Planning for the holiday/ Christmas tips and tricks is an annual challenge for retailers. Retailers around the world are trying every bit of what these challenges could mean for the year’s peak shopping season, and what new technology approaches they might take to drive success (and sales) this holiday season. Three technical areas that each industry has to get right are—the use of new technologies like cloud, data and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Technology integrations and top tips that retailers need to add or optimise to drive sales during Christmas/holiday season: 1. Product search capability on the eCommerce site Looking at January to June 2022, online shopping has shown more and more rising trends than ever before. Google Cloud—the leading provider of cloud services to retailers globally, saw more online network traffic in the first six months of 2022 than all of 2019 combined. With more people shopping or at least browsing online, the product discovery experience on the site can depict its greatest strength or weakness. Retailers can’t afford to fumble on this. “Search abandonment” is when a visitor searches for a product on an eCommerce website but doesn’t find it. According to a 2021 survey, ‘Search abandonment’ cost retailers more than $300 billion annually in the United States alone and around 94% of U.S. consumers abandoned an online shopping session on a site as they received irrelevant search results on it. Before the holiday season approaches, retailers should ensure their websites have a high-quality search and product discovery experience, using advanced search solutions with AI and ML to help shoppers quickly find what they are looking for. This is an important part to consider as it can lead to higher conversions, larger AOV and brand loyalty. 2. Personalisation · Recent research by Google Cloud found that 81% of shoppers appreciate when brands reach out to them in personalised ways. · 3 out of 4 people prefer to shop with brands who offer personalise recommendations and who outreach to them. · Almost 86% want a buy from a brand that understands their interests and preferences. · 81% of U.S. shoppers say they’re more likely to purchase from brands who personalise their product and service. This Christmas/holiday season, all successful retailers must build a 360-degree view of their potential customers in privacy-preserving ways. With tools like cloud-based customer data platforms, they can ensure in-demand products are in stock and plan relevant and timely promotions. Google Cloud’s Recommendations AI technology can help to know your target market and deliver personalised product recommendations on their websites and mobile apps, that are tailored to each customer’s tastes. 3. Inventory Planning According to IHL Group, retailers lose more than $1 trillion a year in mismanaged inventory. The shifting consumer preferences isn’t new to retailers, so this holiday season, they’ll need to think more critically and creatively about their inventory. Once a retailer has stock up the right stuff, its availability also needs to be accurately reflected online to enable the click and collect service and to drive sales success this holiday season. As per an Ipsos Survey commissioned by Google, shoppers can research for apparel, beauty, and home products for two weeks before making purchases. And 65% of shoppers browse online without any particular buying need. Retailers can use AI and ML to achieve higher demand forecast accuracy, replace outdated inventory, plan processes and keep pace with the faster moving world. Retailers also need to learn what browsers and buyers exactly want and do relevant sales and promotions accordingly. 4. Create a user-friendly website In 2021, UK consumers spent a total of 44.3m hours shopping online across Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Shoppers want easy filter options for your sale items by type, size, price, discount and colour. Make this process of finding something right and as painless as possible by offering a solid digital Christmas sales experience. Let them use their mobile devices for an easy, faster, and optimum shopping experience. Check the bet and payment method exclusions apply. Ahead of the busy Christmas sales period, check all the technology tools works. Broken Christmas technology procedures can negatively impact your brand. 5. Work on providing the fastest delivery The very best online store retailers are those you can provide the fastest delivery during the Christmas holiday times. Communicate by mobile and give accurate estimates of home delivery time. Also let customers know exactly how much time they’re left with to make the most of all those wonderful Christmas gifts you’re selling. Send personalised email that they are ready to collect their orders. 6. Make optimum use of technology Ahead of the busy Christmas sales period, check all the technology tools works. Bad and broken Christmas technology ideas can negatively impact your brand. So, implement good , latest AI and MI technology for inventory check, faster check-outs, hassle-free payments, etc. as it has a significant impact. Also make sure your customer service reps understand how it works and are able to provide adequate support to customers. 7. Treat the online returns well Treat your online returns with the same care as your purchases. Allow customers to track purchases. In case of returns, put them in control and let them track their returns and provide the exact time consumers’ refund will be credited. 8. Optimise your Online Shop’s Marketing strategies Try to more traffic on your website through various social media platforms, e-mails, or word of mouth – use your full potential. Product bundles are an attractive purchase option and can increase the size of your shopping basket. This will also increase your turnover. Make your online shop ready for Christmas; put a Christmas hat on your logo or use the red and white colour graphics on your website, just get creative to target customers. Set promotions and discounts that expire around the end of November so many will start ordering earlier. Conclusion The Christmas season in many cases, determines whether the business year was a success or a failure. With our Christmas shopping tips and tech integrations you can exhaust your full potential and boost your revenue successfully. Whether it’s delivering a positive search, providing a similar browsing experience of that of brick and mortar in-store shopping, or personalising recommendations, there are many ways for retailers to thrive this Christmas/ holiday season. References Published Oct. 17, 2022. (2022, October 17). 3 technology tips to help retailers triumph this holiday season. Retail Dive. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.retaildive.com/spons/3-technology-tips-to-help-retailers-triumph-this-holiday-season/633238/ 12 tips for retailers for improving the xmas experience. Foolproof. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.foolproof.co.uk/journal/12-tips-for-retailers-for-improving-the-xmas-experience/ GET IN TOUCH: Name * Company * Phone Email * Subject Message *
