Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers still want and need to do their holiday shopping. With quarantine and social distancing policies impacting in-person shopping, ecommerce retailers can expect an uptick in sales this year — but only if you can compete with other online stores and capture your web visitors’ attention.
Read on for 2 practical, hands-on ways for you to take advantage of the anticipated surge in online shopping in the upcoming holiday season.
1. Roll out your Black Friday sales early, if you haven’t already.
A recent IMRG study of ecommerce industry trends indicates that the number of Black Friday campaigns running in early November has DOUBLED compared to last year. In other words, you’ll need to start your holiday campaigns much earlier than usual just to stay competitive with your peers. If you plan to deploy your Black Friday sale during the usual Thanksgiving week, then you’re already too late — consumers will have already finished their holiday shopping list at that point!
2. Make it easy for your customers to communicate with you.
Customer service and sales support teams are always important for creating a good customer experience, but it will be even more important this year. During the coronavirus pandemic, customer service has taken one of the biggest hits and is crucial to maintaining customer loyalty. A recent Harvard Business Review study reveals that an “easy interaction” with customer service yields an 80% likelihood of a sale, compared to a “difficult interaction,” which results in only a 6% likelihood of a sale. With so many online stores competing for consumers’ attention, customer communication is the biggest differentiator.
Meet your customers where they’re at with a channel that empowers them to reach out to you both anonymously and in real time. TextChat is a live chat software that enables you to seamlessly receive live chat notifications as text messages and respond to your customers instantly, right from your mobile browser. It’s easy for you and your customers to use, and your holiday sales numbers will thank you for it.
Head to the Free Trial signup form or find us on the Shopify App Store to claim your 14-day free trial, just in time for the holidays!
