As many of you know, the holiday season is fast approaching. So what does that mean for you and your business? How can you prepare for this holiday season to maximize sales and even create new customer relationships?
Today we’re going to look at growing trends this year—especially during the upcoming holiday season—and what you can do to best leverage these trends.
Amazon experiencing remarkable growth
With their vastly expanding marketplace, expedited delivery process, and cutting edge ideas, like “Prime Day,” Amazon is the leading online shopping site.
Similar to last year, Amazon is pushing the boundaries of commerce and sales. They have been rapidly expanding their reach this year, and that will be evident during the holiday season. Retailers should find ways to partner with Amazon to provide products quicker and easier. That is, if it fits the retailer’s brand. Some items, such as clothing that is exclusive to a specific store, would not be a good “fit” and retailers need to ensure they are providing a quality online shopping experience because it’s the standard being set by Amazon.
We at On Time Logistics are excited to be a small part of this major expansion as we now manage the last-mile deliveries in this region for XPO Logistics, which contracts with Amazon to help with the expansion.
Breaking onto the e-commerce stage
While Amazon is the biggest e-commerce game in town, overall e-commerce is expected to grow exponentially once again this holiday season. E-commerce will represent 10% of retail this year, with the majority of online sales occurring during the fourth quarter, i.e. the major holiday season!
If smaller businesses want to stay relevant, they have to start offering online sales. Whether you have an online store embedded in your website, or you are a smaller operation that utilizes a site such as Etsy, you need to consider entering e-commerce if you haven’t already. Don’t wait until it’s almost Christmas to start using e-commerce. You need to allow time to get the process down and familiarize existing customers with the new offerings.
Building loyalty among customers
What sets your business apart from all your competitors this holiday season? A major factor is your customer service. We are seeing increased emphasis on providing the same quality of customer service both in-store and through the online experience.
It is very important to build loyalty so that you can keep the base of the consumers coming back. The shopping experience has to be about more than simply buying products.
By building and reinforcing your business’ baseline customers, you can count on their return for the holiday season. With the baseline in-store customers returning, especially during the busy holiday season, it will give you, and your business, a chance to reach out to more consumers. It is important to provide a unique experience to all customers because it will increase the number of return buyers. This is important because it will increase the number of consumers throughout the holiday season.
The most impactful change that can be made revolves around a speedy delivery service. With options like same-day delivery, Amazon is one-step ahead of the leading retailers. With the help of the same-day delivery services of On Time Logistics, we can help your business keep up with the trends of larger online stores!
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