Last Updated on September 1, 2023 by David
Guest post by Reese McKnight
You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that the 2020 festive season is going to look very different from previous years. It’s highly likely that most people will do their shopping — both groceries and gifts — online rather than heading to brick-and-mortar stores. Spending wisely will also be a high priority for shoppers, many of whom have suffered financially because of lockdowns and other restrictions this year.
This means the preparation for the 2020 holiday season should look a little different for your company, too. If you’re in the retail space, ecommerce should be a major focus.
If you’re uncertain just how important ecommerce truly is, all you need to do is look at the numbers. The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce reported that retail ecommerce sales in Q2 of 2020 were up by 31.8% in Q1 and 44.5% in Q2 of 2019. This is an enormous jump and as the festive season approaches, it’s only set to increase.
With just a few months to go, now is the time to get creative to ensure your business has its most successful holiday season ever. Follow these simple tips to boost sales and end 2020 on a high note:
Start Scaling Up Now
They say forewarned is forearmed, so there’s no reason your online operation shouldn’t be ready for an influx of holiday shoppers.
Scaling up to meet the demand can be a tricky business, especially if you’re rushing to meet demand as it increases. It’s far better to ensure that you have the correct support in place before the orders pour in.
Begin by ensuring your website is up for the task and that the servers can handle an increase in traffic. Go through the shopping process and look for where potential bottlenecks could occur. The biggest problem areas are likely to be in your payment gateway and inventory system. It’s essential that shoppers can pay for their products easily and securely, and that your inventory system auto-updates as items are sold.
Problems paying and a lack of stock control can cost you dearly at any stage. But during the festive season, they’re even more important, as shoppers will want a smooth and seamless experience — or they’ll go elsewhere.
The next step is to consider how you stay stocked up, the packaging process for orders placed, and your delivery methods. These areas may require extra manpower as sales increase.
Get Your Promotions Running Sooner Rather Than Later
The official holiday season doesn’t really kick off until Black Friday in the retail world. However, you can start preparing long in advance and start reminding people about the deals that you plan to run.
Many of the bigger retail chains already started their first sales for the holiday season back in September. There’s no reason you can’t follow their lead.
It’s all about attracting attention now so you’re not fighting for attention amongst all the holiday madness. You may have to put more into your marketing upfront, but in the digital world that means you’ll be paying less for your adverts in the long run.
Services like Google Ads and social media promotions are charged based on the competition and per click or per view. If you’re marketing now, there will be less competition, equaling lower costs.
Stop Thinking About Traditional Seasons
In a year when travel and usual seasonal activities have been cancelled — or the very least curtailed — there’s no need for you to wait for the holiday season to “officially” start. For example, in 2020, back to school didn’t mean much at the end of the summer. Most children had stayed home for the vacation — and are still at home taking classes online.
The pandemic forced our lifestyles to change, and shopping habits have been affected by the upheaval. Events that previously marked time have become less prevalent, and you can use this to your advantage.
Right now is an excellent time to analyze what you sell and work out if there’s a different angle you could use for promotions. This year, home gym gear and bread makers saw massive spikes in sales, as did crafting supplies and home office equipment. Comfortable clothing and athletic gear also enjoyed a bumper year in sales as an increasing number of people stayed home and didn’t need to dress up as much.
Your social media, email, or SMS marketing strategy may need to change to tie in with the current climate. You can throw your traditional seasonal ideas out the window. Focus instead on what suits people’s current lifestyles and demands — and how you can provide a product or service that meets them.
Provide Your Customer With Options
Just because people are turning to online sales doesn’t mean that they don’t want convenience and a wealth of options. In the time of the coronavirus, thinking about how you can go contactless and still offer options and convenience is key.
On the other hand, customers will also look at how they can save money when doing their holiday shopping.
A great option to offer customers is a click-and-collect service, also known as buy-online-pickup-in-store. This is beneficial to both your business and the customer. You don’t have to worry about the logistics of delivery, and they can save on added shipping costs.
To ensure that this transaction remains contactless, you can provide certain times for curbside collections. The customer doesn’t have to enter a shop or warehouse but can still come to you to get their order fulfilled.
Final Thoughts
This year has been a struggle for many, and a huge number of new challenges have arisen. However, there’s no reason your business needs to suffer through the holiday season.
With proper planning and strategic implementation of new ideas, you can meet customers’ needs and have a highly profitable end to 2020.
The key is to scale up, kicking off marketing campaigns, refining processes and testing systems so you’re ready when the rush arrives.
About Re:amaze
Re:amaze is a modern helpdesk and customer messaging platform designed to help eCommerce businesses boost customer happiness and revenue. Re:amaze allows all customer-oriented teams to work together in a shared inbox through email, social, SMS, voice, and live chat. Re:amaze also comes packaged with automated messaging and chatbots so eCommerce brands can succeed at the front lines of conversational commerce.
About Reese
Reese is a sales veteran and editor over at JookSMS, a messaging platform for teams and customers. Hailing from Royersford, Pennsylvania, she got her start working as a sales assistant in local advertising. Her favorite pastime is trying out new cuisines and board games.