Six Ways For Online Retailers To Compete
Online retail business is one of the most competitive fields today
. There are thousands of players online selling myriads of products. In order to stand out among stiff competition and make your products or services visible to consumers, it is very important that you follow a well thought out strategy.
Especially during economically tough times, you need to be very sharp in your marketing decisions in order to earn profits. Here are six ways to compete in this tough market.
1. Website Speed: One of the first attributes customers look for, especially as they shop with frenzy and excitement during holiday season, is the speed of the retailer's website. Ensure that your site loads in two seconds or less to hold visitors and make them repeatedly come back.
If you sell to a global audience, consider mirroring your website on a server located in those countries where you sell most.
2. Merchandising strategies: Most consumers today are in some way affected by the economy and are on the lookout for gifts that are not beyond their means. With a few product merchandising strategies, it is possible to attract the maximum number of customers and make them buy from you. Some of the features consumers usually want from online retailers include:
- Home page promotions, including gift certificates;
- Price point navigation for popular gift categories;
- Shop by gender navigation option;
- Delivery expectations and up front shipping policies;
- Detailed and easy return information.
3. Affiliate Programs: As compared to earlier days, today, online retailers no longer need to purchase branding positions and huge ad banners on different portals. One of the most powerful and golden opportunities for online sales enhancement is affiliate marketing. This method is highly beneficial for both the affiliate as well as for the retailer. This method requires you to find a related high traffic site (like a related blog), contact the administrator, and strike a deal for impression based advertising in exchange for a percentage of your sales. This means, if a user clicks on your link from their site and makes a purchase, a percentage of the sale proceeds go to the affiliate.
4. Gift certificate promotion: Gift certificates and gift cards play a major role in sale enhancement for online retailers, especially during the holiday season. Online gift cards and certificates are non refundable, representing a solid sale for you.
5. Shipping deals: Discounts and free shipping is another area where you can offer good deals to attract customers. If you are a smart online retailer, you will find a way to provide consumers free shipping, or a good shipping discount to beat the competition.
6. Post Holiday Sales: Be sure to plan your post holiday sales well in advance. This is a powerful strategy used by many big online retailers who have everything in place for a post holiday well before the holiday starts.
These are six of the top ways to compete effectively in any online retail market, especially in today's tough economic times.
by: Jane Dawson
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