Jake Athey, VP of Marketing and Customer Experience, Widen
“For today’s retailers and their marketing teams, Singles Day is an opportunity that cannot be missed if they want a slice of the $1-billion-in-the-first-minute pie. And this year, more than ever with many in lockdown, consumers at home will be hot off the mark. For many singles who are fed up being forced to put dating on hold once again, this may well be the excuse they need for a pre-Christmas treat to self. Effective marketing is going to be at the heart of targeting the lonely hearts this Singles Day.
“If you’re a retailer looking to capitalise on this year’s biggest trends: “revenge spending”, it is wise to remember that shoppers will most likely be browsing products with a few swipes of a finger from the comfort of their homes this Singles Day. These consumers are also likely to quickly get frustrated if they cannot find what they want, where they want, or if they are shown irrelevant visual content. It is widely accepted that most online shoppers won’t even wait three seconds for a website to load its images. It is therefore important for retailers to anticipate and meet the surges in demand for products and services at the right price point, with the right delivery options, using attractive, optimised visual content.
“Ahead of the chaos, success is all about preparation for retailers. Unlike a shop floor, where an empty shelf shouts “out-of-stock”, e-commerce platforms do not always present information in real-time. Online retailers need a solid technology ecosystem to be ready to promote products with the right visuals and product data when they’re for sale, and remove or replace the content from their website once sold out, if they are going to deliver a consistent, positive customer experience.”
“2020 has been an unprecedented nightmare for retailers, and in the UK right now, non-essential shops are shut, so it is over to retailers’ e-commerce platforms to persuade shoppers to part with their cash. Here are some tips:
- Clearly communicate with your audience. From using personalisation strategies and an omnichannel approach to reach a target market, through to ensuring stock levels are what they say they are, retailers need to adopt a watertight communication process. There is nothing worse that receiving non-relevant marketing or getting to the online checkout only to find the product you are buying is not in stock.
- Don’t sacrifice accuracy and consistency. Key to building brand trust is delivering accurate and consistent brand marketing which resonates with a target audience and builds trust.
- Review product data. Making sure product information is recorded and listed accurately is imperative for ensuring marketing and sales teams deliver the right product asset or description to the right audience, at the right time. Miss an opportunity with a wrongly listed category and a retailer risks losing a sale.”
