The launch, announced in September 2009 by the vice-president, Pablo Isla, is a challenge for a giant like Inditex. Will it be able to make the online channel profitable? Only time will tell. For the moment, although the store has only just been launched, there is still a long way to go and more than 1,200 orders have been received in the first few hours, I am content to recapitulate and present some lessons learned from this project, which are applicable to SME businesses and the self-employed:
1-.The most important thing is the customer: In my opinion, the purchasing process implemented in the store is more important than any other detail ( SEO , design,…). It is a simple circuit that allows you to choose products, buy them and receive them in any store at no cost; or at a private finance and banking email list address with a small additional charge (choose between express or normal). The management of returns is innovative, allowing the customer to choose between having a courier pick them up at home or processing them directly in a physical store, both at no cost and with the same deadlines as in the traditional channel. This makes it easier for customers to have a shopping experience online that is just as pleasant as in a physical Zara store . Similar but with nuances: there will be no queues, no waiting to pay at the checkout, there is always stock of products, it is open 24 hours a day… Yes, I know, the only thing you cannot do is try on clothes before buying.
2. On the Internet, not everything is SEO: Some people in the "Internet sector" have been very critical of the strategy followed in terms of the relevance of the brand in search engines. It is true that there were some failures, but nothing that can be left as a simple anecdote. Does anyone believe that at a time like the present for a brand like Zara, search engine positioning is so important ? This is a company that does not need to advertise on television or on billboards and that is a leader in its sector only by word of mouth. When someone wants to buy something on Zara.com, they go to the store directly, instead of searching for the name of a garment in search engines. The most important thing is that the purchasing process works well, generating a positive user experience, and not so much coming out first in search engines.
3- Competing in “parasite mode” is an option to consider: A competitor of Inditex launched its website the day before, taking advantage of the noise generated by the textile giant from Coruña. It seemed like a good idea, until the small company’s systems could not cope with the traffic at certain times of the day and they had to disconnect the online store (they have been displaying the message “Updating the server” for a day). It is like the case of the small fish that accompany the whales, it is a very good life, unless the heavy animal falls on you.
