The O2O business model (also known as the Online-to-Offline model) indicates the time when companies persuade customers on the online platforms, which ultimately makes them purchase in physical stores. This method has been increasingly used in recent years with the development of eCommerce.
Among online merchants, Magento has long been a reliable and powerful platform, powering 1.2% of sites on the Internet nowadays. Knowing the popularity of this platform, in this article, we will give you some tips to successfully run your O2O business on Magento.
Overview
Run local ads
In order to attract the right target consumers, it might be beneficial to run local ads. This means that the ads you run should be narrowed down to better turn the approached people into real customers. The reason is simple – people living near your physical store may have a higher chance to visit it physically, as it does not take much time to get there.
Local inventory advertising (LIAs) from Google is a quick and easy way to drive traffic to your store while also supporting your online store. The advertisements provide the shopper with information such as opening hours, proximity, price, retailer/brand, and available stock. The goal is to get the right customers to see your ads at the right time.
Enable click-and-collect
Research has shown that nearly 70% of consumers in the US have used the buy online and pick up in store method. Without a doubt, click and collect is becoming an essential part of the omnichannel shopping process, and it’s a service that shouldn’t be missed.
A customer can pick up an item the next day or even the same day, depending on availability. This puts the power in the hands of the shopper and reassuring them of availability and trust that they (1) will not miss the delivery and (2) will be able to return it immediately if it is not suitable. All of this adds up to a better customer experience and might be beneficial to run your O2O business on Magento.
Manage inventory at multiple locations
Customers now can shop anytime and anywhere due to the increased number of outlets. In some cases, an item may be available in one location but not the other, and is still marked ‘in stock’ on the online platforms. Therefore, a customer can place an online order and require to pick this item up. However, their nearest store location is not having that at the moment.
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Of course, every retailer does not want to inform their customers about the unexpected stockout situation in their pick-up location.
However, situations like this can be prevented by enhancing the multi-store and multi-warehouse management tools. In this case, real-time synchronization in the managing system is very important, so that store owners can know the status of their inventory in different locations and make timely adjustments or notifications to customers. As a result, the curbside pickup process can happen smoothly without abrupt changes.
Integrate a POS system
When the business expands, it might be no longer sufficient to handle everything manually. It is inevitable that the idea of O2O business has posed a need for a powerful POS system to handle both online and offline channels. For example, a POS with real-time synchronization and click-and-collect features can help businesses to connect the selling activities between the online and offline world.
On Magento, there are now various POS extensions for merchants to choose from, however, only a few of them has excellent omnichannel features that can fully support O2O businesses. Our recommendation is to try ConnectPOS if you are looking for a decent POS system that specializes in omnichannel shopping experience. The POS comes with top-notch omnichannel features and multi-store management tools. Don’t hesitate to contact the team or start with a 14-day free trial.
Conclusion
ECommerce has recently developed and grown faster than ever before, especially in the retail industry. As a result, the power of O2O businesses on Magento is also becoming more visible. Above all, we hope that this article can more or less help you run your O2O business more successfully on Magento. Last but not least, don’t forget that ConnectPOS are here to help!