3 Tips to Increase Buyer Conversion from your Farm—Here’s the Data
Many Farmers have the impression that migrating their existing workflows online will result in a significant uptick in sales. That may or may not be true, depending on the current workflows your Farm has implemented to date, and your willingness to evolve online.
If your current Farm sales process involves a great deal of complexity in terms of product selection and uncertainty with respect to fulfillment, then moving your Farm online ‘as-is’ may actually create more work for you (the Farmer) and frustrate existing and potential Buyers (who expect point-and-click).
However, if you are a Farmer that is eager to delight Buyers—and willing to simplify purchasing and offer convenient fulfillment options—then moving your Farm store online can help you attract more Buyers and increase your average order size. It is not uncommon for Farms to enjoy a 20%+ increase in average order size online.
In 2019, online ecommerce exceeded $3.5 Trillion worldwide. Buyers’ expectations for purchasing online are set by billion-dollar brands. Regardless of how your Farm has conducted business offline, Buyers online are conditioned to expect simplicity, convenience and certainty.
Barn2Door is built for Farms, and built for Food. Unlike generic ecommerce platforms, Barn2Door is designed to support the unique nuances of Farmers and producers. Need multiple price lists for retail, wholesale and private buyers? No problem. Do you need to sell your product by variable weights or take deposits? We’ve got you covered. Need to offer a variety of fulfillment options—delivery, pick-up, shipping or “to be arranged”? Done. Want to offer subscriptions to your Farm products—paid upfront, or pay-as-you-go? Yes, with Barn2Door you can do that, too.
Flexibility, however, is a two-edged sword. While the goal is to streamline workflows and simplify online purchasing for convenience-driven Buyers, we sometimes see Farmers using software to try to accommodate clunky work-flows and a small group of “loud” customers.
While many Farmers feel beholden to “loud” Buyers who demand unlimited flexibility and countless choices, data proves that accommodating and promoting an online shopping experience that is complex, ‘needs explaining’ and is hard to manage will ultimately end in reduced sales. We’ve captured data from 1,000’s of Farms across all 50 states, and see what works and what doesn’t. After looking at millions of pageviews across all the online Farm Stores powered by Barn2Door, here are 3 data insights for your Farm to consider:
Fewer products are better. The top-performing Farmers have an average of only 63 products for sale. In fact, conversion (aka ‘sales’) goes down as you increase your product inventory. Farms with 5-9 bundle boxes convert sales at the highest rate. Simplify your pricing, packaging, and narrow your choices to increase orders.
Door-to-door delivery wins. Farmers offering door-to-door delivery have the highest rate of Buyer conversion versus those that do not. Buyers love local food, but they love convenience more. Farms that only offer “to be arranged” for pick-up have the lowest Buyer conversion rate—they make far less money than Farms offering convenient local delivery or pickup.
Subscriptions are in high demand. The top-performing Farmers offer some form of subscription to their Farm products—whether weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or all-year-long. Buyers subscribe to everything in their personal lives, your Farm products are no different. In fact, Farms offering subscriptions attract 2x more revenue online versus Farms that do not.
In the coronavirus era, when customers are eager for food security and want to avoid unnecessary crowds, Farms are winning by offering a subscription to a narrow set of products available for door-to-door delivery. Best of all, they also turn a profit.
If you’re a current Barn2Door customer, you can readily manage your inventory online, configure delivery zones and offer product subscriptions. If you have any questions, check out the Learn Center or contact your Account Manager.
If you’re not a Barn2Door customer, you can quickly learn how we have helped other Farms succeed online with best practices to meet Buyer expectations. Watch a 5-min video.