As shopping shifts online, the customer experience takes place on the screen and behind the scenes. Without the in-store experience to rely on, it’s even more important that brands selling direct-to-consumer nail the digital customer journey, particularly during the high volume holiday season.
This means planning for, and optimizing, every step of the ecommerce experience, all the way through the fulfillment and delivery process that gets a product to a consumer’s door.
The five pillars of Flowspace technology are set up to support brands through the peak season sales surge:
Use data to plan inventory
2020 saw a record amount of holiday e-commerce shoppers, and many DTC brands faced inventory struggles and stockouts.
With an even bigger online shopping season expected, look to data and insights from last year for forecasting, and get ahead of the problem by manufacturing and importing inventory as far in advance as possible.
Optimize shipping and delivery options
Online holiday shoppers expect the ability to rush ship items and are often willing to pay a premium for expedited delivery.
It’s wise to offer a wide variety of shipping options, but be mindful of carrier capacity and capability, especially around the holidays. Consider solutions that allocate inventory to fulfillment centers close to customers to reduce both shipping costs and delays.
Provide post-purchase touchpoints
Once packages are on their way, provide customers with a way to track their progress. Tracking provides reassurance that parcels will arrive on time, and can help prevent package theft
Sell where your customers are shopping
Customers are expecting more personalized, omnichannel experiences. Brands need to consider all channels of customer interaction, from direct-to-consumer websites to marketplaces to in-person retail hubs to social media channels, and optimize them for e-commerce.
Smart brands are thinking early about improving or investing more in services like omnichannel fulfillment, expedited delivery, and expanded pickup and last-mile delivery options.
Understand and keep your customers
The cost of customer acquisition is high, and it’s critical that brands know and understand their customers in order to retain them. With more consumers than ever buying through ecommerce channels this holiday season, the time to capture customer data is now.
To find out how Flowspace can help you find peak Q4 success, get in touch.
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