Increase your D2C eCommerce sales even in times of COVID

While offline retail is still struggling to pick up the pace, online retail and specially D2C eCommerce sales have seen significant growth during the pandemic. We have just crossed the 6 months of the initial lockdown in India and with no sign of COVID vaccine available anytime soon, this seems like the best time to share the insights on how to navigate these VUCA times (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) for a D2C eCommerce sales.

At Shoptimize we have been working closely with our brands across all verticals to maintain a positive growth trajectory. The data extracted from Shoptimize’s platform shows a positive trend of online sales/revenue pre-COVID and during the COVID era. According to this data beauty, healthcare, food, and lifestyle sectors have seen an overall revenue growth compared to pre-COVID times.

This blog talks about how a brand can focus on D2C eCommerce sales even during COVID times. Listed below are 5 tricks that a brand should go through for the continued success of its online store.

Listed below are 5 tricks that a brand should go through for the continued success of its online store.

#1 Identify Trends & Opportunities

Every adversity comes with an equal opportunity for those who seek. The product choice and searches for the products have changed tremendously.

For example, for an online business if earlier the highest selling product was the “Black Dress”, the demand has now shifted to “Lounge Wear”. For a food brand, the shift may be from “small travel-friendly packs” to “family packs” as people continue to cook at home and stock in case of a lockdown.

How to stay updated:

1. Research the Organic search terms used by the people before landing on your website

2. Research the Search terms used in the search box of your website

3. Lookout for search results with high volume for business vertical

#2 Ensure Serviceability & Communicate it.

It is more vital than ever to ensure that you service the maximum pin codes available at a given point in time as most customers are ordering online. Next comes communicating it effectively. Ensure that the delivery availability is mentioned in ad communication as well as on prominent assets on the website.

#3 Extracting the most out of Data

There’s no better place to look for answers than the first-party data collected on your website. It can help you identify the target location for the demand, which products are getting the maximum visits but may be out of stock, a sudden spike in visits for a product, or even a pin code from where people are trying to add to cart but currently unavailable.

The customer support chat/desk data can also highlight hidden areas like size availability, a customer asking for a product they cannot find (an opportunity to add that product), international buyers unable to make a purchase (an opportunity to start serving overseas), etc.

#4 Retargeting

Retargeting those customers who visited your website but could not purchase due to stock or delivery unavailability is a great idea as we see a lot of pent up demand in the market. A classic example is Electric cloth dryers and Dishwashers. Soon after the first lockdown was lifted, stocks were exhausted not only online on marketplaces & brand websites but in offline retailers like Reliance & Croma as well and many customers couldn’t buy the same. The first mover to get the stock and reach the customer can capture this demand.

#5 Competitive analysis & Product Innovation

Competitors can be a huge inspiration to identify hidden opportunities as well. You may already have the product or the resources to create the product at hand and can roll it out in time to capture the demand. Wildcraft, a brand primarily known for its outdoor gear was quick to foray into the production of masks and took the market by storm.

Basis the changing need of the customer many innovative retailers have expanded their product portfolios.

ITC’s Savlon is a great example here where they have expanded the range from just an antiseptic to Surface Disinfectant Spray, Germ Protection Wet Wipes, and Hand Sanitizer.