Though online sales are growing at a rapid speed, retailers still rule the roost when it comes to holiday sales at least for now. Interestingly, 44%<\/a> of offline sales in 2017 across 30 top retail categories were \u201cdigital-influenced sales\u201d\u2014 preplanned sales fueled by online market research. Come the 2018 holiday season, whether you are a brick-and-mortar retail establishment or an e-commerce retailer \u2013 you need to have a strong digital presence to drive sales forward.<\/p>\n In a digitally influenced economy, catering directly to customers needs taking into account their preferences, speed of delivery, buying capacity and more is the way forward. Lets us look at a few strategies that can boost your revenue generation capacity this holiday season.<\/p>\n \u201cFailing to plan is planning to fail\u201d \u2013 a tad clich\u00e9d but yet bears truth especially if you are looking to make the most of the small window of opportunity that can fetch you great gains for a little extra effort.<\/p>\n You need to devise a strategy that would give you that \u201cclarity of vision\u201d once shopping season commences.<\/p>\n For many E-commerce businesses, search engine optimization<\/a> is still not the top priority leading up to the holiday season. A survey conducted by Ecwid<\/a> among e-commerce business owners revealed that only 34% use SEO to promote their business online. This can be a grave mistake.<\/p>\n Why is SEO so important? Online shopping research begins with search engines – it may lead to a sale or it may wither down to just a price comparison, but the important thing to remember is that most customer journeys begin through search engines.<\/p>\n SEO enables customers to discover a product online, make relevant comparisons and share with friends or relatives \u2013 while increasing your online reputation.<\/p>\n Here a few note-worthy SEO practices you might like to take a look at:<\/p>\n Social media ads and SEO can effectively drive customers into your website \u2013 significantly increasing traffic. Now you need to convert this surge of visitors to potential buyers via conversion rate optimization.<\/p>\n Understanding customer touch points and resolving them effectively to ease the customer journey is the keys to unlocking great conversion rates, in the process – help your website achieve its goal.<\/p>\n Keys drivers for an effective conversion rate strategy:<\/p>\n According to a Salesforce<\/a> prediction, mobiles will deliver 68% of all e-commerce traffic in the coming season, which reflects 19 percent year-over-year growth.<\/p>\n Mobiles phones are set to disrupt the way we purchase online especially\u00a0with its spiraling usage which is said to touch the five billion mark by 2019, thanks to a new generation of tech-savvy users who would prefer to remotely shop online at their leisure rather than endure the physical stress of visiting a retail outlet.<\/p>\n What makes a mobile app<\/a> tick?<\/p>\n The holidays are a season of renewed benevolence; try to share some of it with the customers. Add-ons don\u2019t necessarily have to come free but it could be an innovative novelty that might create \u201cthat wow factor\u201d which could resonate with your audience over a period of time right till the next season.<\/p>\n Providing additional benefits stems from understanding customer pain-points. You can perhaps provide a swift return or exchange policy, add innovative gift wraps or the more traditional seasonal discounts and much more.<\/p>\n Sometimes promotions or offers can be tuned to the same lyric played over and over again until \u201cfamiliarity breeds contempt\u201d – so think out-of-the-box, get an inspired idea that is within your limitations, who knows it could turn out to be the \u201crage of the season\u201d.<\/p>\n Make it a foremost rule as nothing vexes customers more than a delayed shipment. According to a Business Insider report<\/a>, the top reasons for customers to abandon their shopping carts are due to the high pricing.<\/p>\n Approximately $4 trillion<\/a> worth of merchandise will be abandoned in online shopping carts this year. Though most retailers may not be able to compete with giants like Amazon on price and delivery time, you could lure early or select customers through free shipment or 1-day delivery \u2013 a risk that is worth the reward. Companies like Deliv<\/a> and Dropoff have relatively leveled the playing field by providing quick delivery for smaller retailers.<\/p>\n The holiday season is all about timing. You won\u2019t want to deliver a Halloween costume right after it\u2019s over; it diminishes its value and can tarnish the reputation of your firm.<\/p>\n Your business shouldn\u2019t lay dormant after the holiday ends. Use the season as an opportunity to create an impact in establishing your brand. Evaluate your performance and enhance your back-end and front-end infrastructure according to impact. Take stock of your inventory, note which products were most popular amongst which customers sorted according to their age, demographics, and preference. Don’t shy away from incorporating emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Chatbots, voice assistants, etc to automate your business processes, gain valuable customer insights that are measurable and to improve customer experience.<\/p>\n According to Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon, \u201cIf you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n Customers drive sales. After all the research, purchase of inventory, sales, and digital strategy; it all comes down to one simple question \u2013 Can your e-commerce strategy stir-up positive vibe this holiday season?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.niyati.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/online-shopping.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStay ahead of the competition \u2013 Stay ahead of time:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Optimizing websites for better ranking:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Conversion rate optimization \u2013 to convert visitors to customers <\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Move commerce into a mobile application platform:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Add-on to the customer experience:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Prioritize on package delivery:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Keep customers coming back for more:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nBe customer centric \u2013 Keys to success:<\/strong><\/h3>\n