Now that August is officially underway, the back to school season is upon us! We know that this is a time of year that many youngsters don’t like to think about it. However, for business owners, it’s an awesome spot on the calendar! The back to school shopping rush generates some of the highest sales of the year for retailers. E-retailers take notice! It’s time to prepare your online store for this exciting season.
Turn up the heat on social media.
If you haven’t been updating your Facebook and Instagram accounts with much frequency lately, right now is the time to turn up the heat. Don’t let a day go by when you’re not posting an eye-catching photo of a product you have on sale for back to school season. As Splitit contends, smart back-to-school ecommerce social media strategies can help get shoppers to your site and increase your Average Order Value (AOV).
“Whether it’s through targeted Facebook ads or using Instagram stories to promote your business, there are multiple ways to plug into shoppers’ back-to-school needs,” reads the site, “You can also add links to your social media profiles to your email newsletters, making it even easier to connect with your school shoppers.”
Offer a minimum purchase discount.
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. When people are shopping, they look for deals. Offering discounts on highly sought-after items is a tried and true way of gaining the attention of your customer base. Getting back to school shoppers to hit up your website will require you to make clear that they can save money by doing so. Among many other suggestions, Corey Ferreira of Shopify recommends that you offer a minimum purchase discount.
“An offer based on the total value of a shopping cart is an effective upselling and cross-selling tactic to encourage customers to spend more, increasing your average order size,” he explains, “A strategic way to incorporate this into your online store is to calculate your average order value for the previous few months and offer a discount or free shipping on all orders 10% to 20% over your average order value.”
Send out cart abandonment emails.
It’s one thing to get online shoppers to visit your website. It’s another thing to get your current customers to complete their purchases. Arguably, the most important people to target with your back to school promotions are the ones who have already begun the purchase process on your site. If you notice a number of abandoned carts, be sure to reach out to those potential customers and remind them to complete their purchases.
“If your customer’s have visited your site before but didn’t convert their cart to a purchase, don’t worry, you can still win them back,” says Splitit, “By sending an email reminder, you can convert some of these school shoppers into customers. Sometimes potential shoppers need a little nudge, and a strategic email may be all that’s needed to get more items sold.”
Do you allow your customers to make online purchases?
Syncing your payment processing with your online shopping cart is now easier than ever with Unity Payments’ e-commerce payment solutions! To learn all about it, call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
