How E-commerce Sites Earn Repeat Visits from Millennials

Why Read this Article

Millennials have very different expectations about online shopping than other generations, and retailers need to learn how to meet and exceed them. This article will showcase three successful e-commerce companies — Casper, Tradesy, and Boosted Boards — and how they are using specific strategies to build loyalty among their Millennial customers. We also offer actionable tips for e-commerce merchants to win over Millennials.

Introduction

As the Millennial generation, consisting of those Americans born between 1981 and 2000, comes into its own, these young consumers are reshaping how e-commerce is done. It’s estimated that this generation already accounts for over $1 trillion in spending per year, and that will only grow as they get older and have more disposable income.

Unlike older generations, Millennials expect their online experiences to be smooth and seamless. Not only that, they expect more from brands than their parents’ generation. The bottom line is any e-commerce company that fails to meet these expectations will not garner a second visit from customers.

We’ve identified 3 up-and-coming online retailers — Casper, Tradesy, and Boosted Boards — who are doing a good job of winning repeat visits from Millennials, and below we’ll take a detailed look at what they do (and don’t do) to win over this key demographic.

1. They Don’t Take Themselves Too Seriously

Millennials appreciate a brand that’s willing to have fun — sometimes, even at its own expense. This is a great antidote to the traditional corporate, buttoned-up attitude that puts distance between the customer and the company. When they talk to each other, Millennials prefer a more casual and fun style of communication. They’d prefer to see a brand as their friend rather than as an authority figure. Brands who take this cue from their younger customers are seeing a very positive response.

A great example of a brand having fun can be seen on the Casper homepage:

Action Tips

• Make sure your brand voice allows for fun and the occasional bit of humor, as long as it’s good-natured.
• Put someone in charge of making your brand voice cohesive across the whole company, so that your messaging rings true and doesn’t come across as inauthentic.
• Ask Millennial employees and customers what they think of your on-page copy and email marketing; learn from their feedback.

2. They Promote Millennial Values

It’s surprising, but true: Millennials will be loyal to companies who share their values. Of course, that begs the question “what are Millennial values?” Well, to start with, Millennials value honesty, openness, innovation, social awareness, equality, authenticity, and eco-friendliness. Some of the most famous brands that have won over Millennials based upon shared values include Toms Shoes, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and Apple. Of course, in each case the values came from the people in the company (or campaign) and weren’t just picked at random. Remember, authenticity is a core Millennial value!

Casper’s website provides a great example of how a company can solidify a bond with its customers by talking about their shared values:

Action Tips

• Take time to understand your company’s values and how they relate to Millennials’ values. Find the shared values and focus your messaging on them.
• Look at your brand with a critical eye to make sure none of your actions or messages are opposed to the core values listed above.

3. They Invest in Two-Way Relationships

Two-way relationships involve communication back and forth. Millennials appreciate a brand that not only talks, but is also willing to listen. It makes the brand more personable. This can take several forms — it can happen via social media, reviews on its website, or its own community page. Whatever form it takes, it’s an important signal to Millennials that the company indeed cares about them.

Boosted Boards takes this so seriously that they have placed a link to their Reddit community right in the header of their website:

Action Tips

• Figure out how you can have a two-way conversation with your customers, whether it’s in the comments on your blog, on social media, on Yelp, or in your own forum.
• Encourage dialogue! Ask your customers questions, or incite them to provide their thoughts/feedback about a topic.
• Take feedback from customers seriously and use it to improve your business when possible.

4. They Use Images Well (and Often)

Millennials are a very visual generation. Having grown up with television, computers, and the Internet, they have a strong inclination toward messages that are accompanied by visual storytelling. E-commerce merchants should never underestimate the power of using highly engaging and vivid imagery to catch and hold the attention of Millennials. Of course, it’s important for the images themselves to be high quality and to match the messaging for your brand as a whole.

A good example of using images to create an appealing online experience can be seen on Tradesy’s and Boosted Boards’ homepages:

Action Tips

• Don’t let images be an afterthought! Incorporate images into the fabric of your storytelling, so that they feel like an integral part of your identity.
• Create your own images that feature your products in ways the customer otherwise wouldn’t imagine (like the Boosted Boards image above).

5. They Embrace User Generated Content and Reviews

Millennials are very attuned to the opinions of their peers — even those who are strangers. That’s why companies who make it easy for customers to write reviews of their products are one step ahead when it comes to wooing Millennials.

Casper does a great job with this. Not only do they post customer reviews, but they ask each reviewer to note personal details about what kind of sleeper they are — such as whether they sleep on their back or on their side, whether they sleep alone or not, and how many hours they sleep each night. Seeing a positive review from someone like them helps prospective customers feel comfortable about making the purchase:

Action Tips

• Work with your team to make user-generated reviews a part of your website experience. Show reviews that are relevant to the product(s) your customer is considering purchasing.
• Try to think of ways to make the reviews helpful and unique, such as asking customers to rate specific aspects of the product.

6. They Make Product and Price Comparison Easy

Millennials like to compare products and prices, and they expect merchants to provide all the relevant information to help them do so. This plays into Millennials’ desire for their shopping experience to be quick and streamlined, as well as their desire for transparency. Merchants who understand this are more likely to persuade Millennials to make a purchase.

A good example is how both Boosted Boards and Tradesy provide an easy interface for browsing and comparing items of the same type, side by side:

Action Tips

• Where possible, use side-by-side product and price comparisons on your website.
• If you can, highlight key differences or similarities that help the customer evaluate their options while comparing two products.

7. They Prioritize Great Customer Support

Millennials expect companies to have a quick and helpful means of communication, especially when a problem arises. That means customer support is crucial. Having someone available to answer questions, through the channels that Millennials like to use, shows that a brand is accountable and that they care about customers. This can include a click-to-chat option on your homepage or checkout page and a dedicated social media presence to identify customer problems when they contact you on sites like Twitter or Facebook.

For example, Casper highlights their customer support, which is available 9 am to 8 pm, prominently on the front page of their website:

Action Tips

• Have a real person available to answer questions by email and phone in a timely manner, especially during business hours.
• Establish SLAs for quick response times, particularly on social media (when customers post about a problem or question concerning your brand).

Conclusion

There is a clear roadmap for e-commerce companies who want to win repeat visits from Millennial consumers. It takes a serious commitment and perhaps some creativity, but it can be done. Here are the keys to remember in order to make it happen:

• Let your company’s “personality” shine through! That means speaking in a way that’s relatable to Millennials, highlighting your core values, and creating a two-way dialogue between you and your customers.
• Provide ways for your customers to review your products, so that Millennials can get an unbiased peer opinion to help them make purchase decisions.
• Offer something of value with nothing expected in return. This could be anything from a discount for new users to a blog post that helps them solve a problem or answer a question.
• Make it easy for customers to compare prices and different products side by side. Millennials appreciate you helping them make an informed decision.
• Create a seamless customer experience across all platforms, and focus on simplifying the mobile shopping experience to further gain Millennials’ trust and loyalty.

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