Amazon's Prime Day sale kicks off the beginning of what could be a historical holiday shopping season. This year's season will start earlier and open up new challenges for businesses.
Shoppers are increasingly turning to online shopping during the pandemic, which accelerated ecommerce 70% by May, according to a Google report. Marketing firm Sidecar recently held a webinar citing 72% of holiday shoppers say they will do more shopping online this year. Experts say this brings newfound challenges for retailers, but could also have a silver lining.
Vic Drabicky, retail and digital marketing expert and founder and CEO of January Digital, said a longer shopping season could relieve some of the stress on business owners. "Many retailers banked so much on just that Black Friday, Cyber Monday, through the Christmas holiday to make money for the business," he told Business Insider. "They can spread it out over a longer timeframe, which allows them to react in a much healthier way."
Business Insider talked with experts and analyzed recent consumer reports to get a better picture of what the holiday shopping season might look like for businesses. We gathered these tips and insights into a comprehensive checklist to help your company prepare, even through the uncertainty.
1. Don't wait to figure out a plan B and plan C
Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is the founder of the retail industry publication Retail Minded. She said businesses will need to be proactive to be profitable this year, and advised they have multiple backup plans to meet customer demands and concerns. "Don't wait, figure it out," she said. "One of the key aspects of being proactive is understanding every touch point of your business."
2. Use traffic and awareness ads on Facebook early in the season
In a webinar, Sandie Shin, director of customer strategy at Sidecar, suggested using traffic and awareness ad campaigns on Facebook to cookie users. "This will be hugely beneficial as it can set the stage for more specific remarketing campaigns on high intent shoppers during those key shopping days," she said.
3. Use video in ads and social media campaigns
Video is one of the best ways to connect with customers online. Shin recommended using engaging visuals that display your products in use, gift-giving inspiration, and product sets. "These can be used to engage broader audience targets early in the season, and you can fill that funnel with new customers as you move through the holiday season," she said. "Use dynamic retargeting to reengage them even post-holiday season."
4. Be specific with ad and social copy
Mike Farrell, senior director of integrated digital strategy at Sidecar, said brands should always be specific in their ad copy to ensure you're conveying the most valuable aspects of your products. "Ad copy is always a critical way to improve the performance of your campaigns by qualifying customers before they click and you're incurring that cost," he said. "Additionally, be strategic with the wording of your promotions, and make sure that you're doing your best to convey perceived value and garner interest."
5. Drive a sense of urgency
Shin said shoppers will be placing orders early to get ahead of the stock challenges we saw at the beginning of the pandemic. With this in mind, it's important to communicate a sense of urgency in your marketing. Provide a counter for the number of days a sale will last or give shipping deadlines at the top of your website. "Message to your consumers early and often," Drabicky said.
6. Make sure your information is up to date
Businesses shouldn't neglect the basic information that can be vital to shoppers. For example, entrepreneurs should make sure their store hours and whether they're offering delivery or curbside pick-up is updated for the holiday season, said Michelle Klein, the vice president of global customer marketing at Facebook.
7. Find new ways to communicate with customers
Since many consumers are opting for online shopping during the pandemic, entrepreneurs must find new ways to engage with them, said Klein. For starters, business owners should use social media sites to share their founding story and information on promotions. Building that relationship with customers will be key for holiday marketing campaigns.
8. Ensure your digital infrastructure is strong
Vet your servers, fulfillment centers, and customer service to ensure they can handle increased traffic. "If you don't have the right infrastructure in place, to be able to handle that, then you're putting yourself at risk," Drabicky said.
9. Follow the 20% rule to identify any weaknesses
Drabicky gave a 20% rule for retailers to measure where they may need extra support. If any area of your business such as sales, traffic, or inquiries, were to increase by 20% ask yourself, what might break? Focus on bolstering those areas to prevent major complications in the midst of holiday peaks.
10. Be sure your operations and marketing teams are constantly communicating
Drabicky said the biggest disasters during the holiday season often happen when there's a lack of communication between these two essential teams. Establish regular meetings to communicate any planned promotions or sales and how they might affect fulfillment, shipping, and customer service.
11. Limit marketing of low-stock items or best-sellers
If you know you have low quantities of particular products, Drabicky suggested not to push those as much in your marketing to avoid selling out too quickly. Focus promoting other core products, bundles, and gift cards.
12. Ramp up customer service
An accelerated move to ecommerce comes with an increased demand for high-quality customer service. Especially as older generations pivot online, brands need to offer the same level of support that customers are used to in physical stores. "The brands that can figure that out for their customer base are set to do extremely well over the short and long term. But those that miss are going to feel it rather quickly," said Drabicky.
13. Come up with incentives to lure more thoughtful shoppers
Sidecar reported that 80% of shoppers plan to consolidate their shopping trips this year. "So instead of going to multiple places to shop, they will thoughtfully plan out exactly what they need and where they need to go in order to make fewer trips," Shin said. Reyhle said customers will gravitate to the places they feel incentivized to shop.
14. Communicate with existing vendors and introduce new vendors
Reyhle said it's important companies are upfront with their vendors about what might happen with delayed or missed inventory. If you're worried about having enough stock, it may be a good time to bring in new partnerships. She gave three steps to remember when looking for new vendor opportunities: reconsider, reevaluate, and readjust.
15. Be sensitive to consumers' concerns
After nearly eight months of uncertainty, consumers are going to have a much different outlook than they did a year ago. Some may have lower budgets for gift shopping, some may be comfortable going into physical stores, while others may want to load all their online shopping into a couple hours. Reyhle said it's important to meet your customers where they are — emotionally, financially, and geographically — and know that sentiments will vary between segments.
16. Offer 'buy for later' options
Be transparent with customers about timelines for high-demand and customized products. If there's a chance customers won't receive their orders in time for gift-giving season, Reyhle suggested making them aware through multiple messages on your website and social media. Give them the option to place their orders now and receive their shipments later. Offer flexible shipping and extra customer service support to answer their questions.
17. Leverage digital avenues and message the ease of use
Reyhle suggested taking inventory of the third-party apps and technology you use on your site. Add more where they can help support the busy season, and market the ones that could be a selling point for customers. For example, if you use payment installment programs like Klarna or Afterpay, advertise how customers can utilize these to take some pressure off their holiday budgets. Reyhle also suggested using CommentSold to ease selling through social media comments.
18. Utilize free resources from platforms like Square and Shopify
Take advantage of all the resources at your fingertips, Reyhle advised. Whether through big companies like Square and Shopify, or through your local SBA branches, there are many blogs, videos, and social media accounts providing entrepreneurs free tips, guides, and best practices.
19. Be exceptionally observant
Finally, Drabicky said this season will set precedents for the future of retail and ecommerce. He advised business owners to track the ups and downs, gather data, and listen to customer feedback. They may also need to adopt different methods for reporting. "Accept that data as not outliers, but as a change in what the norm is," he said. "Those brands that can do a good job in being observant will be the ones that will be able to react quickest, and then from that, get the biggest benefit."
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