If there is one time of the year that’s most stressful for those involved in ecommerce fulfilment, it’s the holiday season, November and December, and the Christmas rush in particular.
It’s a time when online shoppers spend around $150 billion on products of all kinds, whether it’s Christmas gifts, Cyber Monday deals, or purchasing new household products for the new year. In the UK alone the average adult is expected to spend £1,206.19 over the holiday season.
Since the holiday season is so integral to ecommerce fulfilment in general, ecommerce retailers and marketers should take extra steps to make sure that they are prepared for the Christmas rush.
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to ecommerce fulfilment for Christmas, such as stocking up the right number of products, marketing them well, and adding additional services that could help your store stand out.
Here are some tips that can help you when it comes to ecommerce preparation during this time.
Stock Smartly
If you hoping for a successful holiday season in the ecommerce space, you should be examining last year’s numbers and attempting to forecast the demand for this year. While it might be impossible to predict exact numbers, ecommerce retailers should stock up on as many key products as possible. You should also be transparent when it comes to communicating with suppliers and vendors about exactly what you’ll need and when you’ll need it by.
With the growth in online sales in 2020 so far, the most sensible way to approach your ecommerce fulfilment for the Christmas season is to assume that you will sell more products than ever, and check out the most recent stats on how Cyber Monday and Black Friday online sales exceeded expectations.
You might also want to consult market reports to figure out whether certain products may rise in popularity this year and consider keeping backup suppliers in line for any potential emergencies.
Of course, ecommerce fulfilment over the Christmas rush isn’t just about making sure that you have enough items stocked. It’s also about being able to adapt. If you notice that some products aren’t selling quickly enough, you should go out of your way to discount those items for the next sale to make sure that you can diminish any excess stock. Similarly, you should ensure that you are stocked up on last year’s favourites, if you expect that those products will sell well again.
Speed Testing and Server Testing
Ecommerce entrepreneurs and marketers should also prepare for more website traffic than ever before. What’s the point of putting marketing strategies in place if your ecommerce store ends up crashing because of increased traffic on Black Friday?
Make sure to test your website and server speeds and make sure that you are ready for the holiday season. If you are serious about ecommerce fulfilment for Christmas, you should be doing as much speed testing and server testing as possible prior to the uptick in traffic. Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool that allows you to test your website speed.
Consumers expect a website with quick load times, and there’s a good chance that they may begin looking elsewhere if your website takes even seconds longer to load than expected.
Roll Out the Right Promotions
Over the holiday season, online shoppers expect to see good deals online that they can pick up.
One of the great things about the holiday season is that there are so many different holidays that you can use for promotional purposes. For example, you might offer massive Thanksgiving discounts on kitchen and household appliances, to celebrate families gathering together. Of course, you can also implement other sales strategies, such as “Cyber Monday” sales and free shipping on “Free Shipping Day”, which is December 14th.
It’s important to recognise that it might be worth investing in the right influencers or copywriters for this promotional strategy. Also, highlight these holiday sales on the banners of your stores for additional visibility. Another smart promotional strategy would involve prominently featuring seasonal products, like Christmas ornaments or Chanukah-themed products.
Think About Outsourcing
There’s nothing wrong with admitting that meeting your regular standards for ecommerce fulfilment over the Christmas rush is just too much for your team to handle. Many ecommerce retailers find themselves at breaking point and beyond at this time of year.
In this case, a smart move would be to outsource the ecommerce fulfilment to make sure that you can handle a large order volume with the same high standards your customers have come to expect.
If you are considering outsourcing ecommerce fulfilment for Christmas, you should consider scheduling a call with our team. They can help you identify some incredible savings and growth opportunities to make sure your ecommerce fulfilment reaches the highest standards available.
Gift Wrapping
If your fulfilment is already struggling this time of year, then looking for additional workload might not seem like the greatest of ideas. But offering gift wrapping services is one simple way to make life easier for consumers during the ecommerce for fulfilment Christmas period.
It’s a great way for consumers to save time while also customising their gift in a unique way, and it might be the one factor that leads consumers to your ecommerce store instead of your competition.
It can take a lot of time to individually wrap gifts and add cards during ecommerce for fulfilment Christmas, and the fact that your ecommerce store can save them time is a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Of course, ecommerce retailers should do some research regarding what price point makes the most sense for your store and for consumers. For example, you might want to consider offering gift-wrapping as a service in a pop-up ad after a customer adds a product to a cart.
Brace for Returns
We all know that consumers spend billions of euros, dollars and pounds online during the holidays Christmas, but the truth is that there is always a tremendous amount of holiday returns.
Those involved in ecommerce fulfilment for Christmas should make sure that the return process is as seamless as possible, as it’s a great way to build long-term credibility. It’s natural for businesses to be frustrated with holiday returns, but it’s a cost of doing business during the robust holiday season.
You should also collect and survey customers regarding the reason for their return, as these insights can prove valuable for the next holiday season. Keep an eye on margins and figure out what factors may be contributing to increased returns on specific products. If you are able to offer a seamless return program, it could mean that those customers will shop with you again in the future.
If you need to improve your ecommerce fulfilment processes, if you need to save on costs or become more capable of growing your online sales, speak to our ecommerce fulfilment team today. They are standing by and happy to help you outline a pathway to outsourcing your ecommerce fulfilment. Call us now on +353 1 902 9510 or email us at enquires@parcelplanet.com.
