How to Sell Retail on Your Studio Website
Forget a prop? Need a new mat? Can’t resist the new softer-than-you-can-imagine yoga shirts?
The boutique in your studio has always been a place where members could pick up props, accessories, or buy a gift card for a friend. Selling these items alongside your services was easy, since the sales went through your studio management software.
Now you have fewer (or no) people coming to your studio in person. And the holiday season is right around the corner. In past years, the holiday season meant a big increase in retail sales. But we all know this year isn’t like other years.
Are big holiday retail sales even possible this year?
Yes. With an open mind and the willingness to explore the website tools you already have, hosting a successful retail store on your website is not only possible, it’s a necessity.
Think outside the confines of your scheduling software to sell retail on your studio website.
Can’t you just use Mindbody or another studio software to sell retail online? You can, but it’s not ideal. These softwares were designed for point of sale. They may have an online store capability, but usually not a great checkout experience for online shoppers.
Online shoppers expect and demand a great checkout experience. They want to shop in their PJs from the couch without thinking too hard. The online shopping landscape is littered with abandoned carts caused by checkout experiences that didn’t deliver.
Your online shopping experience needs to:
Provide a simple checkout experience for customers that is quick and easy
Allow you to manage inventory in one place (online and on location)
Give you the flexibility to set different shipping rates
To accomplish all this, you need to set up or move to a proper e-commerce system. Your POS scheduling software that’s also sort of an online retail system isn’t going to cut it.
What if you don’t want to invest in an expensive new system?
You probably don’t need to. We’re going to start by looking at what you already have.
Sell retail online using the website platform you already have.
Setting up an online retail store may be easier than you think. If you have a website platform like Squarespace, you already have built-in e-commerce functionality just waiting for you to use! Many studio owners with Squarespace websites don’t even realize they have built-in e-commerce!
Here’s a video tutorial to get you started using the squarespace shopping cart to to sell Retail products on your studio’s website:
Squarespace isn’t the only platform that offers a built-in e-commerce solution. It just happens to be my favorite. Wix also has one, and you can always add Woo Commerce to a Wordpress site.
If you don’t have a website platform with easy e-commerce, it may be time to switch to something else. Customers are growing accustomed to being able to shop online for just about anything they want, need, or didn’t know they needed - and that’s not likely to change. If you need to make a switch, I can help!
Tips for setting up an online boutique.
The built-in features of e-commerce systems make it easy for you to sell. Depending on your platform and plan, options include: one-time use coupon codes, shipping rate flexibility, “you may also like” suggestions, the ability to filter products by type, color, size, etc., and more!
When setting up your online store, there are a lot of options. Here are some things to consider for a great customer experience. These tips will help you gain efficiency and maximize revenue.
Use a true e-commerce platform. This is not the time to try to hack around your scheduling system that is great at POS, but much less than great at online sales. Your customer checkout experience will be so much better - and you’ll make more money. Grandma doesn’t want to create a client profile to make a gift purchase! Get the sale now, and add the waiver and emergency contact info later.
Look for an e-commerce platform you can also build your main website on. Make sure it has point of sale options.
Bundle a small class pack or appointment with a “starter” retail kit for easy gift giving.
Create gift bundles in common gift-giving amounts: $49, $99, $149. Great gifts for 2020: combine an at-home prop kit with video-on-demand access or a livestream pack. Make this gift as tangible as possible. Print livestream instruction cards and include a blank card and retail items in coordinating colors.
Great photos sell! Be sure to showcase your retail gift bundles with high quality photos.
Product descriptions need to do the selling for you! Don’t just say what the product, service, or bundle is - talk about why a shopper needs it for herself or why it makes a perfect gift.
Create landing pages for gift bundles specific to Black Friday and holiday deals. Landing pages keep your shopper focused and make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for. Check out this blog post for all you need to know about creating landing pages.
Use the announcement bar on your website to promote your hybrid service-gift bundles. This blog post takes you through how to do it.
Use social media and email marketing to promote holiday bundles and specials.
How to track inventory and process payments when you sell retail on your studio website.
If your studio has a Squarespace site, tracking inventory is a breeze.Squarespace’s e-commerce system also works with Square’s POS reader. This allows you to have everything in Squarespace and also sell in person.
What about payment processing?Squarespace’s e-commerce uses Stripe and/or PayPal to process payments and move money to your bank account. So yes, you will take in money in multiple ways - Mindbody for services and Stripe/PayPal for retail. Realize it’s all going to the same bank account. And… that’s what bookkeeping is for!
It’s time to get your online game in order and be ready to sell retail on your studio’s website - before the holiday buying frenzy begins.
Although this holiday season may look different than last, it can still be magical - and profitable - with a little time and effort. Get that online store up and running, promote it to your members, and start filling those orders.
Need help with setting up your online store? Ready to move to a fully integrated Squarespace website? Let’s Talk.
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