The modern online shopping experience should offer the advantages and service that shoppers get in a high end, brick-and-mortar shopping setting.As an apparel company, how do you make online shopping feel like real shopping? It starts with your brand.Many retailers have failed to deliver on their brand promise by being too laissez-faire about e-commerce. In its early days we saw many examples of websites with an attitude reflective of "let's build a website, and if we can generate a bit of revenue from it, great."There are still retailers who underestimate the potential of the online channel to help their brand - and end up instead damaging their brand.In practical terms, one can hardly blame the shopper who assumes he'll get as rewarding an experience from a retailer's online store as he does from brick-and-mortar shopping. Is it unreasonable, for instance, to expect that a retailer with a 100-year history of providing quality goods and top-notch service, would abide by the same principles online that made it a success offline? There are lots of examples that would suggest there are different rules for selling to online shoppers.
In its 2008 retail benchmark survey, Retail Systems Research reported some interesting findings about brand and cross-channel consistency. In terms of delivering an online experience that helps - rather than hinders - a retailer's brand, the feedback was upbeat: 99 percent of retailer respondents indicated a need to "create a single brand identity across all channels;€VbCrLf and 94 percent indicated that it is important to provide "consistent and clear explanation of product features and benefits, regardless of channel.
For exampleRoss-Simons, for example, is a forward-thinking multi-channel jewelry and gift retailer in this regard. One of the reasons for its success in its traditional businesses - brick-and-mortar and catalog - was a deep understanding of what was important to its shoppers, how they shopped, and what would make them comfortable enough to make what is typically considered a fairly expensive purchase. The application of this understanding - and the principles that have made them successful offline for more than 50 years - has translated into online success to the tune of more than $70 million.
What do shoppers want? 
Shoppers want to shop: They want to browse; they want to imagine; they want to evaluate and compare; they want to contemplate and consider; and ultimately they want to buy. They want to feel good. Shopping works subconsciously: Our brain exhibits certain characteristics when we shop; both negative and positive responses occur depending on the experience. Sometimes, aspects of the shopping experience such as friendly sales clerks, eye-catching displays or aisles that are easy to navigate can trigger brain activity that brings about these "euphoric moments,€VbCrLf says Dr. David Lewis, director of neuroscience at Mindlab International, a United Kingdom-based consultancy whose clients include athletes, retailers and advertising companies. "The brain is turned on by novelty,€VbCrLf according to Dr. Lewis.
Can the online retailer make this happen? Can an online fashion retailer make the fashionista shopper feel the same high that she gets when she walks into a swish boutique?
Don't press that back button!
The new e-commerce - Web 2.0 - is about making it easy to shop. Providing shoppers with an experience that eliminates shopper anxiety (you know ... that feeling that you're missing something €¦ because your choices are being reduced against your will or you've been forced down a path with no possibility of return to where you started in the store) is a step in the right direction. Web 2.0 e-commerce is about delivering a shopping experience that replicates offline shopping in a number of ways. First, it allows shoppers to browse, evaluate and take action without going through a linear progression of steps that requires a level of commitment early in the process that the shopper may or may not be ready to make. What we're talking about instead is an interactive "single-page€VbCrLf shopping experience that gives a shopper a feeling of control and versatility.
Give the shopper a chance to ponder?
There might come a time when we wish that the offline shopping experience were more like the e-commerce experience; e-commerce is no doubt influencing the offline shopping experiences that retailers offer today (think about in-store kiosks - some shoppers prefer to "search€VbCrLf rather than consult with a human associate). However, brass ring online etailers are reaching for looks that match the much-cherished, "superior€VbCrLf brick-and mortar shopping experience. It all starts with this basic concept: Give shoppers the opportunity to consider products - and take action - if they want to. When something catches your eye in a store, you might want to quickly evaluate but not commit to it just yet. Perhaps you want to give it a closer look - pick it up, turn it over and look at it from multiple angles. You probably want to know more about it: how much does it cost? What do other people think of this product ("hey, have you ever tried one of these?€VbCrLf). Web 2.0 features such as product hover allow shoppers to do just that - to take a moment to evaluate, and then decide if a particular product is worth further consideration. Think about how you "hover€VbCrLf during offline shopping; you take some time to ponder a product before taking the next step. We do this all the time - it's how we shop. Freedom to select the right course of actionWhat if a shopper likes a product? It seems to meet his or her initial criteria and depending on where the shopper is, he or she may choose to: Put it in the shopping cart; keep it in mind for another time by adding it to a wishlist; compare it to another product; or even share it with a friend (i.e. "hey, check out this extremely cool snow-boarding jacket
The shopper should be free to do this with several products. If you can't decide now, then choose later. In fact, we know that when it comes to shopping and purchasing, timing is everything. The reality is that shoppers aren't always ready to buy - at least as much as they, or you, would like in any given shopping expedition (electronic or otherwise). Shoppers carry around with them a mental wish list. They have seen something in your virtual shop window and are waiting for the right time to purchase; or perhaps they just want to think about it (or would rather someone else buy the item for them). By offering an online "thinking about€VbCrLf function, shoppers feel in control. They are able to consider products side by side just as they do in the store. With the contents of the "thinking aboutf area in plain view, shoppers can make an informed decision about which items make the final cut for purchase. Because the shopper doesn't leave the page, the items they are thinking about stay in clear view and top of mind. If the shopper leaves the site and returns at another time, any items that remain in the "thinking about€VbCrLf section will be there on the next visit.Putting it all together onlineThe modern online shopping experience should mirror the advantages and service that shoppers get in a high end, brick-and-mortar shopping experience. Shoppers want information, and lots of it. be able to see and choose from a variety of styles, colors and brands. Online retailers need to understand that there is more to e-commerce than just providing a safe and convenient way to buy online. Shoppers want to browse; they want to imagine what the product will provide for them - how they will look in that necklace, how they might feel in that cocktail dress, how their lives will improve with a big screen LCD TV for their den, and so on. Today's online customers want to evaluate and compare; they want to contemplate and consider - and ultimately they want to buy.
It is the merchant's responsibility to make customers feel good about themselves and about their selections and purchases - regardless of channel.
