Tips, Plus Why it’s Never Too Early to Plan for Q4 E-commerce
It’s never to early to get ready ASAP for Q4 online sales. Why? A study of e-commerce released in 2012 covering from Nov. 24 to Dec. 24, 2011, discloses some secrets you might need to know.
MerchantTribe.com reports shoppers are buying more items daily in the holiday shopping season, but the size of the typical order soon decreases significantly. That’s the conclusion from studying data from merchants using MerchantTribe shopping cart software – for books, clothing, electronics, software, and sporting goods.
“We were surprised by the significant change in how much is spent per-order over the season,” said Marcus McConnell, founder of MerchantTribe.
“That seemed to defy the conventional wisdom that shoppers are as influenced by price at the beginning of the season than at the end,” Mr. McConnell added. “Perhaps shoppers purchase gifts for more important recipients first. Or maybe they wait for harder to shop for friends and family members and they’ve exhausted their budgets.”
He provides another important conclusion: “Either way, they become more cost conscious the closer to Christmas they shop.”
More details from the study:
- Customers placed more online orders as the season progressed, peaking on December 20.
- Merchants made the highest amount of revenue per day shortly after Thanksgiving.
- Customers spent significantly more per online order at the beginning of the season than at the end.
- Conversion rates rose throughout the season, but dropped off around December 20.
To attract more cost-conscious buyers late in the selling season, Mr. McConnell’s suggests:
- Bundle your sale items.
- On minimum orders, offer discount shipping rates.
- Create late-breaking affordable groups.
- Because conversion rates increase when shoppers stop comparing prices, but conversions decrease about Dec. 20, consider increasing shipping rates to offset the smaller orders.
For more, Website Magazine published a informative article: Merchant’s Marketing Guide to Christmas in July. It provides excellent reminders about promotions, keywords, e-mail, social media and mobile advertising.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are related resources:
- Timely for Q4 Sales: Latest Trends in E-mail Marketing
- How Small Businesses Can Capitalize on Cyber Strategies for Profit
- 10 Best Marketing Tips for Growth Even on a Tight Budget
“E-commerce businesses, even e-commerce specialists, have yet to realize that the WWW is first and foremost an emotional experience. Few websites reflect this important priority.”
-Grant Fairley
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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.
Enthusiasm Prevails in 2010 Q4 Plans of Internet Marketers
Oct. 22, 2010
Almost two-thirds of respondents in an Internet marketing study forecast healthy double-digit percentage increases this holiday season, according to a Website Magazine report on the Shop.org 2010 eHoliday Study.
This year 63.3 percent anticipate 15 percent or higher increases in sales. That compares to 45.8 percent of responding marketers last year.
BIGresearch conducted the study for Shop.org.
Website Magazine reported other salient data:
- 40 percent of online retailers will begin holiday marketing by Halloween, and another 40 percent will begin by November 1
- 84.5 percent will offer free shipping at some point during the holiday season
- 72.5 percent have increased their Facebook presence for the holidays
- 54.9 percent have enhanced or invested in product pages for cross-selling during the holidays
- 54.9 percent have optimized site search features to maximize holiday sales
- 52.9 percent have invested in customer ratings and reviews platforms in advance of the holidays
- 43.1 percent will increase their presence on Twitter this holiday season
The magazine also reports 32.2 percent of shoppers will shop online.
Here’s why:
- 35.1 percent – 24-hour convenience
- 33.1 percent – easy price comparisons
- 30.8 percent – lack of crowds
So, consider what your competitors might be planning, and strategize what’s best for you.
For other marketing insights, you might wish to review this site’s Marketing/Sales and Tech business-coaching columns. You’ll find more than 130.