Every last quarter of the year, both physical stores and e-commerce businesses profit from holiday sales. But studies in December 2019 have shown that times are changing. Last year, sales of brick-and-mortar shops were dull compared to online sales. MasterCard SpendingPulse illustrated that department stores experienced a 1.8% decline in overall sales, while online sales grew by 6.9%.
Now, will 2020 prove a good year for brick-and-mortar shops?

Sadly, no.

The pandemic that defined 2020 has been very kind to the e-commerce industry but not to physical shops. Companies surged to expand their e-commerce stores to retain existing customers and capture new audiences, while most brick-and-mortar stores have closed. Now it feels as if all stars aligned to let e-commerce bloom and prosper.
So, will you let this opportunity slide, or will you let your business grow this year-end? Here are some strategies all companies need to strengthen their e-commerce store.

Get a good courier

Good courier services are one of the most critical aspects of an online shop. Although this isn’t applicable for shops selling overseas, local shops should get a suitable courier service that strikes the balance of efficiency and cost.

The essential aspects of choosing a suitable courier service are:

• Trackable packages. Courier services should have trackable deliveries to give customers and businesses information.

• Safety of packages. Customer satisfaction regarding the delivery of their product is essential to businesses, particularly smaller ones. Packages shouldn’t be damaged or broken during their delivery. Broken goods are added hassle to both shops and customers alike.

• Affordable delivery price. Customers would order more products if delivery prices are bundled together with what they’re buying. Another incentive to think of are free delivery options when a customer spends or exceeds a specific amount.

• Quick deliveries. The most vital aspect of selling is time. Gone are the days of waiting ten days to receive a package; customers are now expecting next-day deliveries. A good courier service should be quick, except for unavoidable incidents.

Optimize web pages for mobile

Mobile phone usage has been steadily climbing for the past few years. In 2020, mobile phones have reached 52.95% of the worldwide market share, while desktops have declined to 44.22%. Businesses should optimize their site for mobile phones to capitalize on this.

The two most crucial optimization your website needs are:

• Faster load times. Customers aren’t too keen on buying from websites taking too long to load. E-commerce shops should automatically optimize images across different platforms for speedier loading times. And;
• Format websites for different devices. Customers won’t buy from a website that’s formatted only for desktops. They are 67% more likely to buy from a mobile-friendly site.

Bundle products together

Buyers perceive bundles as a cheaper alternative to single-packaged products. With bundles, businesses could maximize profits by combining best-selling products with slow-moving products.

Things to look for when bundling products:

• Bundle products that are often bought together.
• Make bundles convenient and easy to understand. Adding unrelated items may turn customers away.
• Use Ad insights to your benefit. An added benefit of e-commerce is the collection of gathered information from shoppers. With this, you can customize bundles that customers would want.
• Promote your bundles on your homepage and your social media pages to maximize reach.

Use social media to your advantage.

E-commerce shops can heavily advertise year-end sales on social media channels to maximize profits. Aggressive flash sales can make selling outdated goods faster. In addition to this, promoting sales on social media is easier than ever. All platforms have an easy-to-use ad manager to help businesses gain customer insight.

If you think that it’s too late to get started on this, don’t worry. You still have plenty of time to get your e-commerce site up and running. It may seem like a lot of work, but these tips can encourage more customer traffic to your website. Improving your social media presence is vital to keep your brand image in the customer’s mind more. With a bit of hard work and lots of planning, you could quickly fulfill your market goal for this year.