In honor of Teacher’s Appreciation Week 2020, NetElixir worked with our partners at UPS for a collaborative learning experience. In the ever-growing digital landscape, NetElixir wants to ensure everyone is trained in navigating and recognizing their ecommerce needs. A strong ecommerce presence and digital marketing skills help to sharpen user experience and customer engagement.
During the coronavirus crisis, we have realized the following: ecommerce sales are booming, customers are looking for help, and the future is digital. Our virtual classroom was set up to share our knowledge of analytics and digital marketing and what we have learned while navigating the pandemic.
We firmly believe that together with our UPS partnership, we can help small businesses succeed online during these unprecedented times and beyond.
The Future is Digital
Ecommerce sales continue to grow throughout the coronavirus crisis. We have seen a dramatic increase throughout the months of March and April, compared to our 2019 data:
NetElixir’s Intelligence Lab has continuously aggregated and analyzed daily data to see the impact of the coronavirus crisis. We have found:
- Overall online sales from shoppers who are new to the website have increased from 35% pre-outbreak to currently 55%.
- These new shoppers are out-spending existing website shoppers by 2:1.
- Online conversation rates are up by 35% to 55% across retail categories.
In 2019, 16% of total retail sales were made online. In 2020, with the boom of ecommerce shopping as a result of brick-and-mortar stores closures, we could see upwards of 22% of all retail sales in the United States coming from digital means. Based on 2017 research by KPMG, the number one reason people shop online is because they can shop at all hours of the day. Ecommerce is convenient and accessible. Statista estimates that there will be over 2 billion global digital shoppers by the end of the year.
By assessing your digital readiness, you can capture these new shoppers’ time and attention.
What is Your Digital Readiness?
In assessing your digital readiness, you want to note how your online sales compare to your brick-and-mortar sales, as well as that of your competitors. Consider the following questions:
- Are your products listed on your own site or hosted through marketplaces like Amazon?
- Who is your core online customer? (They may be different from your core brick-and-mortar customer.)
- What is your website’s core brand message?
By getting a feel of your digital presence, you can assess how you appear to potential and existing customers and understand what you may need to change to achieve your ecommerce goals. Analyze your customer data regularly to better understand the demographic, geographic, and psychographic profile of who your online customers are. And then engage them effectively.
A good user experience is crucial to effective engagement. The pillars of user experience are:
- Website speed
- Mobile compatibility
- Navigation of ecommerce platform
To assess your ecommerce site, we have a host of free tools available. We debut one a week through #ToolThursday and explain how the tool can benefit you through our weekly blog updates on LXRMaketplace. See how your products list on Amazon, organize your ecommerce site, judge your competitor’s website, and more!
We can also help move your small business online in just 10 business days.
Ecommerce Growth During a Pandemic
Through a combination of retention, acquisition, and analytics, you can grow your ecommerce business. Acquire and engage new customers. Retain your existing customers. Measure and analyze your sales, product popularity, customer profiles, website engagement and more to understand how your digital platform is performing. Improve from there and test any new changes you make to ensure they are successful.
Digital marketing can help drive ecommerce growth. Ad spend through Google, Bing, Facebook, and Amazon can be scaled up quickly and efficiently with the right tools and team in order to reach the maximum amount of screens. Paid Search and Social Media Marketing combined drive between 25%-40% of website sales.
You want to optimize your website so search engines will display your products to searchers interested in buying. Search Engine Optimization takes time to accumulate, but can generate substantial free traffic. SEO drives between 30%-40% of website sales. Identify gaps and opportunities in your website quickly through an SEO Scorecard.
Upcoming Webinars
To continue to provide you with information to enrich your business strategy, connect you with the world at large, and continue learning, we have multiple upcoming webinars:
Our X=Experience: Reimagine Tomorrow Webinar Series kicks off on Tuesday, May 12 at 2 PM ET with Anindya Ghose, acclaimed NYU Stern Professor of Business and Director of the Masters of Business Analytics Program. His presentation on Leveraging AI, Data, and Tech Platforms To Understand Health Pandemics will cover:
- How tech has been used for predictive analytics in Covid-19
- What academics have learned from research on mobile location data
- How cell phone location data has been used to analyze the extent of American social distancing
Our partners at BWG Strategy present Real Time Data on eCommerce Sales and Online Shopper Behavior on Tuesday, May 19 at 11 AM ET. Founder and CEO of NetElixir Udayan Bose will discuss:
- Let the Data Dictate Direction – A path to a successful recovery
- Impact of COVID-19 on online shopper behavior, conversion rates & eCommerce sales
- Checklist for digital marketers
- Update on Hand Sanitizers – Are they still a “hot product”
The fifth installment in our Impact of Covid-19 on Retail Ecommerce Webinar series will be live Thursday, May 21 at 2 PM ET. You can catch up on our prior four Covid-19 Updates Webinar series here.
Our second expert will be Jerry Wind, Professor of Marketing at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.Wind will present Opportunities in Times of Crisis on Thursday, June 4 as part of our monthly X=Experience: Reimagine Tomorrow Series.
You can join the conversation on social media using #NxInsights.
