As critical as ecommerce is to the retail industry, it holds a similarly important role among shoppers, who are continually engaging with their favorite brands through digital channels. Just as some people enjoy window shopping or bargain hunting at brick-and-mortar locations, they also spend a considerable amount of time browsing online stores. 

Nielsen reported that mass merchandisers were among the top ten brands accessed by Internet users in July. While companies like Google and Facebook attracted larger audiences for longer periods of time, sites such as Amazon also brought in a considerable amount of interest from consumers. Retail web pages drew in nearly 110 million Americans in the lead up to back-to-school shopping, and on average, users spent nearly an hour browsing online merchants' pages. Brands like Walmart and Target received more than 20 million unique visits in July, and each consumer spent about 10 minutes or more on the respective sites. 

With online retail attracting such a large audience, merchants should provide their customers with a streamlined commercial environment. Retail management software that leads seamlessly from browsing items to the point of sale can ensure that shoppers return to a site month after month, helping to build consumer loyalty through a satisfying user experience. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, September 9th, 2013 at 5:50 am .