Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Chapter 2: Understanding the Differences between In-Store and Online Customers

In This Chapter

• Understanding what your customers want, online and offline
• Getting used to the demands of your online customer
• Creating online shopping habits

If you expect your in-store customers to be identical to your online customers, you may be setting yourself up for a nasty fall. Sure, the two types of customers have some similar characteristics. But the reasons why someone buys from your retail location can be quite different from how, why, and when that person chooses to shop with you online.

Perhaps you're wondering whether these differences really matter. The short answer is yes! Your job is to entice customers to buy. To do that, you have to get to know your customers — both online and offline. In this chapter, we cover the differences between offline and online customers and how you can accommodate both of them.