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2017 Ecommerce Holiday Planning Guide

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2017 Ecommerce Holiday Planning Guide A COMPREHENSIVE 2017 HOLIDAY PLANNING Guide FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES Based On Our Approach Here at EcoEnclose ecoenclose.com • support@ecoenclose.com • 888-445-6575 A COMPREHENSIVE HOLIDAY PLANNING Tool FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES You probably already know that the holiday season is important – Black Friday through Christmas is said to account for almost 25% of all ecommerce sales. The holidays are a wonderful opportunity to bring on new customers who might remain loyal for the long haul. But did you know that many potential customers are already thinking about the holiday season RIGHT NOW? The National Retail Federation surveyed over 2,000 people last year and found that 17% of respondents are beginning researching gift ideas as early as September. Holiday Research vs. Purchasing Timeline BEGIN RESEARCHING BEGIN PURCHASING 36% 33% 25% 27% 17% 17% 13% 11% 5% 8% 8% 2% Before September October November December December September First 2 weeks Last 2 weeks More than half began research in October or earlier – only 33% began making actual purchases in that timeframe. 1 A COMPREHENSIVE HOLIDAY PLANNING tool FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES Holiday Planning Strategies Yikes! How do you prepare? There is a lot to consider – maximizing sales, making sure your operations and inventory can handle the madness, getting in front of key dates, staying true to your mission through the season… But, rest assured, you do not have to do everything – in fact, you may decide not to do very much at all - and that is a-okay. The key is to consider what you can do; and then be comfortable saying “YES” to some things and “NO” to others. This section describes the many strategies an ecommerce business might consider prioritizing this holiday season. As you skim through it, note (on the page or in your brain) which ones seem right for your business – based on your product, time and resource availability. Holiday Operating Principles Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Most importantly, don’t forget what your business stands for during the holidays. The holidays are not about survival or filling up the coffers. For an ecommerce business, the holidays are about building loyal customers. This is about opportunity. Every year we post our own holiday operating principles, alongside our core values, so our entire team is on the same page about how to deal with some of the questions and issues that are unique to this season. For example, we feel strongly that current customers should always come before new potential sales (though we will always work very hard to meet the needs of both)! We are also well aware that the holidays are a very tough time for Mother Earth. Consumerism can overtake attention to ecofriendly living, and craziness and stress makes it impossible to focus on anything other than the immediate. In fact, According to Stanford University, Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week. So we at EcoEnclose work hard to remember that the planet has to remain a huge focus within our Holiday Operating Principles. For many of the companies we work with, we know the most important part of the holidays is that it gives you a chance to really spread your values, message and commitment to ethics and sustainability. We’re happy to share our list of Holiday Operating Principles – just email us (info@ecoenclose. com) if you’d like to see a copy! 2 A COMPREHENSIVE HOLIDAY PLANNING tool FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES Website and Overall Customer Experience These strategies are all related to ensuring a smooth customer experience as they shop and purchase from you, which, for an ecommerce business is almost all about your website. • SITE SPEED: According to Kissmetrics, 40 percent of visitors will leave your website if the loading process takes more than 3 seconds. Yikes! Test your site for speed, especially when you experience traffic spikes and check to ensure your site loads quickly and can handle traffic spikes. Sites like https://tools.pingdom.com/ and https://gtmetrix.com/ can help. • GET A MOBILE RESPONSIVE SITE: Visit your site on a smartphone or tablet and make it responsive if it isn’t already. It is estimated that 54% of holiday shoppers shop (or at least peruse) on their smartphone in “micro-moments” throughout the day such as walking or commuting. [However, EcoEnclose does not advocate for walking and texting!] If you built your site on an ecommerce platform or using a WordPress template, chances are that it is already mobile responsive or that the process may be less resource intensive than you might think. • GET READY FOR GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE: Prepare your customer service strategy, with an easily accessible phone number and email address on your shop or site (and consider live chat!) and most importantly – be ready (or have a trained, great person ready) to respond to questions and concerns quickly and effectively. While small ecommerce businesses aren’t going to complete with Amazon on ease of shopping experience, they win by making the experience enjoyable and bringing the personal touches of a storefront to an online customer. • BE PROACTIVE IN ANSWERING QUESTIONS: Update copy throughout your shop or site to proactively address many of the questions that gift givers might ask for, such as shipping times, return policies, sizing guidelines, drop dead date for ordering any custom made products, gift wrapping options, etc. Many shoppers prefer this over having to call or email for info. Get your FAQ section up and running, or if you already have one, get it organized and up to date. 3 A COMPREHENSIVE HOLIDAY PLANNING tool FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES • UPGRADE YOUR LANDING PAGES AND IMAGERY: Update your site with eye catching, holiday specific landing pages that showcase the exact right products, images, promotions or information. Beautify your product images, showcasing them in the right way. Make your images highly shareable, and consider setting up pre-populated Pinterest captions so the information you want shared publically travels with them if they are pinned. This video by Beth Hayden provides more information on pre-populating pin quotes. Sprinkle holiday cheer throughout your site and other elements of your customer experience – like a fun holiday spin on your logo or a holiday themed website loading icon. Sometimes the holidays makes people stresses…so remind them of the joy! • CATER TO THE GIFT SEARCHER: As you can see from the graph above, people are already doing research! Considering organizing your products by gift giving category, such as “Gifts for Children” or “Gifts for Significant Other” in addition to the more functional way you might currently be organizing your goods. • ADD A “SAVE” OR “WISHLIST” SECTION: According to the 2016 NRF survey, only a quarter of respondents said they used online wish lists and registries from retailers, but more than six in 10 would like to use more online wish lists in the future. • CONSIDER OFFERING GIFT CERTIFICATES: Decide if you can offer gift certificates. If so, highlight them throughout your site or shop (particularly in late December when last minute shoppers are frantically seeking gifts). • PRODUCT LIST: Review your website and ensure your product list (and any size or color • options) is complete, pricing is accurate and specs are described. 4 A COMPREHENSIVE HOLIDAY PLANNING tool FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES Packaging and shipping This set of strategies is related to how you package and deliver your products, to ensure customers receive them on time with their products safe and secure. It also includes some ideas on how to “wow” recipients and make them feel exceptional about their purchase. Remember, the holidays a great opportunity to find and create loyal, long-term customers. Don’t see holiday shoppers as one timers. • DESIGN A BEAUTIFUL PACKAGING EXPERIENCE FOR RECIPIENTS: Brand your packaging material – with your standard logo and design, or a holiday specific design. Tie products in twine. Add a special card or thank you gift. These can be particularly nice touches for customers that are having the gift shipped directly to the recipient. 52 percent of consumers are likely to make repeat purchases from online merchants with premium packaging, and 4 in 10 would share a unique image of a package via social media. Still not convinced? Instagram #unboxing to see just how much recipients enjoy receiving gorgeous packages, and how quickly they share them with friends. Click here to see the incredible packaging from some in the EcoEnclose family. • DECIDE IF YOU CAN OFFER GIFT WRAPPING AS AN OPTION: If so, make it clear on your website that you offer this service, give people the gift wrapping option at checkout (for a fee if appropriate), and of course make sure you have gift wrapping on hand! Also, know that the vast majority of wrapping paper is not recyclable. Consider using less “shiny” but equally artistic EcoEnclose packing paper to wrap presents. Our packing paper is made with 100% recycled material and is easily recyclable. In fact, check out our blog post from last December on “wow factor” wrapping ideas using sustainable materials: http://blog. ecoenclose.com/ecowrapping/. • STOCK YOUR ORDER PACKAGING AREA: Have all of the other supplies you need to fill orders and get them shipped out – boxes, mailers, tape, void fill, the works. These are the types of supplies that can sometimes get overlooked until you’re in a bind! Order these from us anytime at ecoenclose.com! • ASSESS THE SUSTAINABILITY OF YOUR PACKAGING: Are there opportunities for you to reduce packaging material or make your packages smaller? Can you switch any of your packaging supplies to more sustainable options? If you are already doing everything to maximize how green your packaging strategy is – do your customers know how to recycle or compost these items? Do a quick internal check on these questions and, if appropriate, 5 A COMPREHENSIVE HOLIDAY PLANNING tool FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESSES find ways to make your packages even more ecofriendly.
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