Online Retail Trends That Business Leaders Should Look Out For

Now more than ever, many retailers are starting to look for ways to increase sales. In particular, online retailers who have been hard at work trying to improve their conversion rates will be looking for new strategies. Below are online retail trends that CEOs should be looking for.

Rethink Direct Mail Solutions

As a business leader, you might think direct mail is a thing of the past. Think again. Increasingly, grassroots strategies are turning out to be more effective than once suspected. Therefore, CEOs are starting to turn their attention back to personalized direct mail solutions. As ecommerce continues its steady surge towards omnichannel dominance, expect more and more retailer business leaders to reach out via snail mail in order to capture more interest from new and repeat customers. The intimate nature of physical correspondence gives these campaigns a unique advantage over typical email blasts or banner display ads. Personalized direct mail is a great way for online retailers to stay on top of customer’s minds as they seek the best deals and services for their online purchases.

Optimize for Mobile Users

CEOs and online retail leaders alike should constantly assess the functionality of their ecommerce websites. This includes making sure it is completely mobile-friendly. According to ecommerce mobile statistics, up to 72% of consumers purchase from their smartphones and mobile devices over using a laptop or desktop to shop. With this in mind, CEOs should take a hard look at their website development to ensure their company’s retail site is optimized for mobile users. Since navigating an entire website on a mobile device can be difficult, make sure that your visitors can easily access important items like product pages, pricing, and checkout. This will increase the likelihood of customers navigating and purchasing through these critical areas.

Invest in a Mobile App

In light of the aforementioned popularity of mobile shopping, CEOs are making the smart choice to develop mobile applications to generate more ecommerce sales.  More than ever before, companies should be investing in mobile apps for use by consumers visiting their websites from their mobile devices. Mobile apps are great ways for companies to provide more value to their customers with features such as an online shopping cart, product reviews, wish lists, coupons, and tons of other useful information that can be accessed on the go. As mobile devices continue to become more affordable, expect retailers to begin investing in these types of applications.

Improve Search Engine Optimization

As a business leader in retail, you know better than most that search engine rankings are both crucial and competitive in the plight to generate more sales online.  This is why it’s important that you focus on optimizing your on-site content as well as content marketing to maintain current search engine rankings and achieve better rank in search engine results. Smart CEOs are now meeting with their writers, website developers and marketing teams to create content that meets SEO criteria in order to attract customers. One way to do this is to have your teams produce SEO content that aims at increasing customer engagement by providing valuable information such as news, tips, and strategies that solve problems for your customers. 

Meet With Your Social Media Management Team

With social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram continuing to grow at an exponential rate, it’s important that your online retail business has a well-oiled and effective social media management plan in place. Ensure that you have enough staff on hand to manage each social network during peak times.  Also check in with your marketing team regularly and review strategies to confirm efficacy.  A common ecommerce mistake many CEOs make is undervaluing the power of customer feedback through social media. This is why it’s crucial to stay current with your marketing crew, evaluate which strategies are working and which ones are ineffective to ensure customers are engaged, connected and motivated to buy from your company’s e-commerce site.

Improve Checkout Outcomes With Better Fulfillment Options

Savvy CEOs are starting to take a closer look at consumer behavior patterns on their ecommerce site. When you get with your team and scrutinize your customer behavior from start to finish, you get some eye-opening insights.  For instance, if an inordinate amount of customers drop their shopping cart when they get to the shipping page, it’s time to take a look at that.  In order to improve checkout outcomes, you may want to offer better fulfillment times. For instance, consider offering customers better ecommerce fulfillment solutions such as next-day or overnight shipping.  You may also want to streamline the return process, making returns smooth and easy for customers.  Think of ways to make the fulfillment process as seamless and effortless as possible for your customers during checkout.   Assessing customer behavior through the checkout process is a vital way to collect vital information that narrates how CEOs can better serve customers. 

Increase Customer Awareness Through Blogging

More CEOs are discovering that content is still king – even with ecommerce sites.  In fact, according to a recent study conducted by Data Box, 68% of online marketers claim that blogging has proven to be a worthwhile and effective strategy for increasing sales and winning trust from online shoppers.  With this in mind, if you don’t already have a regular blogging strategy in place, it’s time to get with your marketing staff and see how your company can take full advantage of influencing customers through blogging.  Bear in mind, your blog content is also another way of gaining attention to your ecommerce site when it is properly optimized for search engines as aforementioned.  Discuss blogging strategies with your crew, and even outsource SEO writers if necessary.  As a CEO, you’re likely pushing for innovative ways to elevate your company’s brand and increase customer loyalty.  Fortunately, blogging is a relatively easy and affordable way to do this.  Publishing consistent blog posts about your company’s mission, products, and services by offering tips and strategies to help shoppers make the most out of their purchases can reinforce your brand presence. This will help you establish yourself as a leader in your industry as well as provide high value to visitors.