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Well, you made it past Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but you still need to get through the remainder of the holiday shopping season. Processing orders quickly is a top priority, and your shipping department will be in overdrive until the beginning of the new year. You may only think of shipping as a cost of doing business, but you can also use the shipping process to improve customer retention and even help generate additional sales. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind for the rest of the holiday shopping season.
As reported in a study by computer software company Adobe Systems, repeat customers during the holiday season spend 25% more than the average customer on their purchases. Encourage these customers by offering them a shipping deal on their next purchase, such as free shipping or expedited shipping. This way, you are both rewarding them for their purchases and trying to solidify a long-term relationship.
As reported in a study by global shipper UPS and online metrics provider comScore, 67% of shoppers on e-commerce sites view the retailer’s return policy before making a purchase, and 38% of those shoppers are not satisfied with the return policy offered.
Obviously, you would prefer only to ship items to customers rather than the other way around, but returns spike during this time of year. Take the opportunity to use the return process to improve customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty by making the return process simple. Also, make your return policy easy to find on your site, so customers don’t get frustrated looking for it and go elsewhere to make their purchases. Make sure your company is not among those viewed unfavorably by 38% of shoppers.
Gift-giving is time-consuming. Your customers must order an item, wrap it after they receive it and then give it to the recipient. Save your customers time and effort by giving them the option of having gifts shipped directly to the recipients. Your customers will appreciate it, and they may even come back to you and shop for birthday presents and presents for other special occasions.
Unfortunately, many of your customers will wait until the last minute to make their holiday purchases, and they will be anxious to know whether their purchases will arrive on time. Ease their fears by sending them an email with a link to tracking information. Most major retailers already offer this service, and it’s a good way to keep your customers happy.
Have your packages serve double-duty by including marketing material. You could offer customers a small gift if they make an additional purchase before Christmas, or you could offer them a discount on a purchase they make in January to encourage sales after the Christmas rush is over. In-package marketing is an effective way to increase both customer loyalty and sales.
Traffic increases substantially during the holiday shopping season, so consider using a website monitoring service. You’ll promptly know if your site goes down or experiences increased loading times so you can quickly address the problem and keep your customers happy.
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