Here’s an eye-opener for retail marketers the world over – holiday sales rocketed to the moon in 2019. And what provided most of the thrust? If you said ‘online sales’, you get the prize. Recently, Barron’s reported that “U.S. holiday shoppers spent 19% more on their online shopping this year than they did a year ago.” By comparison, brick and mortar sales creeped up by 1.2%. The right direction, to be sure. Nevertheless, hardly a reason to crack open the champagne.
The implication of these results is clear: the trend for online sales likely will continue in an upward direction through 2020 … and beyond. Meaning, of course, that all profit-conscious brand marketers should be taking steps to enhance their ecommerce machine. Make no mistake about it. The competition will be fierce, so brands must grab a major edge.
Adopting voice recognition technology is one way to do that. Increasingly, users are utilizing the power of voice commands. And not only for music launching. The spoken word is vying with the key-tapping finger to conduct online searches. Savvy marketers must bend to the trend. And that means tailoring keywords and phrases to voice searches, aiming for the ideal match up between the two. Research will be necessary, of course. But the results will be golden.
Also beneficial is a thorough optimization of the shopping cart experience. Labor night and day to minimize checkout hassles and delays — the quicker the buy, the better. Invariably, the result will be greater customer satisfaction and lower risk of last-second cancellation. And above all, strive for transparency with your product pricing. No surprises. No hidden costs.
Finally, don’t be ashamed to borrow from the best. In this case, the honor goes to Amazon. Scrutinize this ecommerce powerhouse and adopt its leading customer-pleasers. We can’t be sure, but these are rumored to be: wide selection, simple return policy, great prices, and lightning-fast shipping.
If you have any questions or comments about e-commerce marketing, or about any other brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way.