After a long week of work and errands, the last thing your customers want to do is make the trip to the grocery store.
Enter: e-commerce. Instead of carving out time for an in-person grocery shopping session, customers can restock their refrigerators and pantries from the comfort of home by placing an online order for pickup or delivery.
E-commerce hasn’t just been revolutionary for grocery shoppers; it’s also opened new doors for grocers, giving them a wider reach and the opportunity to make more sales.
But success in the world of e-commerce means having an eye-catching, professional-looking website that makes shopping with you a breeze.
In this blog, we’ll share our top five tips for creating an effective grocery e-commerce site. Plus, we’ll recommend three e-commerce platforms that you can use to launch your online grocery store.
When customers visit your brick-and-mortar grocery store, they know exactly where to find every product on their shopping list — and creating an online shopping experience that mirrors this in-store experience is crucial.
Your customers should be able to navigate your grocery e-commerce site just as easily as your physical store. Here are a few ways you can infuse your grocery store’s branding into your website:
Implementing these tips will ensure that your customers receive an excellent shopping experience, whether they visit your brick-and-mortar location or take advantage of your grocery e-commerce site.
Imagine walking into a completely disorganized store where products are thrown onto shelves at random, the aisles aren’t labeled, and you can’t find anything on your list.
That’s what it’s like for your customers to visit a poorly designed grocery e-commerce site. If they can’t find what they’re looking for or get frustrated clicking around your website, they’ll leave and order their groceries from one of your competitors instead.
Creating a grocery e-commerce site that’s easy to navigate can prevent this disaster. When customers visit your website, they should be able to find their go-to grocery items, add them to their cart, and check out stress-free.
To make sure your customers always have a great experience shopping online with you, regularly visit your website and pretend to be a shopper. Can you quickly find products through your site’s search function? Is the checkout page easy to find? Are there any snags that need to be smoothed out to improve the experience?
Reviewing your website with a fresh, critical eye will help you continue improving your website and making it easier to use.
Did you know that over three-quarters of consumers shop online using their smartphones? That’s why it’s so important to create a grocery e-commerce site that looks just as good on a small screen as on a large one.
To put the power of grocery e-commerce at your customers’ fingertips, we recommend choosing an online grocery platform with an app. Not only does an app make it a breeze to place an order, but it also encourages shoppers to become loyal customers and make repeat purchases.
Just like it’s important to get to know your regular in-store grocery shoppers, understanding your online customers is vital for e-commerce success.
Here are a few ways to learn about your online shoppers, provide them with an exceptional experience, and boost your sales:
By following these best practices, you can boost satisfaction and grow your loyal customer base.
Our final tip might be the most important: Choose your grocery e-commerce platform wisely.
Your e-commerce platform is the engine running your online grocery operation. It lets you build your website, list products for sale, sync your online and in-store inventory and sales records, and more.
Above all, your grocery e-commerce platform should integrate seamlessly with your point of sale (POS) system. This integration allows you to manage your online and in-store operations all from one convenient place, saving you time and preventing headaches.
Since the right platform is an essential ingredient for grocery e-commerce success, we’ve made a list of the three top providers you should check out.
Local Express is an e-commerce platform that can help you launch and manage your online grocery operations. Here are a few of Local Express’ key features:
If you’re looking for an e-commerce solution that prioritizes your customers’ convenience and satisfaction, Local Express is the way to go.
GrazeCart is a unique grocery e-commerce platform designed to help you sell perishable, specialty items like meats, dairy, and produce online. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why you might choose GrazeCart:
While GrazeCart’s e-commerce features might be overwhelming if you only accept small pickup orders, it’s a great choice if you own a butcher or international shop or if you offer long-distance shipping.
Mercato is a tool that can help you harness the power of grocery e-commerce. Here’s a peek at what Mercato has to offer:
If you’re looking to expand your customer base and reap the benefits of a grocery e-commerce site with minimal effort, Mercato is a solid option for you.
The foundation of a successful online grocery business is a powerful POS system that integrates with your e-commerce platform — which is why we recommend IT Retail.
IT Retail integrates seamlessly with Local Express, GrazeCart, Mercato, and more to make managing and fulfilling online orders simple and easy. Plus, you can enjoy our software’s robust inventory management, speedy checkout, and sales-boosting loyalty and promotion features to maximize your grocery store’s potential.
Ready to see how IT Retail can make a difference for your online and in-store customers? Schedule your personalized demo with one of our grocery industry experts today.