How online stores can gear up for the holiday sales rush听
By Patricia Mirasol听
From reinforcing branded packaging to beefing up product inventories, businesses have started offering Christmas promotions in their online stores.听听
EveGrocer, a zero-waste online grocery, is anticipating a听surge of听demand听for听its Christmas hams from Giana Deli, Log & Cabin, and听Gastronomo. Its other in-demand products, according to CEO Ma.听Leonelle听de Leon-Sandoval, are its body care gift sets from Green Mama, Amari Organics, Human Nature, Vanity & Queens, and Wasteless PH.听听
鈥淭his is听EveGrocer鈥檚听second Christmas holiday,鈥 Ms. Sandoval told听大象传媒听in a Facebook message. 鈥淲ith the support of the听Alagang听AyalaLand听Program (which provides livelihood opportunities to social enterprises), we have quickly scaled听[up]听to be able to be present in the market this Christmas season.鈥澨听
The grocery accepts pre-orders as it does not stock products to ensure their freshness.听听
Other online stores like听Papemelroti, a听stationery and notions听shop, and Honest Junk, a healthy snacks shop, are utilizing Christmas packaging to reinforce their branding. The former鈥檚 add-on holiday wrapping service features its brand name听on gift tags, while the latter has its logo听on the Christmas paper bags it鈥檚 giving away听with听every order this holiday.听听
To make the most of the year-end shopping season, last-mile delivery service Ninja Van shares these additional tips for online sellers:听听
- Prepare the storefront.听From the frontend, keep product descriptions accurate, up-to-date, and detailed. From the backend, ensure that the online shop can handle the听increase in听traffic. Prioritize website security too, as听incidents of听hacking can result in a loss of trust in the business.
- Utilize the data.听Take advantage of tools like Google Trends or A Better Lemonade Stand鈥檚 Instant Product Evaluator Tool to reveal information such as a product鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses, or the business鈥檚 top sales channels.
- Announce promotions.听Announce discounts early听enough听to give customers something to look forward to. Given that the number of social media users in the Philippines is 80.7% of the total population (as per We Are Social鈥檚 #Digital2021 report), online sellers can choose to make these announcements听on social media platforms like听TikTok.
- Engage customers. Investing in conversational commerce is paramount in the age of digital. Since 44% of Filipino shoppers chat听with sellers听first before making a purchase, Ninja Van advises creating a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page, as well as automated instant replies, to address queries that come in 24/7.
- Mind the shipping. Free shipping is a way to win over customers and prevent 鈥渁bandoned carts.鈥澨鼶elays can mar the customer experience, however听— regardless of whether shipping was offered free or not听— so Ninja Van also suggests managing expectations by adding a few days鈥 allowance to the expected delivery date.
EveGrocer, which offers free delivery to Metro Manila and other select locations, has started preparing its in-house fleet to prevent delivery delays this Christmas, Ms. Sandoval told听大象传媒.听听
鈥淲e have also partnered with听iSend,听FoodPanda, and听Grabmart听[to cope with the upcoming holiday demand],鈥 she added.
