If you’re just dipping your toes in the world of getting your pharmacy online, gearing up to manage delivering online orders can feel like it’s way, way in the future, especially for a small community pharmacy. So, why would you bother having your products displayed on your website? Here’s why you might be missing the secret sauce your competition is cottoning on to.
(more…)We love a good news story here at Storbie, especially when it’s a bit of fun too. We chat to Tauranga pharmacy owner and self-proclaimed dad joke king, Simon Hodgson, about how he inadvertently sparked a flurry of demand for Bureta Pharmacy’s Man Flu Relief after a tongue-in-cheek Facebook post went viral.
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Retailers whose business and products are more visible online attract more customers into their store. It’s not just about online sales.
88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours.
How can retailers be visible online in ways that support physical retail? (more…)
Storbie is passionate about people finding and buying local products and services. In our Shop Local article series, we talk to retailers, town centre managers and passionate people about what makes their local area unique and how they’re spreading the word within and beyond their community.
Consumers want to purchase locally-made goods and support local businesses, and they are doing more and more product research online and on-the-go before stepping in store to purchase. These are two trends that business associations can take advantage of in their marketing, says Sandy Turner, General Manager of the Hamilton Central Business Association (HCBA). Turner says digital channels are a vital way to get these products in front of consumers and influence buyer behaviour. She explains how HCBA’s marketing efforts combine digital and traditional methods and why the new Hamilton Central online marketplace website is a key part of the Hamilton digital strategy.
A common perception is that online is just a sales channel that detracts from brick-and-mortar sales, however research shows that digital interactions in fact have a huge influence on in store sales (called web-influenced sales) and buying behaviour. (more…)
Why do competing businesses the world over cluster together in the same place? Go to New York’s Fifth Avenue and you’ll find Saks, Abercrombie & Fitch and Gucci all vying for your attention. Head down to the waterfront in Auckland and you’ll find a line-up of restaurants complete with an eager maître d’ trying to entice you in.
Less glamorous but equally relevant, if you are looking to tile your bathroom in Wellington, you’ll head down to the ‘tile mile’ at the bottom of Ngaio Gorge where you’ll find a whole swag of tiling businesses parked right next to each other.
The reason for this is that when competing or complementary businesses band together in a cluster, whether that be Fifth Avenue, the Auckland Waterfront or even the tongue-in-cheek ‘tile mile’, everyone benefits from increased sales. The best of these clusters become brands in their own right. (more…)
There is an increasing need for pharmacies to build an online presence, with a particular focus on ensuring a superior mobile experience, says Shane Bartle, CEO of ecommerce company Storbie.
If pharmacies do not have an adequate online presence, they could be missing out on sales through their physical store.
“People think an online store is just another channel to make money. Don’t think of it that way – think of it as much more integrated to the buying habits of your customers.”
A survey found 69% of smartphone owners would use their device for shopping while on holiday, including 62% using their phone to find store locations and 50% getting product information, he says.
Bartle was a speaker at the 2015 Pharmacy Business Network (PBN) and will be speaking at PBN again in 2017, drawing on his expertise and knowledge in the field of ecommerce and multi-channel retail to inform pharmacy owners and managers as to the importance of having an online presence.
His insights are informed by what is happening in the consumer health market, looking at how it is changing and how pharmacies can adapt in order to attract and retain the modern consumer. (more…)
