Australian eCommerce market is likely heading towards the biggest peak in online shopping history.
Due to COVID-19, the last 7 months have seen sustained eCommerce growth that is comparable to the 2019 pre-Christmas peak.
This year there are more households shopping online than ever before. As well as more regular and frequent shoppers. Both new and regular households have shopped over 1.7 times more than in 2019.
Australia Post Consumer Survey September 2020 revealed that the majority of shoppers (58%) will do most of their online Christmas shopping either in November or in the first week of December. This is very timely with two of the biggest online shopping events being Black Friday and Cyber Monday falling on Friday 27 and Monday 30 November this year.
From a digital marketing perspective, this offers businesses an opportunity to prepare their online store and digital marketing campaigns to take advantage of this increased traffic.
Be willing to try something new as the competition between brands will be intense to not only win over new customers but also retain their loyalty.
Online Store Promotional Tactics
Here are some strategic tactics you can use to spice up your Christmas promotions and ensure your online store is ready for the big shopping rush.
Consider your discount strategy
Discounts and promotions are not appropriate for all brands however for some, it can be a fantastic way to entice more potential buyers to your site and to spend more in one transaction.
Understanding your profit margin and your Cost of Sale boundary is crucial for a truly successful discount or promotion campaign – so we do recommend to carefully consider whether this is a viable option for your eCommerce business.
As the competition amongst brands to discount their stock will be intense, particularly around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day sale events, it’s important to have a well thought out promotion strategy that won’t impact your bottom line. It is a fine balance!
Here are a few strategic discount and promotional tactics that don’t have to break the budget:
1 / Special discount for orders over a certain spend amount. For example, if a shopper spends $200 they can get 20% off the total at checkout; if they spend $300 they can get 30% off the total at checkout and so on.
2 / Special gift packs or promotional packs, to make Christmas shopping (and wrapping) a breeze.
3 / Referral discount to encourage shoppers to share your site with friends and family.
4 / Partner with a brand that has a complementary product and a similar audience to yours and do a co-branded gift pack. This will increase awareness of both brands to a wider, yet relevant audience and create opportunities for more sales!
Finding a sustainable promotional strategy for your store can help you stand out from the rest and increase your conversion rate drastically.
Offer an express shipping option
With free shipping being a ‘standard’ delivery option brands use to attract and retain their customers, it is important to also offer express delivery options (same day and next day delivery) to ensure you remain competitive and meet expectations.
Most consumers expect to pay a fee for express shipping, however if you really want to delight your customers this Christmas you could potentially offer it for free if they spend over a certain threshold in one transaction.
Engage and convert using social media
There are a plethora of opportunities to drive traffic from your social media accounts to your website to purchase, without having to invest into paid advertising.
One way is to use high engagement media like video via Reels or IGTV to tell a story about your product or service and why it would be a great Christmas gift. You can be as creative as you like, just make sure you keep your audience at the forefront and really understand what they are motivated by when it comes to your product or service.
If you are using social media ads to drive traffic to your website, also invest into building a landing page with clear instructions on how to purchase (and ship) the product/service. Make the process quick and simple!
Keep customer service at the forefront
Ensure you have sufficient resources and are ready to quickly respond to any questions your customers might have in regards to your product/service, shipping, returns, discounting codes etc. If done right, this is one way to delight your customers and ensure they return to your online store!
Test your website’s performance
Can your website handle the traffic and offer a great shopping experience?
If your website’s page loading speed takes longer than 2 seconds, shoppers are highly likely to abandon the page and the website. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to test the speed. It reports on the performance of a page on both mobile and desktop devices, and provides suggestions on how that page may be improved.
At the same time check that your website is clearly leading your shoppers on a journey to purchase. And that the checkout process is quick and painless. Track your customer reviews, feedback and queries to ensure they are getting the best shopping experience possible, and if there is room for improvement act on it quickly.
Refresh and automate your email marketing strategy
Email marketing is one of the most useful and low-cost strategies for converting your website traffic into customers.
Here a few email automations we think every eCommerce store should have:
1 / New contact automation – Welcome emails enticing users who have signed up for a special offer or discount, to become a paying customer.
2 / Abandoned cart automation – Sending a reminder or small discount coupon can encourage shoppers to convert after they have left items in their cart.
3 / Existing customer automation – Used to engage existing and previous customers to come back and purchase again.
So there you have it – a few strategies on how to get your online store ready for the Christmas shopping rush! If you have any questions or need help in executing these for your business reach out to our Victor & Flo team.
We will deep-dive into your goals, target audience and competitive edge, to develop and execute a holistic digital marketing strategy that will make a lasting impact in your industry and to your bottom line.