If you sell big ticket items, it’s time to get your eCommerce website ready?

If you sell big ticket items, a brand new research study conducted in the US has some great news for you. The all new Future of Retail 2019 report has found that consumers are now much more likely to make those expensive purchases online than they were a year ago. So, if you sell items at a higher price point (such as sofas, big screen TVs, outdoor dining sets, tech items like flat screen TVs or even cars), your website is more likely to handle the sale today than ever before.

An average of 46% of consumers say they are more open to buying a high net worth product such as a vehicle via the Internet now than 12 months ago – which means your retail business could soon become more of an ecommerce business if you fit within this niche. If your website isn’t set up to process orders or handle the demands of modern ecommerce, a new web design should be a priority.

While just under half of US shoppers were more comfortable spending more online, that figure doesn’t give the full picture. When we delve deeper into the research findings, we find differences between demographics. This is important because knowing how your own target audience feels can help you to better target your ecommerce site, online content and digital marketing.

Consumers in the 18-25 age bracket for example are 51% more likely to purchase big ticket items online this year. That number rises for those aged 26-35, who say they are 56% more likely to do so. Clearly, this is great news if your big ticket products are popular with or aimed at the late millennial market of mid twenties to mid thirties.

Within the spectrum of big ticket items, just over one in three consumers (33%) overall say they have turned to the web to browse for new furniture online at some point in the last 12 months. Similarly, 34% of consumers now say they have searched for a new car online over the course of the last year.

The Future of Retail report says recommendations and research play an important role in this spike but it’s also important that the browsing experience is seamless. If you hope to tap into this trend, you’ll need to:

· Ensure you have a modern, responsive and mobile-ready website design

· Create a review generation process to aid consumer confidence

· Ensure you offer a seamless user experience across multiple devices

· Make it easy for buyers to browse and compare different products

· Follow eCommerce best practise including quick loading times, ease of contact and have clear returns, refund and shipping policies