Online retailers need to be sure they have all their ducks in a row for Christmas, but those that want to maximise their profits should be using strategies that will work all year round, says Phil Rothwell, sales and marketing director of SellerDeck.
Christmas 2012 is likely to break existing records for online retail – if a recent survey from the IMRG is to be believed, 96% of online consumers plan to buy goods on the web this festive season, with 26% believing they’ll spend more this year than they did in the run-up to Christmas 2011.
This will be welcome news for many online retailers, who’ll be hoping to make up for a slow year with a bumper festive season.
Festive Cheer
Christmas comes but once a year, though, and what if 2013 is another bad year for the UK economy? Rather than rely on a big seasonal boost, online retailers need a plan that will see them through the whole 12-month cycle.
Dealing with increased website traffic and sales over the Christmas period is the first priority for every online retailer for whom the festive season is the busiest time of year. Questions such as ‘do we have sufficient levels of stock?’, and ‘what will be our biggest-selling products?’ will have vexed them for months.
And ensuring there’s enough bandwidth (both digital and physical) to deal with the rush will have already been carefully considered.
Of course, not all of the challenges are perennial. Increased online sales are often accompanied by a range of other issues, some of which will have to be considered for the first time. For instance, The Office of Fair Trading has recently issued a slap on the wrist to dozens of vendors who are in breach of Distance Selling Regulations, telling them to get their websites sorted before Christmas.
For those following ecommerce best practice there should be no need to worry, but others need to act. If you don’t have clear contact information or place unreasonable restrictions on refunds you could be subject to costly formal enforcement action from Trading Standards officers if the problems are not rectified.
It’s not just legislative pressure that can change year on year. The tastes and preferences of online buyers can be fickle. It’s important to understand how someone who arrives at the website can be converted into a paying customer.
Of course, there are always going to be visitors who are simply there to check prices, but you can maximise the chances of persuading them – and other browsers – to buy there and then by making the experience as good as possible.
Recent research carried out by SellerDeck shows that having a website that is easy to navigate and that looks professional are key factors in engaging online consumers, while making sure there is plenty of information about individual products – including customer feedback – is important too.
Meanwhile, technical issues such as images that don’t load and sparse product information could result in a lost sale.
Life after Christmas
It’s important to realise that customers don’t have to be just for Christmas, they can be for life. According to research SellerDeck undertook in October 2012, more than 80 per cent of online shoppers make purchases at least once a month. Generating repeat sales is essential to maximise the Christmas opportunity and there are a number of ways this can be done.
The best way of ensuring this happens is to make sure you give first time customers the best possible experience. At Christmas this takes on added significance, with late deliveries being catastrophic, firstly for the customer, whose gifts never arrive, and then for the merchant, whose reputation is left in tatters.
Assuming all goes well, one of the most obvious ways to hang on to a new customer is to offer them money off their next purchase. If the goods being sold will require renewal, new parts or servicing of some sort, these services can be promoted by emailing the customer in the months after Christmas.
The email address that a first-time customer has provided in the run-up to Christmas is worth its weight in gold. A well-focused marketing campaign can work wonders, but don’t spam your customers to death. Keep these offers relevant and simple and don’t be tempted to take a one-size-fits-all approach.
A customer that has bought a kettle, for example, offer them toasters, food processors, juicers or descaling kits. If they purchased razors, send them a discount voucher on future purchases of blades. Try to get inside their heads and be careful – getting this tactic wrong could consign the marketing emails permanently to the junk folder, or lead to requests to unsubscribe.
Of course, depending on the nature of the business, there are other seasonal peaks for online retailers. Those selling garden furniture or barbecues will see an increase in trade in the spring, for example. But the trick is to use these seasonal peaks to create business opportunities for the leaner times of year.
SellerDeck.co.uk
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