Avoiding and Overcoming Flash Sale Failures

Over the years, flash sales (or daily deals) have become a common strategy for online merchants to drive sales, attract new customers, and promote their brand.

When executed well, merchants can use flash sales as a competitive advantage. You can grow your business faster and increase your bottom line. When run inefficiently though, merchants can corrode their brand image and actually lose sales!

In this post, we cover the risks of running flash sales and how to avoid some of the common failures that merchants experience. With a little bit of upfront work, you could run successful flash sales on a regular basis. (more…)

What is a Flash Sale: An Introductory Guide to Running Flash Sales

It’s hard to talk about eCommerce without mentioning flash sales, or daily deals. This popular promotional strategy has been around since the early 2000s and its popularity continues today.

Some businesses are solely flash sales sites, while others use it as an occasional technique to acquire new customers and boost sales. Either way, flash sales can be an effective strategy for all types of merchants.

If you’re considering running flash sales, take a look at our introductory guide to make sure you know everything you need to run a successful sale. (more…)

What We’re Reading: The Importance of Customer Loyalty

This week we’re reading about the importance of customer loyalty. Check out articles about why customer loyalty programs are so important, how repeat customers are profitable, and a guide to modern customer experiences.  (more…)

Is Your Business Ready for eCommerce Integration?

A recent eMarketer report forecasts global retail eCommerce sales to reach $4 trillion by 2020, making up 14.6% of total retail spending that year. That’s a staggering number. As consumers continue to shop online more frequently, retailers are looking to cash in on eCommerce sales.

However, as your eCommerce sales grow, it becomes harder to manage the volume. Growing merchants probably use other systems along with their eCommerce platform to manage their processes.

Are your current systems integrated? If they’re not, check out why your business may be ready for integration and how to do it. (more…)

Retailers Still Aren’t Meeting Customer Standards for Buy Online, Pickup In Store Services

In an effort to integrate eCommerce and brick-and-mortar operations, many retailers are adding buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) services. Retailers are adding these capabilities even if they aren’t perfected. While customers seek out this service, they still aren’t completely satisfied with it yet.

iVend Retail reported that nearly 57% of all shoppers use this omnichannel service, but only 31% describe it as being a smooth process.

92% of North American shoppers say they regularly shop across multiple channels. Buy online, Pickup In Store is an important part of the customer experience for multichannel shoppers, but retailers are still falling short. See why BOPIS is important to customers and how you can improve your processes to impress your customers. (more…)