Brace your credit card; Black Friday is coming! It represents a massive opportunity for small to medium-sized businesses to compete with larger retailers, as shoppers take to the internet en masse to find the best possible deals. But those deals will only happen if one thing is firmly in place: trust.
According to a recent PwC consumer spending trends report¹, 40% of consumers are open to buying directly from a brand’s website. But, a recent report² by The University of Pretoria points out that trust is one of the single most important factors when trading online. So, how do small to medium-sized businesses garner trust from a new customer this Black Friday? What signs and signals should you look for when visiting a new site and deciding on whether to buy from them or not?
Look for a certified payment service provider
The first sign to look for, and for retailers to clearly display, is the use of reputable and certified payment service providers, such as Visa or PayPal. This trustworthy method of payment should be clearly displayed on the website. Not only will it garner confidence in any new visiting customer but it will equally go some way towards eliminating additional research a shopper may choose to take to establish whether they can trust the trader or not.
Trusted courier service
“Last-mile delivery is the final frontier for online purchasing. It’s where the promise of trust is fulfilled,” stresses Daniel Lombard, Managing Director of Fastway Couriers, SA’s largest network of independently owned last-mile courier service providers. Hence, this Black Friday, consumers and small to medium-sized businesses should look for a trusted logistics partner that is known to specialise in last-mile delivery.
Companies such as this will be known for their customer service and policies. For example, Fastway Couriers – which is responsible for the safe arrival of over 14 million parcels each year – offers redelivery to the original address, free of charge. A large courier business is also able to service outlying areas, meaning any shoppers outside of the city can trust in the promise of delivery to their doorstep.
Locally based retailer
Finally, local companies should capitalise on the fact that they’re “Proudly South African” this Black Friday – and make this patently obvious (it’s not enough to just list prices in rands; it’s important to clearly communicate that the business is South African).
Why is this so important? Global retailing – while having its benefits – can be a challenge for consumers. There may be import duties, fluctuating exchange rates, lengthy shipping processes, unreliable return policies… and little or no recourse in the event of something going wrong. Many modern websites for international retailers can geo-locate shoppers and adjust currencies and language allowing them to entice sales from shoppers around the world. But local shoppers may be unaware that they are buying from abroad and therefore unwittingly subjecting themselves to the international process that comes with that purchase.
Ranked fifth globally³, South Africa is one of the countries worst affected by cybercrime. Neither the Black Friday shopper nor retailer wants to be caught out by online scammers. Indicators of trust go a long way in preventing cybercrime and ensuring that the digital handshake is a trustworthy one.
As Billy Joel sang: “It’s a matter of trust.”
Source:
ENDS//