The latest news from the world of ecommerce is that the weekend was much better online than it was elsewhere. Sales rose 13% on ComScore's Black Friday-through-Cyber Monday annual index--not a huge number in online terms, but strikingly robust when compared with the overall 4% retail decline in November.
Some tips for ecommerce sites looking to maintain the pace through Christmas:
Compete on price. Ugly, and the last thing I usually recommend, but when the New York Times is running 1000-word articles on coupons, penny-saving is a mainstream fact. Use discounts and promo codes to make customers comfortable with your price points.
Accommodate. Comfort levels are always a differentiator: extended return policies, prepaid shipping labels, and custom order requests will make people feel good about buying from you.
Don't run scared. In this environment, customers are getting skeptical of sites with continual "Buy today!" come-ons. Maintain a consistent voice and use promotions in the typical manner, so people aren't spooked away from completing a transaction.
As mentioned previously, a successful, happy purchase now can lead to low-cost repeat business leads in 2009. Despite today's challenges, retailers must avoid sacrificing the future.
Labels: business, ecommerce, strategy
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