Experts Need expert help? Don’t hesitate to talk.
As the holiday season is nearing, it is making people wonder how 2020’s holiday will be like and the only word that comes to mind is unique. The holiday season is that time of the year when consumers are looking to end the year on a good note by purchasing gifts for themselves or their friends & family. Whereas the retailers are looking to end the year on a positive note by bringing the sales lost during the rest of the year.
But the question is how to market pandemic driven consumers? How to boost sales during holidays in this pandemic stricken world? And these are some valid questions as the COVID-19 spread is not flatting, there is no vaccine for the same and there are social distancing, lockdown norms to consider.
The whole world is passing through an economic crisis due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. So, the typical Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales are no more a reality. But with all the cautions, online shopping will become mainstream for consumers. Bazaarvoice’s survey of 6200 retail merchant sites reveals that 85% of those surveyed think that online sales will rise in the holiday season 2020. And around 55% of respondents are investing more than the last year to upgrade the Ecommerce store to make it handle the traffic & order surge for the holidays.
But investing more to upgrade the design of your Ecommerce store is not the only solution, you need some tactics up in your sleeves to gear up for the upcoming holiday season. Thus, we have crafted a detailed guide with surefire tips to boost holiday sales in this Pandemic stricken world.
Surefire Tips to Boost Holiday Sales in Pandemic
As we have said that this year’s holiday season will be unique in itself and swarm pullers like Black Friday & Cyber Monday will show a tremendous increase in website traffic. But how you approach and market your products this holiday season can be a game-changer for your business.
Thus, the following tips will help you bring out the best of your Ecommerce marketing efforts and take your sales to next level.
1. Mobile Shopping Holds the Precedence:
Not optimizing your eCommerce store for something that holds more than half web traffic is not a smart move. Also, Statista reports that the sales from mobile commerce channels will increase at a rate of 25.4% to $2.91 trillion in 2020 compared to $2.32 trillion in 2019.
Because mobile provides convenience to shop online, it is becoming more streamlined than ever. Many companies have skipped the desktop phase entirely to target only smartphone and tablet holders due to the law infrastructure and financial constraints. And the sales around holidays will cover the major chunk from mobile devices for sure. Thus, optimize your website to run smoothly on mobile devices to handle the surge of traffic coming from mobile.
2. Create a Specific Holiday Section:
Shoppers are always in a jiffy, thus show them what special deals and discounts you are offering in a specifically designed holiday section. Make it easy to navigate and find on your store so that users don’t have to waste much time and find what special deals you offer.
Target.com’s holiday section is a perfect example of how you should approach the biggest holiday throughout the year. Their promotion strategy comes out to be more appealing and that too without being aggressive.
3. Follow Shopping Trends:
The ever-changing shopping habits of consumers have impacted the Ecommerce industry and due to COVID-19, it has drastically affected the shopping trends brands follow. Thus, this year Ecommerce brands will take more precedence for users to order products that make their home and lifestyle more comforting and convenient.
Buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS), curbside pickups and other omnichannel shipping options are hot and trending models retailers should adopt. BOPIS has seen 195% of the year-on-year increase. Also, consumers are going to click and collect and curbside pickups that allow them to purchase & get products immediately without any human contact.
4. Take Shopping Experience to Next Level:
User experience while shopping plays an important part to convert visitors into customers. And sometimes, it can help brands get orders for their high priced products offered at low prices by other competitors. To take your shoppers’ user experience to the next level offer free shipping, gift wrap option, and personalize their shopping.
Personalization is the key that impacts consumers very much. Cross-sell or up-sell products that complement the consumers’ current product. Also, make your checkout more streamlined than ever so that shoppers don’t have to go through the laborious process to buy products from your shop.
5. Think about Virtual World:
Due to the social distancing and lockdown norms are in place, people avoid going out to meet their family and friends. And instead, use virtual platforms like video calls and chats for connection. Thus, use that angle to promote your products. Think creatively and come up with a marketing campaign suitable for consumers to enjoy their holiday safe and sound in their homes along with your products.
6. Empathize and Instill Trust:
Remember that Pandemic is still upon every one of us and shoppers will be worried about everything from their finances to health during the 2020 holiday season. Gift buyers will worry about their order delivery, and many will feel distraught over the elections in the US.
Thus, the holiday season is crucial to instill the trust of your audience in your brand, and showing other customer testimonials, social proof, security badges, etc. gets the work done. Train your staff to empathize with your customers all of which will improve the online shopping experience of your customers and help you to reinforce your brand’s trustworthiness.
7. Heighten the Customer Service:
Holidays are shopping season for many of your customers and the more they shop the more issues or queries will come up in their minds. One way to solve all the queries is by providing FAQs covering major concerns regarding safety, delivery, returns, and everything else.
Still, if there is any doubt left, then allow them to contact your customer service team on various social handles, real-time chats, or by any other means possible. You can’t make all your customers happy but if most of them are, then around 90% of them will return to purchase on your store. Along with this try to reduce average response time, provide omnichannel customer experience, implement Chatbots to elevate your customer service.
8. Be Ready for More Returns:
This holiday shopping season you should expect more item returns than usual. Because people won’t go out shopping, thus will buy more goods online since they can’t see them or try them on, which later translates to more product returns. So, be prepared to handle the surge in traffic, orders, and returns as well. Also, providing an easy-to-return policy to customers makes them feel good about your brand and makes them stay loyal to you.
9. Introduce Your Staff:
There are plenty of customers who want to support people over businesses. Let your customers know the stories of your employees and make them aware that they are working even in these hard situations. Demonstrate that their purchases help your employees’ families as well. Many will come forward and empathize with this and make purchases from your eCommerce store.
Final Thoughts
Holidays unlock the craziness, fun, and eagerness of your customers. It makes them buy products without giving a second thought. However, the current scenario has changed the world we perceive. Boosting sales will be hard this time around because of the Pandemic. Yet, most shoppers are expected to overspend this year. And to make customers spend more on your brand, we have given 9 surefire tips.
If you need more insights and expert advice, then contact our eCommerce consultants. We will resolve all your doubts and help you in designing a holiday-ready eCommerce store to boost your sales and conversion rate even in this Pandemic stricken world.
