Huge discounts and campaigns mean more clicks and more customers. Amazon’s Prime Day has ballooned in just four years to a 48-hour online shopping bonanza, which this year raked in a whopping $7.9 billion and sold over 175 million products.
Then there’s Black Friday — which has grown from one day to one week of slashed prices. Customers are driven by value and retailers have bent over backwards in an attempt to cater to these important sales periods. However, e-Commerce retailers continue to leave money on the table and lose out on maximizing their profits over such critical periods of the year.
Amazon still does not have enough data in more than half of their products to make any additional product bundling suggestions at all — and this is from the biggest player on the market. Furthermore, most e-Commerce retailers miss out on the opportunity to dispatch products from the same location, or effectively target shoppers. Let’s explore four ways to help e-Commerce retailers to succeed over these key sales periods.
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Incentivize Customers To Buy
Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day are described as retail events with good reason. Last year, for example, Black Friday ranked as one of the busiest and highest spend days of the whole year. This presents a massive opportunity for retailers — and large retailers are leaving millions on the table.
The good news is that retailers of all sizes have the ability to implement smarter sale strategies to make the most of these vital periods. First, retailers must ensure they provide incentives for loyal customers to shop at busy times. Why? Because 77% of consumers say loyalty programs make them more likely to stay with brands.
Retail events like Black Friday usually force heavy competition on price. However, personalized offers that incentivize your loyal customers to shop the holiday season with your brand is a great way to ensure that these shoppers stay with you.
Key holiday periods should be seen by retailers as an opportunity to make these incentives even more appealing. Experiment with offers, products and free delivery — and see what works from one holiday to the next.
Direct To Door
Second, retailers need to start making the most of omnichannel offerings. Customer satisfaction extends to shipping, so consider offering free delivery or perhaps an in-store collect option for those yearning for immediate gratification on their spend if they make use of your online shopping offering.
The majority of e-Commerce retailers have expansive and impressive omnichannel offerings — so they are best advised to use them. The ongoing battle between Walmart and Amazon is expected to take fee-free delivery from add-on to feature.
In fact, the desire for instant access, round-the-clock accessibility and fast turnaround will be the norm by 2026, driven in particular by Millennials and Generation Z consumers. Therefore, holiday sales periods must be sure to boast delivery perks and quick turnaround in snagging those younger shoppers.
The Smart Bundle
Third, provide bundles that maximize the success of each campaign over the holiday season and beyond. Bundling one product with another complementary product is a sure way to increase overall margin and sales.
Pairing any laptop with its bag, or Microsoft Office, enhances the value of the laptop for the customer while maximizing margin and revenue on the transaction for the retailer. Recommendations like this bring serious value to e-Commerce retailers, with Amazon driving 35% of their sales through suggested product pairings.
However, it’s really important that retailers take the right approach and have their bundles created properly — something that even the big players struggle with. Amazon hit the headlines in September for all the wrong reasons by bundling a school backpack with a kitchen knife. It is nonsensical and potential offensive product bundlings like this that can have the opposite effect, so be sure to implement bundling technology that understands your products and doesn’t just rely on customer behavior.
It Isn’t Just One Day
Fourth, and finally, remember that longer sale periods are being adopted by competing retailers. Pacing out deals increases your chance to sell and reduces the risk of the retailer’s web site going down, preventing shoppers from buying online.
Key sales periods cannot be an afterthought for retailers. Competition is fierce as retailers battle to be the one-stop shop. Retailers of all sizes must be sure to focus on their niche, push the right products and incentivize the purchase — this is a surefire way to victory in the holiday battle for customers.
Anthony Ng Monica is the Founder and CEO of automated bundling service Swogo, the world’s first automated bundle solution for e-Commerce retailers to increase margin. Swogo served more than 1.5 billion cross-sell bundles in the first half of 2019.
