Every aspect of the retail industry has been thrown into flux, especially when it comes to how and when customers shop. Skyrocketing demand for e-commerce has reset shoppers’ habits. More than 75% of Americans have tried new brands or ways to shop since the beginning of the pandemic, according to McKinsey. At the same time, retail market leaders have stumbled — for example, Amazon had to loosen its tight shipping timelines to meet the surge in orders.
This shakeup of the retail landscape presents an enormous opportunity for brands to create consistently positive customer experiences online. However, maintaining that consistency can be a challenge as new online ad platforms and retail marketplaces proliferate, putting pressure on retailers to be everywhere at once.
3 tips for e-commerce success in 2020
Consumers expect speed, convenience and product choice online. To succeed in today’s e-commerce environment, you must deliver on those expectations, while also crafting an online experience that meshes with the brick-and-mortar brand experience in your physical stores. Here are three ways to get started.
1. Diversify your reach with a multichannel approach
Customers today don’t shop in just one place — they browse products and make purchases across multiple channels, from Amazon to Google Shopping. The number of available channels is multiplying, too. In just the past few months, Google launched its social shopping app, Shoploop; Snap took its dynamic ads offering global and TikTok expanded its shopping features.
To achieve strong results from your e-commerce efforts, you must tap into multiple channels to maximize your online visibility to customers. Maintaining a presence across different channels also helps your business adapt as platforms come and go.
2. Know your audiences on every channel
The retail landscape is constantly changing. You can’t base your actions on yesterday’s information and expect success. At the same time, the proliferation of channels and platforms makes decision-making even more complex. You need up-to-the-minute data to drive insights and predict what’s next across every platform your business is on.
3. Get your feeds together
With so many platforms already out there and more of them appearing every day, you need a solution that helps you conquer new channels quickly. Each platform has its own set of standards for the continuous stream of product content, images and information it requires from each brand — a.k.a. the product feed. To ensure success, you need to optimize your feeds for each destination while still maintaining a consistent experience for your customer. This moment could be a major opportunity — if you can get your feeds together.
This year is all about creating deeper digital relationships with customers, and that starts with a product experience that’s consistent across platforms and touchpoints. Maintain that consistency by dynamically applying brand identity — such as logos and brand colors — to your ads across all platforms. And don’t forget to automate inventory updates across all your feeds to keep product info up to date. There’s nothing worse than putting the perfect item in your cart only to discover at checkout it’s no longer in stock.
Next steps to e-commerce success
These three tips cover just a few of the factors you’ll need to consider when you begin getting your feeds together to sell online. This moment presents a significant opportunity, but also a complex challenge. To learn more about how to set your brand up for e-commerce success, download our guide, Get your feeds together: your retail guide for 2020 and beyond, here.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Marcel Hollerbach, CMO at Productsup, Khareem Sudlow
