ETA Expert Insights: Retail Tech Top Tips for a Successful Holiday Season

The 2020 Holiday Retail Season . . .
The pandemic of 2020 has pushed traditional “brick-and-mortar” retail models to the brink of extinction and jolted business operators into action to go beyond a simple website with directions and contact information and towards enabling customers to shop a virtual retail space conveniently from home 24/7.  An online retail presence for your business may very well make the difference between staying in business through the holiday season and seeing another year versus closing up shop for good because no one wants, or is able, to get to your store on main street or in the shopping mall.

With the potential for public spaces shutting down again due to COVID concerns, just in time for the holiday season, wouldn’t it be good to take out an insurance policy now and open up your online retail presence in time for the beginning of the holiday shopping season? And this isn’t just for businesses that sell physical goods, it’s also for restaurants, professional services, and many other merchant types.

If you are new to ecommerce, it’s important to start with defining the online retailing experience you would like to have if you were your own customer. Take a look at existing ecommerce sites from both large and small businesses. What is it that appeals to you that would be valuable for you to provide to your own clientele? Is it an online shopping site that provides an immersive visual experience that motivates your customers and entices purchasing of the goods you sell?  Is it the flexibility of allowing customers to add items to a shopping cart and save for later instead of checking out right away?  Is it the convenience of paying with a mobile wallet or the credit card they get valuable rewards with?  Take a look at the sites out there today and use this as research towards defining your optimal online retailing experience.

Next, do your research and identify an ecommerce provider that offers the functionality you need to drive your optimal online retailing experience in the markets you serve.  Do they offer integrated payments or will you need to take care of that on your own?  Reach out to your merchant acquirer and see if they can recommend an ecommerce provider you can speak with. You can also establish your business in online marketplaces, aka virtual shopping malls, where you manage the orders and they take care of the rest.

Lastly, ensure you and your team are operationally ready to support your ecommerce operations long-term.  With all the hard work establishing an online retailing presence, care and feeding for future success is key.  From ensuring someone responds to customer inquiries quickly to handling back-orders or refunds, to the sale after the service and ensuring your customer doesn’t just shop once from you, but rather bookmarks your ecommerce site for future, and repeat, purchases.  Operational success will bolster the strategic investment you have made in establishing your online retail presence.

Below are some quick retail top tips for SMBs as we head into the holiday season.

Part I: Getting Ready for Business
Top Tip: If customers cannot physically get to your store on main street or in the mall, make the store available to them at home, 24/7.  Eliminate the physical barriers to your operational success and take the store online.  It is no longer a nice-to-have, but a requirement for business success.   

An online storefront is a must for today, no matter how big or small your business is or the items or services you offer.

• Do your research on reputable, reliable, and scalable ecommerce platform providers. Ask your colleagues or even your competitors who they use.  Find the right provider to thrive with.
• Provide a frictionless online shopping experience and enable payment methods at checkout most useful to your customers.
• Ensure your operations are aligned and optimized to support your new online presence.

Identify your optimal ecommerce shopping experience for customers, select the right ecommerce platform provider, and optimize your operations for online success.

Part 2: Marketing your Business
Top Tip: Marketing is key this holiday season – keeping your customers safe is top priority – and let them know. Give your customers as many options as possible and emphasize safety.  “We’re here for you; we’re open for business. We have purchasing/delivery choices to fit your needs.”

Ahead of the holiday season, help your customers shop safely and according to their preferences by considering the following suggestions:

• Start working on (improving or broadening) your online presence now. We live in unpredictable times, and the 2020 holiday season will skew to online more than in years past. Make online purchasing as easy as possible and ask customers for their information so you can continue to market to them throughout the holidays and beyond. If you don’t have an online store, consider opening one so your clients can shop from the safety and comfort of their homes. Turn these uncertain times into a new opportunity for your business.
• In store, let your customers know you have their safety and convenience in mind. Tell your customers (if appropriate and in-line with state restrictions) to visit you in-store; masks are required, hand sanitizer is plentiful and kept on-site and you’re restricting the number of people in-store. Consider deploying contactless and reassure your clients you have gone above and beyond employing proper safety mechanisms.
• Make sure to have a contactless delivery option. This could include buying online and picking up in-store or choosing delivery. You’re focused on keeping your customers safe.

There are many ways to sell your products and services during the holiday season – communicate this to existing and new customers clearly and concisely via your marketing in-store, online, in your social media feeds. “Giving you the choice of how you prefer to shop with us.”

Part 3: Payment Experience From the Consumer Standpoint
Top Tip: Diversifying and implementing different payment technology conveniences your customers, makes the customer experience safer, and brings in more business by offering different payment options that suit a wide variety of customers.

Ahead of the holiday season, explore different payments options to accommodate your customers’ payment preferences and help them shop safer by considering the following suggestions:

• Implement and provide a responsive and clear design for online shopping that takes into consideration different payment options and the web-based vs. mobile store experience. Offer different payment processing and all credit card brand options and make sure this information is clearly communicated online. Be up front and clear on charges – such as shipping and taxes, and make sure to implement guest checkout for those who are rushed.
• Implement or expand payment technology and options in-store to improve the customer experience. Consider employing contactless technology, giving customers the option to pay ahead, and curbside pickup. Communicate to customers clearly in store how you are making their shopping experience frictionless, contactless, and safe.
• Consider purchasing options that allow your customers increased payment flexibility. Each customer’s preferences are unique – by offering purchasing installment plans (oftentimes with no interest, broken into 4 regular monthly installments), you allow the customer to choose what is right and convenient for them.

Creating more shopping and payment options for your customers is important this holiday season. Implementing more options allows your customers to make the purchasing decisions that are most convenient and safest for them.

Part 4:  The Post Shopping Experience
Top Tip:  Post-Christmas sales are increasing year-over-year, combined with growing mobile sales, your website has to be fast, uncluttered (too many annoying ads) and targeted to optimize engagement and conversion.

Optimize your post-holiday shopping experience with the following suggestions:

1. Employ a targeted digital marketing strategy – influencers, pay-per-click campaigns and top-ten post-Christmas deals lists are all part of an overall strategy to engage consumers and get the word out about your deals.
2. Analyze what your customers bought before Christmas to better understand what they might need after the holiday season. After shopping for everyone else, what does your customer want for themselves.
3. Finally, track deliveries, returns and complaints to prepare for and optimize returns and fight chargebacks as they arise.

Implementing the aforementioned strategies should position the merchant for a more profitable, less troublesome post-holiday season. By driving traffic to your site with great deals you will accomplish 3 important objectives: Sell more great stuff to new and returning customers. Turn returns and refunds into sales opportunities as these customers discover and take advantage of post-holiday deals. Tackle the inevitable refunds and chargebacks with a data driven approach that will minimize friction and lead to higher customer satisfaction.

In Conclusion . . .
Implementing many of the above-mentioned sales and payments strategies should ensure a convenient and safe customer experience. We wish you happy and secure sales, both online and in-person!