Online shopping is a part of everyday life, and bricks-and-mortar retailers working with London web design companies face a difficult fight to stay relevant. How can a retailer compete with an online seller when users can take their smartphone into a store, search for reviews of the products they are looking at, find a better deal and then buy online?

The most successful retailers are the ones that have addressed this challenge by merging online and offline retail to create an experience that serves the shopper every step of the way.

Beyond QR codes ‒ NFC and Bluetooth

Perhaps the most innovative addition to the world of shopping has been the NFC tag. For years retailers have tried to get shoppers to enjoy ‘augmented reality’ experiences by using QR codes or by encouraging them to take photos in store; however, the process has been too cumbersome. NFC tags, on the other hand, just work. They increase engagement time almost fourfold when consumers use them, and engagement with NFC tags is almost 12 times greater than QR code engagement. If you are a store owner looking to get shoppers to pay attention to your website, what could be better than getting them to visit your site while in your store?

Social media and websites

Many retailers have tried to build up massive brands around their companies, creating miniature social networks and trying to build an audience through incentives; however, this can easily backfire. For a social network to sustain itself, it needs to reach critical mass ‒ usually around 15% of the network it is targeting. If the social network does not have this user base, there will be no reason for other users to return.

This is why many London web design companies encourage their clients to piggyback off existing social networks, such as by adding the option to import feeds from Twitter to their site, rather than reinventing the wheel.

If you want to reach the maximum audience, you need to target every channel ‒ desktop, mobile, social and offline. Broaden your reach to broaden your ROI.