Gone are the days when one could indulge on freshly baked goods only if there was a bakery in the area. These days, with the onset of e-commerce, bakeries are taking the initiative of going online to cater to a larger customer base accessible online that was earlier beyond their reach.
E-commerce offers flexibility that did not exist before, allowing customers to shop from the comfort of their homes in this fast-paced world. This gives an opportunity to the bakery business to grow by offering a varied range of products to their customers in the current competitive and convenience-focused society.
As more and more people adapt to the idea of buying online, e-commerce has the potential to open up multiple avenues for traditional bakeries. Access to new markets, global awareness of your brand, targeting specific groups of customers across wider geographies are but a few of the many benefits of a well-organized and attractive online business.
Online perception matters, plan well before you proceed
As attractive as it may seem, an online business possesses many new challenges and can be extremely disastrous for bakeries if there is not a thorough plan in place. Several questions need to be answered at this stage such as the design and layout of the website, mobile access vs mobile app, user interface vs user experience. When it comes to operations, questions related to technology and logistics, packaging, warehousing need to be answered well in advance.
A well-designed site or mobile application can create an excellent brand perception and with product quality taken care of, recurring sales can be assured. A website that is easy to operate with smooth transitions, quick responses, eye-catching layouts, easy feedback and safe payment gateways form essential components of a successful online platform. A minimalist approach should be applied to the UI(user interface) so that the UX(user experience) is satisfying in terms of speed and efficiently helping users meet their needs in the least possible time. This can be easily achieved by using high-resolution pictures of the actual baked goods – making for an attractive product presentation and in turn helping to create a lasting impression of your brand in the customer’s mind.
Apart from these, it is essential that the customer is able to leave feedback about your products and also get continual assistance regarding any issue. This aspect directly enhances the overall user experience and must be given its due attention in the planning phase. Hassle-free payment methods and user data security are critical concerns that need to be prioritized when it comes to designing the back end of the online store. A website designed keeping these points in mind along with SEO (search engine optimization), blogs, social media marketing, and marketing automation will give your bakery a robust online as well as effective marketing platform.
In a nutshell, the transition from traditional brick and mortar business to e-commerce store will help broaden your bakery brand, increase marketing opportunities, help target your specific consumers over larger market spaces and ultimately boost sales. With the growing increase in online shopping, this field is bound to become competitive by offering a diverse and comprehensive array of products that can be ordered from a bakery that is always ready to cater to customers’ requirements.
So, where do you turn to make this dream a reality? While there are several platforms online that offer web design or user interfaces, very few merge the two in quite the same way the Deliver by Linkeo platform has managed to. Be sure to check us out for a full demonstration of our capabilities today.