Selling Sunglasses Online? Here’s What Actually Works
In an increasingly digital retail landscape, small business owners understand the immense revenue opportunities awaiting merchants who can effectively sell online alongside brick-and-mortar shops. Nevertheless, successfully translating in-store sunglass retail practices to ecommerce requires some fundamental strategic shifts compared to traditional stores. Rather than just digitizing existing tactics, achieving real transaction volume and cultivating customer loyalty on the internet demands rethinking content, personalization and community building from the ground up.
Product Videos Over Static Images
One of the biggest pitfalls online sunglass merchants encounter involves relying too heavily on traditional static product images alone to influence shoppers. Matrix galleries of frames simply don’t translate excitement well digitally. Instead, leading web sellers invest heavily in showcasing inventory through stylized video content displaying products prominently on models from multiple angles. High-quality graphics clearly depicting frame sizes, shapes, and worn proportions increase confidence during decision making. Some top e-retailers even allow uploading user images to “virtually try on” sunglasses using augmented reality. Video and visualization reduce product uncertainty.
Curated Style Editorials
Similarly, effective sunglass e-merchants realize shoppers desire more than just frame photos. They crave inspirational styling concepts and advice personalized to their own facial structures and proportions. Top online sellers lean into this demand by publishing semi-regular digital look-books and seasonal style editorials featuring influencers’ guides on flattering glasses for face shapes, or spotlights on how to pair eye-catching frames with current fashion trends. Think compiled stories like “Best Cat Eye Shades for Heart-Shaped Faces” or “5 Ways to Style Rectangle Frames”. This form of visual inspiration and recommendation helps convert interest into sales.
Rave Customer Content
Reading professional style advice certainly helps shoppers online. However, even more powerful at building trust and credibility for web-based sunglass purveyors remains user-generated content in the form of customer reviews, testimonials, and photos. A steady drumbeat of authentic rave endorsements scattered throughout the website and amplified via social media testifies to positive customer experiences better than any expert editorials on style. Moreover, soliciting joyful user-supplied images modeling purchased frames counters skepticism stemming from over-reliance on stock model visuals. Embracing user-generated content removes perceived risks.
Free Home Try-Ons
Even with plentiful frame videos, customers still feel skittish about sizing, proportions and tints just from digital inspection. That’s why leading ecommerce sunglass platforms enable free home try-ons by shipping multiple pairs for buyers to sample directly. Whether shoppers select three options or receive curated recommendations based on quiz responses, at-home experimentation closes the tactile experience gap relative to stores. Enabling hassle-free shipping and returns on unkept pairs provides safety nets for online shoppers to confidently purchase, augmenting video and imagery limitations.
Reward Community Engagement
Unlike physical shops where customer interactions end at checkout, web merchants have opportunities to continually nurture relationships with fans long after sales finalize. The people at Olympic Eyewear, distributor of wholesale sunglasses, say that online sellers should incentivize community behavior like social sharing, reviews, repeat purchases and photo submissions by infusing gamification and rewards. VIP loyalty programs granting early access to limited-edition frames or first dibs on new bulk designer sunglasses collections encourage ongoing enthusiasm beyond one-off transactions. Sending surprise gifts also delights. Community fosters loyalty.
Conclusion
To successfully transition a brick-and-mortar sunglass business to an online platform necessitates a complete overhaul of content, personalization, and engagement strategies, specifically designed to cater to the distinct preferences and behaviors of digital natives. Relying simply on product images rather than videos, inspirational style advice and rave user-generated content hamstrings conversion rates. Enabling free home try-ons builds confidence, and rewarding community participation nurtures customer relationships beyond purchases. Sellers embracing these core differences will achieve online sunglass sales success and loyalty.
