Studies show you have only 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression when someone visits your website–and your online store is no different.
A well-crafted storefront is the key to boosting sales, driving store traffic, engaging customers, influencing purchase decisions, and establishing brand recognition—everything related to your online farm’s success.
Read on to learn more about the importance of an appealing storefront and get our five best practices for enhancing your own Local Line store!
The time and effort you invest in your e-commerce store matters. Your storefront is your farm's first and last chance to convert that lead or prospect into a paying customer.
For example, if your store lacks imagery, product descriptions, and a method of organizing its products, customers will have a lacklustre experience and move on to another seller.
You might still get sales, but very little compared to a storefront with that extra wow factor. Don’t let your customers be the ones that got away and implement our five key practices for better sales conversions.
Incorporate more product images for each product listing to improve your customers' buying experience. This provides a clearer picture of the product in real life.
22% of online shoppers return products because the items look different from the online picture. Include more photos to reduce your return rate (i.e., issuing store credit to your customers as a way of compensating). It will address common customer questions and/or concerns (i.e., about size and appearance), leading to fewer customer inquiries and less buying confusion.
Here are some pointers on the extra photos you could include:
The example below shows a product page with a single image of blueberries. This is sufficient, but we know it can be better!
The following example is an improved version using a mixture of the tips mentioned above. It shows the blueberries at different angles and even includes a photo of how it can be used (i.e., baking).
Establish reliable delivery logistics for successful farm sales. So ensure your fulfillment options is well-established to influence your customer’s trust and satisfaction positively.
Local Line provides two types of fulfillment schedules. Here's a summary of each and how they can benefit you:
Deciding between flexible and scheduled fulfillment depends on your farm’s needs and requirements. If you prefer more control and customization, flexible delivery/pickup is the way to go. On the other hand, if you prefer a routine and set schedule, scheduled deliveries/pickup would be a better option.
Both options are great but we recommend choosing a fulfillment option that closely aligns with your capabilities and, most importantly, select an option you can consistently execute to ensure customer satisfaction.
How to add fulfillment options in Local Line
Local Line offers sellers the choice between delivery and pickup fulfillment. In your back office's Fulfillment tab, you can manage your Delivery Plans or Pick Up Locations. You can also assign your fulfillment options to multiple price lists if necessary.
To set up a delivery plan, navigate to Delivery Plans and click Add a Delivery Plan. Follow the prompts and click Save. To add a pick-up location, follow the same steps under the Pick Up Location tab.
Include SEO-focused product descriptions to boost your online store's visibility on search engines (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo). A well-written product description attracts potential customers and informs them more about your product. This lifts their purchasing confidence, ultimately leading to more farm sales. If you want to learn more about the power of SEO, check out our SEO Checklist for Farmers!
When creating SEO-focused product descriptions, consider the following best practices:
Here’s an example of a product description for blueberries. It’s short and sweet, but not very SEO-driven. Customers might see this and think your blueberries are like any other on the market.
And here's an SEO-driven description that can separate you from your business competitors, and rank you higher.
Use categories and product tags as it’s essential for organizing your products on your storefront. It allows customers to filter for specific items and helps you maintain a well-organized list of products on the back end.
Note that product tags and categories serve different purposes. Product tags describe specific attributes of each product (e.g., berries, root vegetables, beef). You can assign multiple tags to a product and use the same tags for different items. On the contrary, categories provide a structured way to group your products (e.g., fruit, vegetable, meat).
To add a category in Local Line, navigate to Price Lists in your back office and select the price list you want to edit. From there, click Edit Categories then + Add Categories, proceed with the prompts, and Save. Once the categories are created, select the product(s) you want to assign a category to with Move to Category.
To add a product tag, head to the Products tab. Click on the product you would like to edit, type the keyword tags into the Product Info section, and Save.
Your storefront's appearance is important as it contributes to your branding and online presence. Customize your storefront to not only draw in customers but also foster a connection between them and your brand and products.
Local Line offers various options to create and personalize your storefront. You can set a custom storefront title and message, toggle a grid or list view, create an About Us section, upload a banner, and/or choose a colour palette that reflects your brand. You also have the flexibility to change these settings on a price list level, so that you can customize your storefront for each of your customer segments.
The example below applies a banner, storefront title, welcome message, grid view of products, and custom colour palette. These simple yet easy tweaks help your storefront stand out from other e-commerce stores as it’s more visually appealing and personalized.
You now have a toolbox of best practices for your Local Line storefront. Now it’s time to use those tools and create a storefront that will shine and boost your sales conversions!
Local Line is here to support you as you build a high-quality and captivating storefront. Local Line is the all-in-one farm-to-fork sales platform that empowers farmers to sell online.
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