Have you heard? Gen Zers plan to spend a lot this holiday season—and they’re discount-hungry!
That’s why we’re gonna share as many holiday tricks as we can to help you get those holiday bucks the easy and strategic way.
- Holiday guide to attract more shoppers 🧲
- The ultimate repricing hack 💡
- Common holiday hurdles and their solutions 📌
PS. If you want to know more about specific holiday stuff—marketing, customer service, best practices, anything—do share what you have in mind by replying to this email!
ECOMMERCE NEWS
The good news: Your store performed great during Prime Day last July.
The not-so-good news: This holiday season will be much more challenging to ace than Prime Day, at least according to Chain Store Age, due to:
- Shorter shopping time: There are only 26 shopping days from November 29 to December 24.
- Less purchasing power: 43% of consumers have more debts than last year.
🩶 The silver lining
Based on Salesforce’s prediction, holiday sales can reach $277 billion from more than 1.5 billion global shoppers across more than 64 countries! This means you can still snag some big bucks—but only if you act on the following insights right:
- Consumers want cheap finds. One in five (21%) purchases this holiday season will be made on Chinese shopping apps.
- Discounts and deals are in demand. Many are holding out for BFCM because they believe the best deals and prices will be during this time.
- AI assistance is appreciated. Shoppers are expected to use predictive and generative AI to look for the “perfect present” and compare prices. AI will also help retailers provide quick customer support. 🤖
- Buy Online Pick Up In Store (BOPIS) is expected to drive 33% of global online orders as a fusion of speed commerce and convenience shopping.
How should you act, then?
According to Caila Schwartz, Director of Strategy and Consumer Insights at Salesforce, "This season will be competitive, intense, and no doubt focused on pricing and discounting strategies."
So, triple-check if your products still have competitive prices. Also, it’s time to bring out your AI toys and optimize for shopping assistants like Rufus to convert those digital onlookers into sure shoppers. 🎁
BITES OF THE WEEK
- ICYDK: You can track and compare your products’ performance against industry benchmarks.
- Labored Sale: Amazon’s technical issue caused customers troubles during the Labor Day sale’s checkout.
- Shein Shades Temu: According to Shein, Temu isn't Amazon's competition.
ACTIONABLE ADVICE
6 common holiday hurdles (and how to beat them)
As you dash through the busy holidays, you might face some obstacles. But knowing what to expect and how to prepare can make all the difference.
📝 NewsWatch listed some of the common holiday challenges and simple tips to help you tackle them:
- Slow deliveries. Customers want their orders fast; shipping delays can lead to unhappy buyers.
- How to beat it: Consider using fulfillment services to speed up the process and keep customers satisfied.
- Undecided shoppers, mainly due to too many choices that can overwhelm them and lead them to abandon carts.
- How to beat it: Use Amazon’s recommendation algorithms to suggest products based on browsing history and past purchases.
- Failure to adapt to trends. Neglecting to mix the latest ecommerce trends into your business tactics can cost you your sales and young customers.
- How to beat it: Keep up with industry news and Amazon updates. Adjust your strategies based on new trends and tools.
- Lack of enough positive reviews. You’d think happy customers are willing to always leave a thumbs up, but some actually won’t bother. And unhappy ones? Of course, they’re gonna give negative feedback that’s bad for business.
- How to beat it: Improve customer service by offering easy ways to contact support like live chat, email, and phone. Encourage customers to leave reviews by including product inserts or sending out emails.
- Crowded market. With so many sellers, it’s hard to get noticed by customers.
- How to beat it: Invest in eye-catching and optimized product listings and use social media for targeted ads to increase visibility.
- Abandoned cartsdue to high shipping costs, confusing checkout process, and cheaper alternatives.
- How to beat it: Make the checkout process easy and offer discounts or free shipping to increase sales.
⭐ The ultimate trick: Be flexible in your strategies
Challenges are part of the journey. But with the right and adaptable approaches, you can shine through the holiday season and keep your business thriving.
