06/10/20
13'
During the first half of 2020, the e-commerce market was marked by the uncertainties linked to Covid-19. Against all expectations, the summer sales were a success thanks to the increase in online sales. The trend seems to be set to continue for the end of the year. According to a study carried out by Criteo, 88% of consumers plan to buy their end-of-year gifts online.
Marketplaces are the big winners in this changing market, with exploding turnover: Amazon, eBay, Zalando, etc. As an e-merchant, these booming sales channels represent a real opportunity, especially for the busy end-of-year period ahead.
Read on for our action plan to make a success of the end-of-year sales!
It seems far away and yet… In order to maximise the benefits of the end-of-year business operations, you need to anticipate and prepare now!
Determine which items will be on special offer and at which price. It’s time to study your catalogue and select the products to put on sale.
Lengow’s tip:
Prepare your e-commerce site
In the back-office of your site, design the display of your stored products now, to be ready for the D-day. For example, create a specific tab to group together products on special offer.
Lengow’s tip: You can use this to have a specific communication on these products on the site but also target your products by retargeting or with your Google campaigns.
Prepare your distribution on new marketing channels
Marketplaces, comparators, Google Shopping, SEA, retargeting, Product Ads… Do you have little or no presence online? Want to test new channels? Depending on your digital strategy, select the most relevant channels to increase the visibility of your products by the end of the year.
Lengow’s tips:
Marlène Sazerac de ForgeTo sell on marketplaces in December, you have to start preparing in September. Many advertisers think that it takes just one or two weeks, but the implementation (acceptance by the marketplace, negotiation of the contract between the marketplace and the seller, configuration, etc.) takes much longer, according to each channel”.
CUSTOMER DEVELOPER TEAM MANAGER – LENGOW
Prepare the settings for the selected channels
Each broadcaster has its own rules and requirements. Check whether the ones you have selected have specific settings and find out what they expect from you when setting up commercial operations.
For sales periods, some channels require the relevant data well in advance of the operation. For example, at La Redoute, it can be 2 – 3 weeks ahead of the sale, so you need to prepare in advance.
Lengow’s tip:
Think about how you are going to integrate discounted prices into your product sheets. If this data is held in a different file or feed from your main catalogue, you will need to unify them. At Lengow we offer for example the possibility to have additional sources. This will allow you to be flexible and make price changes up to the very last moment. For example, you can modulate the prices between Black Friday and the holiday sales.
Clothilde Le CoseChannels inform retailers which steps need to be taken for each commercial operation. Refer to their communications to find out their requirements in advance! Your partners can also help you. For example, Lengow offers special sales guides, detailed by distribution channel and updated for each sales session. Find them in our Help Center!
TRAINING / CERTIFICATION MANAGER – LENGOW
Define your business arbitration rules beforehand
It’s time to list the problems that could prevent you from being reactive during the commercial operation.
For example, what daily budget would you like to allocate to your new channels? Are you going to stop publications on a channel if your ROI is not reached? Do you want to offer shipping costs above a certain amount? What action should you take if your products do not sell on certain channels? What price will you display if your competitors’ price is lower than yours?
Lengow’s tip:
Once the answers to these questions have been determined, anticipate by setting up new publication rules. For example, you can automatically adjust your prices according to your competitors.
Aurélie MayeuxPrepare your settings well in advance of D-day. Don’t wait until the last minute!
TECHNICAL SUPPORT – LENGOW
Prepare your ads and product sheets
Check that your product sheets contain as many details as possible.
A well-informed product data-sheet allows browsers to imagine themselves using the item, leading to better conversions. Moreover, it reassures consumers and will limit returns.
On the Asian market, don’t forget that Chinese e-shoppers consult product pages for hours on end. These should be as detailed as possible with long descriptions accompanied by a selection of photos to give them as much information as possible.
Lengow’s tip:
Marlène Sazerac de ForgeAdvertisers invest large sums of money during these commercial operations, so we might as well make these investments bear fruit by sending traffic on qualitative product sheets.
CUSTOMER DEVELOPER TEAM MANAGER – LENGOW
Check your stocks
Make sure you have enough stock for future order quantities.
Lengow’s tip:
Aurélie MayeuxNow is the time to set up a system to update your feeds several times a day during peak sales periods. Don’t hesitate to inform your feed manager if you have a special device for updating the catalogue.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT – LENGOW
Check your product information
Lengow’s tip:
A few days before the big day, we recommend you check the information in your catalogue which will be sent to the channels for commercial operations.
Also, check that your “price” and “reduced price” fields match with your feed manager.
Send your updated product data to the distributors
Lengow’s tip:
Update your prices in the feed that is sent to the marketing channels the day before to ensure that all networks will have your sales prices available on time.
Note: Some networks require that sales prices are provided by a specific time/date.
Check the different channels to ensure your product information is up-to-date.
Lengow’s tip:
Go check that your prices are on special offer on each channel, your titles are written well and the visuals are up-to-date, etc.
Manage your orders
Each marketplace has its own order system: Make sure you can manage all the orders you receive!
Some marketplaces offer Fulfilment services where they directly take care of the dispatch of orders placed on their site and manage the necessary stock.
Lengow’s tip:
Display processing and delivery times that you can meet in order to avoid disappointing customers. In addition, some marketplaces tolerate only minimal delays.
Lengow gives you the possibility to centralise orders from your website and various channels on a single platform to speed things up. You can view and control all your orders in a uniform and automated way. Save time when sending your parcels and meet the expectations of your customers who are increasingly demanding in terms of delivery times!
Analyse your results as you go
Stay alert on the perfomance of each product in order to adjust your distribution according to the market. Manage the budget of your campaigns according to the results of each channel, each product category, etc. Be reactive!
Lengow’s tip:
Analyse sales, generated turnover, ROI, number of clicks, and the statistics by feed, product and date, as well as the evolution curves… they will give you the keys to optimise your distribution!
For example, think of lowering the price of a product that is heavily clicked on but does not convert, or react if your competitors’ prices fall.
Marlène Sazerac de ForgeIf vendors aggregate and analyse their statistical data correctly, they will then be able to set up a strategy adapted to each broadcaster and increase their profitability.
CUSTOMER DEVELOPER TEAM MANAGER – LENGOW
You now have a complete action plan to prepare your end-of-year business operations. More than ever, don’t miss the year-end 2020 period.
If you use the Lengow platform, you can now prepare your promotions by setting up your product catalogue. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to visit our Help Center.
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