Offering online shopping to customers is sometimes seen as a necessity, a service the shopper expects rather than being recognised for the powerful opportunity and tools it provides business with regard to growing sales.
Christmas is often the busiest time of year for Myfoodlink customers and with a little preparation, you can realise the opportunities your online store presents with regard to growing sales, without taking away from your in-store plans.
There are three clear opportunities when looking to grow sales during the busy season. These are:
- Tell your customers about your online store! Be upfront about how the online option will make things better for them. It's the time of year when they are most time-poor: shopping online helps with this and they are likely to spend more with your business out of convenience when it means they can have it ready for pick up or delivered at a time that suits them.
To communicate this message to customers, in a memorable and friendly manner, we recommend printing flyers and distributing them in-store, along with a pitch from your in-store staff. This is the most cost-effective approach and customers are more likely to feel comfortable and act on the advice they receive if it occurs in person. - The 'Offers' feature of Myfoodlink is your friend. Many businesses take customer orders for seasonal items, such as hams and puddings, at Christmas time. The Myfoodlink platform includes an Offers feature that allows you to take these customer orders, and then accurately track sales, stock levels and deliveries using the system.
When it comes to packing and dispatching the special orders, all the data you need is in one spot and is collated separately from your regular online sales so you can better track progress and sales revenue. - Step up your email marketing game. If you're not using email marketing to keep with your customers, now is the time to start. We recommend emailing about once a week usually, or more often for specific campaigns. For example, your weekly specials could be emailed once a week, but you should send a few reminders to place orders for Christmas hams.
Most of all... With online retailing at Christmas, it's important to remember that it's not a bricks-and-mortar store vs. online sales situation; you're not looking to grow online sales at the expense of your in-store sales. Rather look at your online option as your potential to capture customers who otherwise won't be able to shop with you over the busy season. It's there to increase customer options.
The team at Myfoodlink can offer advice and management of all these items - email our team here to get started.
