Joan Treistman

Building an Effective Supermarket Retail Website

February 16, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
A report out by Bill Bishop, chairman of Willard Bishop, aims to decipher what supermarket websites need to do to best communicate with shoppers. The report is based on multiple visits to websites of eight retailers.... How well do you think supermarket websites engage shoppers?      [more...]

An underlying point of Bill's article is that one size does not fit all. Supermarkets that understand their unique strategic position with consumers should build off that. Having a website that is easy to navigate is the cost of entry, if supermarkets want to engage customers.

To bring people back time and time again requires something special that is attractive and sustainable. Across-the-board perceived value, which is the integration of cost and derived benefits, is sustainable.

Retailers have to convey the unique drivers for their shoppers' profile. While recipes, for example, have appeal to a wide audience, it will probably be the type of recipe--healthy, convenient, organic, inexpensive, etc, that will draw some consumers and miss others. My observation is that supermarkets that focus in this way will have the most effective websites.

But one additional caveat for the retailer and website designer...be certain that the words you use on your drop down menu or link communicate the message and content you intend. Too often on supermarket sites, consumers encounter phrases that don't line up with how they think or talk about the subjects. You can't expect consumers to click onto a website section when they don't see how it relates to them.