Retailers: Why your website is not working

The most in-demand area for e-commerce services right now is not among startups or digitally native brands, it’s retailers finally realising their digital presence is underperforming.

The minimum expectation? Your website should generate at least the same revenue as one of your physical stores. Even better, your online efforts should also amplify traffic and revenue in your shops.

But if your stores are struggling, moving online-only isn’t the answer. You need to leverage your physical presence to build trust online.

Your Shop is a Secret Weapon (But You're Not Using It)

Too often, I see retailers with real-world locations failing to showcase their physical presence online. It’s a massive trust signal for customers to know that a website has a physical space -an anchor for identity, quality, and support.

If your e-commerce site is to match (or exceed) a store’s performance, it needs the same level of investment - but not in rent, utilities, or staff. Instead, those resources need to be spent on digital-specific actions like content, performance ads, and visual assets.

The good news? You don’t need to hire a full-time team. Expert freelancers and specialists are accessible and affordable, and when structured properly, your digital operation doesn’t need to be daunting or expensive.

More good news – taking a positive approach to your digital presence will improve traffic and performance in your shops.

Physical and Digital: A Dream Team, Not a Rivalry

Many retailers act like physical and digital channels are in conflict. Store managers worry they won’t get acknowledgement for sending customers online, and the online manager doesn’t want customers going to the stores. But that’s absolutely the wrong perspective.

Physical and digital is the best combination available. I wish I’d figured out how to introduce a physical space to my online-only business, because the two together build something incredibly powerful.

Digital Isn’t Optional - It’s a Growth Lever

In today’s landscape, you simply can’t ignore the digital world. It's how your customers -especially your most loyal ones - discover, engage with, and come to love your brand.

Your shop already has a great foundation: a lease, a fit-out, amazing staff, maybe even a loyal customer base and a social media presence. But that’s where most stop. Why? Because the website isn’t pulling its weight and feels like a time-drain.

So it gets handed off-to someone on the team with some spare time, or a PR agency who offers to “do the digital stuff.” This romantic view - that your location,location, location and product will suffice - is a dangerous place to be.

Physical Space: Brand Engine, Not Sales Counter

It’s not about more mannequins and in store promotions. Maybe it’s about adding a sofa, a high-end coffee machine, or creating experiences for your loyal customers that showcase the brand.

Ask yourself how single-product direct-to-consumer brands thrive without a physical shop, how pop-ups drive traffic with no fixed location. They do it with crystal-clear messaging, community activation, and smart customer acquisition. If they can grow without a location, imagine what you can do with one.

It’s the classic case: the tourist restaurant in a beautiful square that serves bland food. They don’t have to try. But if they did, they'd be world-class.

Why Your Website Isn’t Performing (Yet)

E-commerce is harder, faster and less forgiving than retail. But it’s also richer in data and offers far more control - if you approach it correctly.

These are some of the things that need to be done differently:

1. Clarity of Messaging

No ambience, no friendly staff-just you and the screen. You’ve got 3 seconds. What’s your offer?

2. Customer Journey Optimisation

Online, getting 3% of visitors to convert is a win. Every step - from your ads to landing pages to checkout - needs design, testing, and improvement.

3. Visual Identity

Without a physical product to touch, customers rely on what they can see and read. Think videos, close-ups, detail shots – both lifestyle and studio assets.

4. Website Merchandising

Your homepage is your shop window. Don’t waste premium space on low-margin, slow-selling stock. Lead with your hero products and use them to drive awareness to your key categories.

5. Relentless Testing

Test everything - messaging, layouts, ads, emails. Change is relatively cheap and fast online. The winners are ruthless experimenters.

6. Data Collection

You need a robust strategy for collecting zero-party data (straight from your customers), and to integrate it with your physical store insights.

7. Marketing Platforms

Social media isn’t optional. Leverage your store, your staff, and your happy customers to create organic content. You already have a set to shoot from that’s full of your products.

8. Community Strategy

Your stores are community hubs. Use them to build digital loyalty, gather feedback, run referral programs, and generate content.

9. Retention & Reacquisition

From email flows to retargeting, from automated DMs to review requests-your ecosystem should work like a flywheel, bringing customers back again and again.

10. Dedicated Ecommerce Resource

Your web developer isn’t an e-commerce strategist. Just like your accountant isn’t your CFO. You need someone who understands the full ecosystem, manages providers, and keeps everything aligned - your ecommerce matador.

Build the Foundation, Then Build the Flywheel

You don’t need to be an expert in every area of e-commerce. No one is. But you do need to understand the roles, responsibilities, and reporting required to build a successful channel.

Would you expect to launch a new physical location with no budget? The same is true of a digital channel. Many retailers have been burned by agencies offering services that don’t deliver sustainable revenue, but e-commerce is about choreographing many different dancers to the same tune; it’s a bonfire, not a firework show.

Focus on achievable results that teach you what works-and what doesn’t. Knowing what to prioritise on out of the hundreds of different services and offers is most of the battle, staying focused and understanding the micro-results is critical to making the right decisions.

Physical space still matters more than ever. But how it delivers customer service, brand value, and loyalty is changing-fast. Leveraging digital expertise to accelerate growth is now a requirement, not a nice-to-have.