E-commerce is expected to grow to $6 trillion by 2022. That’s how robust the industry is. It barely suffered a dent despite the pandemic. The industry has even benefited from the lockdowns when most people had to do their shopping online.
Yes, there’s no stopping e-commerce. And if you’re already a stakeholder in the industry, you have such lucrative business prospects. That is only if you can carefully anticipate peak seasons that make up the bulk of sales and profit e-commerce businesses enjoy year after year.
It’s easy to pinpoint when this peak season happens. It covers the last quarter of the year, extending to a few weeks after the new year. Online shoppers begin making extensive purchases around Halloween. This activity reaches a fever pitch come Cyber Monday (first Monday after Thanksgiving) and Black Friday (first Friday after Thanksgiving). The whole shopping bonanza continues throughout the Christmas season.
If you do e-commerce peak seasons right, you’ll be raking in considerable money. Now just how can you approach this business opportunity the best way you can?
Here’s how.
Tech upgrade
The better the technology you use, the bigger your production will be. For example, if you are selling prepackaged food products, for instance, you need a reliable servo filling machine that’s high-duty enough to keep up with the demand of a high volume sales season.
The same rule applies to your online shop. Do away with outdated software that may compromise your cybersecurity. At the same time, ensure your checkout process is smooth and user-friendly.
Review figures from last year
Visit the sales data you have from last year. See where you performed the best. Pinpoint where your mistakes lie. Determine where the bulk of your sales conversion came from. Based on the information you get, set an exact goal for this year.
Goal setting means you’ll have something to keep up with. You’re not just winging it. And that’s crucial for any business to grow.
Make your marketing efforts fun
If you have social media pages dedicated to your business, use these free platforms to engage your target customers in a fun way. For the weeks leading to a peak e-commerce season, come up with games, raffles and other promotional activities. Here you’re shooting two birds with one stone. On the one hand, you are interacting with your customers. On the other hand, you’re giving your products visibility in the market. Come shopping season, your products will be in the consciousness of your target market.
You need a savvy social media person to manage your online presence. It defeats the purpose to be on social media and not know how to talk to and connect with what’s already essentially a captive audience.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
The e-commerce industry is made up of an overwhelming number of businesses. You need to get noticed. One way to do that is to optimize. Here what you do is improve your website in a way that it’ll pop up for relevant Google searches.
You may invest in online content. Host sites can adopt your sponsored content sprinkled with strategic backlinks. These backlinks may lead customers to your products’ landing pages.
Get your capital ready
You need funds to pull off the strategies listed here. If you’re just a startup without sufficient funds, you can always look into borrowing from reliable lenders. Just make sure you get a deal that does not put you at a disadvantage.
Alternatively, you can sell invoices via factoring. That is if your business has been in operation long enough to have amassed valuable invoices.
Crowdfunding is another route you can take. Make sure that every penny you get is accounted for to maintain your trustworthiness. Choose the right type of funding so that you’re able to make good on your promise, from equity to debt.
Just as there are e-commerce practices worth emulating, there are also common mistakes you need to avoid at all costs. These include, among other things, failure to ensure your product’s quality. Keep in mind that your goal is to entice new customers who will be satisfied enough with your product that they’ll keep coming back and tell other people about your business, too.
You do not want to be a one-hit wonder. You do not want to hit it big during one peak season and fade to obscurity right after. You should be in it for the long haul. Remember that e-commerce is too big a cake. Aim high and don’t settle with a small slice.