24/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 24/07/2024 21:09
Although it might seem like summer just started, the holidays are right around the corner, and this time of year always brings a little extra hustle and bustle.
In 2023, online holiday sales rose by 4.9%from the previous year. Web sales alone accounted for $221.1 billionin November and December, an increase from $211.7 billion in 2022.
With the unmatched convenience of online shopping, it's no surprise that more consumers than ever are going online for their holiday shopping needs - according to Fortunly, more than 60% of shoppers in the U.S. prefer to shop for gifts online. Even among those who still prefer to shop brick-and-mortar, 60% will conduct online research before making a purchase.
The rise of online shopping has also meant an increase in competition in e-commerce. In a world where over 30% of Americansplanned to purchase half to three-quarters of their holiday gifts from Amazon in 2022, how do smaller D2C e-commerce brands compete?
Nogin is here to help. From the essential elements of your site, such as product listing pages, to comprehensive marketing strategies and more, we'll discuss key considerations for your business as you gear up for the holiday season.
Globally, holiday retail is a trillion-dollar business - and we don't want you to miss out on these major opportunities to grow your slice of the pie. Here are just a few things you can start thinking about to get ahead of the game.
Around the holidays, physical stores create engaging displays, themed bundles, and sales calendars to excite customers, involving detailed preparation months in advance. Since many consumers shop online, e-commerce stores should plan early to create a similarly engaging holiday atmosphere.
The key is to start planning as soon as possible. If you don't have one already, create a calendar of all the important upcoming e-commerce events you'd like to capitalize on - i.e. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and even Boxing Day. Once you know the dates of these events, work backwards to create marketing materials like emails and targeted ads that will get your current and future customers excited about what's to come.
Whether you have a revenue benchmark you'd like to hit or a specific volume of sales that will help your store expand, figure out what it is you'd like to accomplish as a business this holiday season and then lay out steps to achieve those goals. Spend some time clearly outlining key performance indicators (KPIs) so that you can communicate with your sales and marketing teams to ensure everyone is on the same page before Mariah Carey sings her first note.
Spend time defining KPIs so that your sales and marketing teams are aligned and ready before the holiday rush. Here are some important KPIs to start with:
These metrics will help you determine the success of your holiday campaigns and promotions so that you can adjust for an even better season next year. Ensure you have a system to track each KPI and record the data for future reference.
One reason Amazon wins the holidays every yearis that it invests billions of dollars yearly into its business through research and development. R&D helps brands get into the minds of their ideal target customers and guides strategies to entice them to become loyal, repeat shoppers.
When youinvest in R&D, you understand your ideal customer better and are better equipped to personalize their e-commerce experience. But what if you don't have a massive budget (or the time) to devote to research and test campaigns?
It's time to research the competition through your customers' eyes.
If you're not already subscribed to your competitors' newsletters and mailing lists, it's time to subscribe and follow their social media. Even if you don't have direct competitors for your product or service, you can look to similar-size brands and even e-commerce giants like Amazon or Walmart for inspiration.
At the very least, you'll gain some inspiration for your brand. But you'll also start to catch on to what resonates with customers and what doesn't, and you can begin to apply these concepts to your own current and future shoppers.
One key mistake many retailers make is not preparing all aspects of their business for the busiest season of the year. Since your site is your storefront as a D2C e-commerce retailer, you want to ensure that the possibility of glacial load times or going offline due to heavy traffic is as low as possible.
Although it's been years since the height of inventory issues during the pandemic, the words "supply chain" still send a shiver down the spines of many e-commerce workers.
No matter the conditions of the global market, there will always be challenges in order fulfillment, and logistics will always be a vital component of e-commerce. After all, successful logistics can lead to more satisfied customers, improved trust in your brand, and more customer loyalty.
Around the holidays, supply chain issuesoften rear their heads. With the subsequent significant increase in consumer demand, if your brand doesn't have a plan for keeping things stocked and shipping out on time, you might find yourself with lost sales and disappointed customers.
Now is a good time to audit your inventory and logistics processes, stocking up on high-demand items ahead of time so that you can keep doing business as usual during the holiday peak. Here's a checklist for Inventory and Logistics Preparation:
By proactively addressing potential supply chain challenges and ensuring your inventory is well-stocked and managed, you can maintain smooth operations during the holiday season. This preparation will help you meet increased consumer demand, avoid lost sales, and keep your customers satisfied and loyal.
Publishing a gift guide for customers to use as they shop your site is a great way to capitalize on fun, original contentthat will engage new and returning customers alike.
Creating this content months before you'll need it gives you more time to deliver a gift guide that will land with your target audience, and you won't be scrambling once it's time to hit publish.
Consider using a catchy, descriptive title like "What to Get the 5 Shoe Fanatics in Your Life" or "Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything."
You can create guides for every demographic grouping within your target audience, including age groups, genders, activity types, and so on.
Then, share your guides on social media and your site, and make shopping as easy as clicking a button for your customers. Plus, take advantage of opportunities to cross-sell or up-sell as customers purchase gifts.
The holidays are the prime time for e-commerce retailers to hone in on how they present their products and who they present them to.
If not already, merchandising and personalizationshould be in your e-commerce vocabulary.
Quality merchandising aims to present and promote your online store's products to influence customers' shopping decisions and enhance their overall experience buying from your site. This is where you pay attention to how your products or services are categorized, displayed, and promoted.
User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are part of e-commerce merchandising strategy. For example, you'll want to have:
When you have a solid merchandising strategy in place, you can address your customers' interest in the product you offer by providing a solution that meets their needs.
This is also where personalization comes into play. In the era of targeted ads, a personalized shopping experience matters to your customers - according to Salesforce research, 66% of customers expect companies to anticipate their unique needs, and 52% expect every offer they receive to be personalized.
For more on how to leverage customer data to create a personalized experience that will help you grow your business, check out the Top 5 E-commerce Personalization Strategies to Maximize Conversions.
Whether your customers find you through Twitter, Instagram or a Google ad, you want them to have a positive experience with your brand from start to finish.
A great customer service experience is key here. When you can provide responsive, personable and helpful service to your customers, they're more likely to leave with a positive impression of your business.
You might consider implementing a customer service automation tool and/or a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on your site to help lighten the load on your service team.
You'll also want to communicate a clear shipping and returns policy to your customers. Consider offering free shipping and returns on big sales days or after customers reach a certain purchase volume.
Logistics might seem like just one piece of the puzzle, but they can really impact customer satisfaction-data shows that 92% of consumersare more likely to shop with a retailer again if the returns process is easy.
Amid the heavy competition that e-commerce retailers like you face during the holiday season, creating a positive customer experience will win you major brownie points and positively impact your holiday KPIs.
You can capitalize on the holiday season by letting Nogin do all the heavy lifting. When you work with us, you'll gain access to:
With Nogin, you'll gain the advanced tech, team and infrastructure you need to compete with Amazon and big retail, de-risk your P&L and drive superior growth. Best of all, we'll free your team to focus on your brand while we handle the complex e-commerce stuff - all with no upfront cost to you.
Schedule a consultationwith one of our Nogin experts today and discover how our Intelligent Commerce solutions can revolutionize your D2C e-commerce business.