprisingly large demographic that prefers the in-store shopping experience, thanks to the ability to see, feel, and interact with products before making a purchase.

Therefore, to appeal to this demographic, your website must be equipped with the best retail locator software on the market. A top-notch retail locator page will quickly and conveniently direct shoppers to the nearest in-person location for your business. Some key features of a strong retail locator page include:

• A clean, concise design that offers little distracting text
• A prominently featured search bar
• A map with clear nearby markers
• Location access to leverage GPS searches
• A camera roll so shoppers can see street and parking lot views of your store

3. Robust Customer Service 

There is no denying that technology and automation can save businesses a bundle in the realm of customer service. In addition, many shoppers even prefer to browse through FAQs and video tutorials to find answers on their own, making hiring and training customer service agents a dubious proposition for many small businesses.

With that said, having a client left unsatisfied with their customer service experience can be costly to the business, with 89% of shoppers saying that they would defect from a company due to a poor customer service transaction. Regarding automated customer service solutions, the biggest complaint of most customers is having answers that do not directly address their unique situation.

As a result, your website must offer some more interactive customer service features in addition to these standard help pages. At the least, having a live customer chat is a great way to make customers feel like you are prioritizing their concerns. When possible, it is best if you give shoppers a clear avenue to speak to a live professional if they desire. 

4. Multimedia Showcases

Multimedia is king in 2021. Customers want to be able to see your products and offerings in action before making a purchase. Therefore, your website must feature a healthy array of pictures, videos, demonstrations, presentations, and product descriptions so that customers can see everything they need to see to feel confident in purchasing from your business.

5. Social Proof

At the end of the day, the power lies in the hands of the shopper, and your business is only as good as its online reputation. In fact, statistics show that 67% of modern shoppers prefer social media posts and reviews over endorsements made by a professional.

Therefore, it is critical that you not only take the time to cultivate your online reputation but feature it prominently for shoppers to access. Have a section of your website dedicated to showcasing favorable reviews and feature buttons to your business's social media accounts.

Set Up Your Retail Business For Success

Modern websites must be innovative, dynamic, and interactive to stand out in the competitive hybrid commerce landscape. To this effect, ensuring mobile compatibility, having a top-notch retail locator page, implementing robust customer service, providing multimedia showcases, and leveraging the power of social proof are 5 of the most important features for successful retail businesses to incorporate into their websites.