Why NOW is the time to invest in a robust eCommerce strategy.
All of the spooky decorations have finally been consigned to the top shelf in the storage room, and so that annual corner has once again been turned – Halloween is over, and the holiday season is nearly upon us. Between Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping, the holiday season is a busy, busy time for businesses around the world. Post-Thanksgiving discounts and piles of Christmas gifts help to drive this yearly boom in sales.
Navigating a mouse around a screen is much easier than trying to navigate a car through a packed-full parking lot – and so, increasingly, people aren’t even leaving their couches to take advantage of the holiday shopping season. Companies that are positioned with a robust eCommerce presence are prepared for the oncoming season. Are you?
Reaching New Markets
Having a strong eCommerce presence is important year-round, of course, not just during the holiday season. eCommerce systems allow you to target new markets in a way that brick-and-mortar sales simply don’t. By thoroughly tracking and utilizing a broad variety of data from your eCommerce platform, your business will be able to expand its customer base, discovering markets previously unreached by your team. Data can indicate where your products are selling, and when. It can help you track popular trends across the country, and the world.
But following those trends is especially important in the holiday season, when popular trends tend to drive the vast majority of sales. Your eCommerce platform is also crucial during the holidays because it can be accessed by potential new customers from anywhere in the world, customers eager to find the perfect gift. Many purchase Christmas gifts early, and increasingly they do all of that shopping online – often buying from companies they’ve never even heard of before. Having a robust eCommerce presence is absolutely key to reaching that new market.
Improved Customer Experience
Anybody who has tried shopping on Black Friday, or in the week before/after Christmas, knows what a horrific experience it can be. People scrambling everywhere, lines for miles, and the unavoidable, ruthless interactions with other customers who want the same toy for their kids.
By contrast, shopping on a clean, reliable eCommerce platform is a dream. And the better your eCommerce system is, the more and more customers will want to shop with you rather than with other businesses – especially during the holidays, where people will do anything to avoid the nightmare of brick-and-mortar shopping. A good eCommerce platform is reliable, personalized, and fast… and that is a far stretch better than holiday shopping at the local mall.
Sell More
An eCommerce strategy that 1) helps you find new markets and 2) is fast and reliable (creating a better customer experience) will help you to sell more stuff. The more customers you reach, and the happier those customers are with your service, the more stuff you’ll sell. That’s just common sense. There’s a reason why companies with robust eCommerce platforms are thriving. In 2016, the eCommerce market totaled over $1.95 trillion worldwide – and the reasons we discussed are why it has been so successful.
The holiday season is a good time for you to make the plunge into eCommerce if you haven’t already. Or, if you already have a eCommerce solution, it’s a good time to evaluate how effective that platform is, and to make improvements. At Kissinger, we have a team of experts ready to help you take advantage of this holly, jolly eCommerce season. Give us a call!
