Five lessons for SMEs from Bonds’ new online store

It’s taken awhile but Pacific Brands has finally pushed its Bonds brand into an online store, with the company launching a new retail website last night as it attempts to make up for a disappointing year in sales.

Pacific Brands has plenty of online experience with its other brands, but it will be the first time the iconic Bonds brand has stepped into a dedicated online store. But as PacBrands’ head of underwear and hosiery Colette Garnsey explains, it’s a step that consumers have demanded.

“Customers expect us to be online, and we have to be relevant,” she told the Australian Financial Review.

“That is the way brands have evolved globally. Brand positioning is a key focus for the underwear group. Product innovation is a big focus for us.”

Although sales have been declining, Bonds’ strategy is an impressive one as it attempts to make up for lost revenue with its own offering. The company’s new website is clean, fast, and offers plenty of product for consumers to stock up.

The launch of the store comes as a number of large companies attempt to open new stores this year, including Harvey Norman and David Jones. So far, those efforts have mostly landed flat.

It’s early days yet, but here are five lessons SMEs can take away from Bonds’ new online store.

Keep the stock flowing

One of the key complaints facing a lot of local online retailers is that they simply don’t have enough stock. This pushes potential buyers overseas. Bonds has taken note of this, and has made sure its store is filled to the brim with stock in all shapes, sizes and colours.

Of course, this is easy for Bonds because it’s primarily a wholesaler. But it’s a great lesson for other SMEs to make sure your stock is filled at all times. If a Bonds customer doesn’t find what they want in store, they’ll have the reassurance they can buy it online – your customers need to have the same sort of trust in your offering.

“The biggest issue that the customers talk about is the inability to find their size in the style and colour they want,” Garnsey told the AFR.

Bonds has responded to customer demand online – other businesses should do likewise.

Make sure the shipping is free… forever

Most people don’t want to pay for shipping. After being ripped off for too many years, customers are fed up with having to pay outrageous prices for shipping costs. Many retailers have responded to this, such as shoes retailer StyleTread, which has eliminated shipping altogether – and Bonds has followed suit.

The Bonds store actually has two shipping options: you can receive your items free of charge, and receive them in two to five working days, or you can pay $25 and have them within one to two working days.

Bonds says on the website that free shipping is only available as a “special launch offer”. However, it should seriously consider extending that offer and one-upping the competition in the process –and so should other businesses.

Emphasise the social networks

Having a presence on social media is as important as having a website these days, and Bonds has taken the right step of putting that element of its business front and centre. On the front page of its website it has a bright and bold link to its Facebook page, telling visitors to “like” its fan page. A link to its Twitter page is also down the bottom of the screen as well.

Keeping an active social media presence is critical for any online retailer. But you shouldn’t just rely on fostering discussion and keeping your social media pages separate – you need to put them front and centre on your site, just as Bonds has done.

Diversify the content

A website needs to feel alive. If content is constantly being updated, visitors feel like the site has a team working behind it and will feel confident coming back because they know they’ll always get something new.

The Bonds website greets customers with a large picture that takes up a significant amount of screen size. This changes to other pictures showing off deals and promotions. They’re simple, elegant and would have barely taken any time at all to design.

Keep your website dynamic. Having a flicker for different photos showing off deals and offers keeps the customer feeling as if they are in the know and will ensure they come back again.

Emphasise the multimedia

Video is becoming one of the most popular tools used by online stores to keep their customers engaged and coming back for more – and Bonds is no exception.

On its website the company has two videos shown down the bottom of the front page, with various commercials and videos showing off the company’s products, also featuring a link to the brand’s YouTube page.

Customers respond to videos in a way they don’t respond to pictures. If you can offer your users something funny, interesting, or clever, they’ll enjoy it, remember it, and come back again. Keeping those videos changing ensures your website is never boring.

It doesn’t take much effort. Showing off different products and how they work, such as the videos used on the OzHut websites, are enough to keep many customers satisfied.