Shopping online feels good. We get a dopamine hit whenever we drop an item into our cart. Our hearts beat a little faster at checkout. But then we stop. The voice of reason says: not yet.
So, we step away.
We forget most products. But others stick with us. And to those we return. Or would if our shopping cart hadn’t reset during our absence.
Google’s latest update to Chrome promises to end this frustrating situation. One of the new browser features is a tab* that stores your shopping carts across multiple retail sites and takes you back with a click.
*This is device-specific, meaning that you can only see carts from the device you created them on.
This update is big news for shopaholics and even bigger news for online retailers. Here’s why:
It is also a common feature of retail sites that when you leave a few items in their cart but don’t make a purchase, they start offering you discounts on those products after a couple of days, as an incentive for you to finally buy. That new tab that we talked about, which will keep a track of your unpurchased carts, will also show you updates regarding the discounts that have been added. Google also said that they will link loyalty programmes to their Google Accounts. That way, you always get to see the best prices available for your products across all retail sites and then take your pick!
But what does this mean for the retail sites themselves?
Guaranteed Purchase:
This feature is guaranteed to bring out the shopaholics even in the most conservative online shoppers. This is much like a Re-target Ad but without the harassment. That tab is just sitting there, giving your consumer a reminder and constantly forcing them to consider making that purchase. Be assured dear retail site owners, the customer will crack at a certain point for sure, sooner than later.
Discounts Pile-up
As mentioned above, if a customer leaves a few products in the cart but does not make a purchase, the retail site starts offering them discounts. Now that the consumer knows that they will be able to access their carts whenever, they will also be complacent regarding it. Meaning, since they have access to their carts on their device thanks to Google, they will take their own time making that purchase. And for business owners, it means that the discounts are piling up. So, something that might have sold for the original MRP in the beginning, will sell on a lot of discount.
Google Loyalty Program
We also mentioned above that Google intends to link loyalty programmes with their Gmail Accounts. What this does is, suppose a customer has picked something from your retail site and that product is lying in the cart, Google will show the best prices available for that same product across other retail sites. This can be a huge setback to your online business. Because if any other site is even offering that same product at 5% less, the customer is going to buy the product from that site for sure.
This announcement came from Google in Mid May, as a series of many updates they are planning to make their consumers’ lives easier in this ongoing Pandemic World. However, when these updates will actually be launched is still unknown. This means that Retailers, you have all the information and possibilities in your hands now, and you have the time to come up with strategies so that you gain from this update instead of incurring losses.
Brandmirchi has worked extensively with E-commerce sites, and should you feel the need for any kind of assistance in business strategy or otherwise, we are happy to help!