Jingle All the Way to the Bank: Holiday Predictions and Tips for Ecommerce Success

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Jingle All the Way to the Bank:Holiday Predictions and Tips for Ecommerce Success


Your Host

Matt WinnSenior Marketing Communications Manager1 Certified ecommerce geek

2 Marketer by trade, home cook by hobby

3 Created 500+ articles/videos on ecommerce

4 Here to help you this holiday season


Today’s Agenda

2014 Recap: Top Stories and Key Trends

Overview: Top 6 Ecommerce Predictions for the Holiday Season

Tackling Mobile Commerce

Tips to Take Down the Amazon Empire

How to Make the Most of a Shortened Selling Season

Using Data, Analytics and Audience Segmentation to Maximize Sales

A Quick Look at Addressing Customer Security Concerns

Q&A


2014 Recap: Top Stories and Key Trends Continued growth for ecommerce industry

Q2 2014: Census reports +4.9% growth over Q1, +15.7% quarterly growth compared to 2013

Ecommerce accounted for 6.4% of total retail sales last quarter, compared with 5.8% in the same quarter last year (US Census).

Increased consumer confidence shows healthy signs across retail CCI reaches 90.9 in July 2014, highest number since October 2007 (95.2) Overall retail sales rose 4.8% in Q2 2014 compared to same period in 2013 (US

Census)

Consumers more comfortable with mobile than ever before Volusion merchants experienced a 23% increase in mobile sales in Q2 2014 Mobile usage leads to convoluted, unpredictable purchasing paths across devices and

channels Consistency between sites and devices becomes more important than ever Desktop still accounts for over 80% of online SMB sales, despite mobile growth

Amazon continues to stake its dominant claim July “same-store” sales rose 40.4% year over year Multiple product releases, including mobile payments feature Ultimate question of profitability: Is Amazon’s business model sustainable?


2014 Holiday Forecast +

Tips to Maximize Sales


Holiday Overview

1. Mobile continues to rise in importance

2. Smaller retailers face challenges from big brands

3. Shortened selling season leads to frantic shoppers

4. Black Friday and Cyber Monday heavily extended

5. Data analysis is the secret to increased sales

6. Wary shoppers have heightened security concerns

Volusion projects 9% holiday growth for online SMB retailers


Prediction #1:Mobile Continues to Rise in Importance

Mobile traffic and sales will rise Mobile site traffic reached 38.2% of all traffic in March 2014 (IBM) Mobile will account for approximately 20% of site sales in November 2014

Mobile shopping behavior heavily depends on device, complicates retailer experience

Smartphones used primarily for browsing/research (23.8% of site visits come from smartphones)

Tablets used primarily for research/purchases (13.6% of site visits come from tablets) Desktops continue to be most dominant, accounting for over 80% of all sales

Consistency across devices becomes paramount Consumers are blind to the idea of channels Shoppers can enter your site from any page on any device Shoppers will likely visit your site multiple times from multiple devices


Mobile by the Numbers

Source: Seventh Annual Online Retail Holiday Readiness Report (IBM, 2014)

• Mobile traffic in Q1 2014 exceeded record-breaking levels during 2013 holidays

• Mobile as a percentage of sales rising, but still less than 20% (Don’t forget your desktop site!)


Tackling Mobile Commerce Today

Ensure your site is mobile-optimized Focus on products, categories and checkout Think about mobile shopping behavior

Smartphones more for browsing/research Tablets more for research/purchase

Identify traffic patterns through Google Analytics

Create consistency between sites Start with design and branding Ensure promotions are consistent between sites Shift your mindset on a “mobile site”

Try product-specific email campaigns Checking email is the most popular mobile

activity Segment audiences for product-specific

discounts Tactic works for new products and entire

categories


Prediction #2:Large Challenges Imposed by Big-box Retailers

Majority of holiday growth goes to largest retailers NRF predicts 9-12% online growth for 2014 holidays eMarketer predicts 15.5% grow for same period

Amazon serves as the most dominant player, again Q2 Amazon sales rose 23% year over year (YoY) Amazon “same-store” sales rose 40.4% YoY in July 2014, 34.4% in June

“Revenue gap” continues to widen during holiday season In 2013, IR Top 100 retailers saw 17.4% growth

IR Top 200-500 retailers, saw only 12.3% growth

Comparison shopping and brand awareness primary drivers for divide


Playing David to “Big Retail’s" Goliath Tap into your existing customer base early

Need to retain 70% of existing customers to succeed in holiday season (America’s Research Group)

Leverage email and loyalty programs now Incentivize existing customers to recruit new ones

Work to increase AOV and items per order Leverage personalized product recommendations Offer free shipping at a certain dollar amount Upsell and cross-sell products on your website Bundle products and offer product accessories

Encourage, but don’t enforce, account registration Allows you to market in the future by:

Recovering abandoned carts Identifying purchase patterns and product tastes Delivering personalized emails and discounts

You don’t have to beat ‘em if you can join ‘em Consider listing your products on Amazon Marketplace and

other comparison shopping engines But beware of your profit margins:

53% of retailers cite “maintaining competitive pricing” as a top challenge for selling on marketplaces (Channel Advisor)


Prediction #3:Shorter Selling Season Leads to Frantic Shoppers

Only 26 selling days in 2014 holiday shopping season 25 selling days last year, 31 days in 2012 In 2013, 32% of North America’s top 25 retailers couldn’t deliver online orders on time Nerd Fact: FDR moved Thanksgiving to 3rd week of Nov. from 1939-41 to increase holiday revenue

Rushed shoppers have higher expectations for exceptional customer service 55% of customers state that they would pay more to receive better customer experience (Defaqto) 83% of consumers require some level of customer support while making an online purchase

(eConsultancy) Online shoppers are increasingly looking for immediate, real-time customer service interactions

The good news? Shortened selling period lends itself to convenience of online shopping

On Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the percentage of online shoppers is nearly equal to those in-store

28% of all shoppers prefer to shop online for the holiday solely to avoid crowds (Accenture)


Delivering Exceptional Customer Experience

Plan out shipping deadlines Offer expedited shipping, including overnight

and 2-day Clearly communicate shipping deadlines

on-site and via email

Prepare for increased customer service inquiries

Extend real-time customer support hours Clearly communicate hours and response times

on your website Ensure adequate staffing is available for major

selling days Proactively offer customer support information

inthe form of FAQs


Prediction #4:Black Friday/Cyber Monday Break Records, “Holiday Creep” Becomes Bigger Story

Black Friday and Cyber Monday will hit historic volumes for online sales Cyber Monday 2013 was biggest selling day in ecommerce history, growing 18% to reach

$1.74B Black Friday was third biggest day on record, with $1.2B generated and 15% growth Day after Cyber Monday was second, reaching $1.41B (comScore)

As retailers and consumers both look to these holidays, large-scale growth will continue in 2014

Holiday Creep will become more visible this year, extending major selling days “Holiday Creep” is the phenomenon of extending traditional selling periods, namely Thanksgiving

week Online sales on Thanksgiving Day increased 21%, retail stores opened shop to keep pace

Sales during last week before Christmas slowed considerably, retailers now aware None of the Top 10 selling days took place during the week leading up to Christmas Day

(comScore) Retailers became wary of providing deep discounts, consumers generally finished shopping early Last-minute shoppers will still be an important audience, retailers will look to capitalize


Blowing Out and Extending Major Selling Days

Make the most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Email your lists early and often Focus heavily on existing customers Offer flash sales to encourage impulse buys Start planning for visual assets NOW Offer additional value adds to prevent

competing solely on price

Join the Holiday Creep movement Start your Black Friday deals early, focusing on

Thanksgiving Day and entire week Allocate heaviest marketing spend leading up

to this week to attract as many shoppers as possible

Offer exclusive deals and “sneak previews” to existing customers to keep them from competitors

Build a plan for final week of holiday season Send timely emails to appeal to last-minute

shoppers Promote expedited shipping options Heavily promote digital gift cards


Prediction #5:Increased Sales for SMBs Comes from Data Analysis and Audience Segmentation

Competing with large retailers will come down to one thing: personalization Small retailers can’t afford to blast broad-based messaging to attract market share To keep existing customers from flocking to Amazon, must appeal to known purchasing behavior

Consumers now welcome, expect usage of data to offer tailored deals 55% of consumers expect retailers to use purchasing and behavioral data to offer relevant

promotions 40% of consumers say they purchase more from retailers that deliver a personalized experience

(IBM)

Achieving similar growth as previous years will be more difficult in 2014 Sheer sales volume makes reaching similar growth rates mathematically more challenging Competition is at an all-time high, so must be savvy and prepared


Leveraging Data, Your New Best Friend Identify most effective sales & marketing

channels What paid search campaigns are top performers?

Which are least effective? Spend more to get more, cut where you can

What landing pages have the highest engagement rates? Highest bounce rates?

What webpages have the best conversion rates? How do you better feature these pages?

Segment customers based on purchase behavior

Slice and dice in several ways: Purchase frequency Products purchased (common themes) Demographics (age, location, gender)

Prioritize your segments What is the size of each segment? What is the potential value of each segment?

Tailor your messages accordingly


Prediction #6:Security becomes a heightened point of concern for wary online shoppers

Security concerns won’t stop online shoppers, but will be a more prevalent issue

Security breaches big news item this year: think Target, Heartbleed, others

2013 experienced a 91% increase in targeted attack campaigns, 62% increase in breaches (Symantec)

Overcome this concern by reassuring shoppers that your site is safe

Display security seals throughout your site, including the checkout page

Prominently offer contact information, particularly live chat and phone support

Create a clean, professional site design to boost credibility

68% of online shoppers will distrust a site with an unprofessional visual appearance


Key Takeaways

1. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly

2. Focus on current customers and implement savvy marketing to compete with the big boys

3. Create a strategy for stellar customer service

4. Join the “Holiday Creep” movement

5. Increase sales and conversions with segmentation

6. Reassure shoppers of site security

THE TIME TO START IS NOW


Questions?

Jingle All the Way to the Bank: Holiday Predictions and Tips for Ecommerce Success

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Transcript of Jingle All the Way to the Bank: Holiday Predictions and Tips for Ecommerce Success