With people in so many countries taking their annual vacations this month while their
children are on school holiday, e-commerce owners may get the short break they need
to assess the first half of the year and make plans for the busy period ahead.
Because like any brick-and-mortar business, e-commerce stores intend to operate year
round no matter how spectacular sales may be on Black Friday or Cyber Monday in
November: One cannot maintain a business on year-end trade alone.
As Burc Tanir, CEO of Prisync, notes, “eCommerce business is not a sprint, but a marathon,
so finding ways to consistently grow sales in a steady manner is the best approach. (*)
In order to accomplish this, businesses big and small, he said, “should keep up with
the dynamism of the global industry and its trends, which also includes being part of
the vibe going on within their market throughout the year.”
This entails having a clear strategy, which the half-year point this month offers the
opportunity to devise or revisit.
However, it may involve hard choices on and offline that the nature of e-commerce,
with its a round-the-clock pace, will force owners to make without delay.
Here are some issues to address.
Website: design, features, speed:
- Does the overall design work both for desktop and mobile/cellphone access?
- Has the site been optimized to meet Google’s mobile speed requirement?
- Does one’s site have today’s essential tools: catalog, pop-ups for offers and promotions,
- chat for 24-hour customer service, and so on?
Product line: selection and production
- What have been the biggest sellers in recent months?
- Which products are seldom or not purchased, and why? Should they be modified or discontinued?
- Should new products be added in the coming months? If so, when would they be ready to market?
- Should the whole line be promoted in the coming months, or should efforts focus on
- Monthly or seasonal selections?
- Is production capacity meeting current needs? If not, what has to be done and by when?
Wholesale market:
- Has a wholesale strategy been or in the process of being developed?
- If so, what should be done: catalogs to produce, representatives to identify and contact,
trade shows or similar events to attend? - At one’s website, is there a wholesale section with catalog, pricing and terms for wholesale inquiries?
- Are all or only selected items in one’s line made available to wholesale buyers?
- What needs to be done to produce the volume required for wholesale?
- Does one plan to set up permanent or seasonal pop-up stores or counters in retail stores or outlets?
- l Will one set up booths or pop-up stores at festivals or other special events in the coming month?
Retail:
- Does one plan to open one or more retail stores in the near future?
- While steps are being taken to address these issues, sales must go on. So since e-commerce operates on a global scale through the internet, why not take advantage of regional celebrations if this works with one’s line? For example, India and Bangladesh will celebrate Friendship Day on August 5 as shown on the list of events included. An e-commerce in United States or Denmark may point this out with a pop-up message at its site, inviting shoppers to join in this tradition and honor one’s friends on that day with a gift of a product offered at your site.What would prevent an e-commerce in Canada to mark Italy’s round-the-clock “Crazy Web Shopping Day” on November 9 and 10 with a 24-hour sale of its own, or to offer specials to highlight Japan’s Health and Sports Day on October 8? Of course, this takes extensive planning but then, as an e-commerce owner, you already think globally.
https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/wholesale-ecommerce-websites
July 14: Bastille Day, France’s national holiday.
➜ Aug. 5: Friendship Day, India and Bangladesh.
➜ Aug. 9: National Day, Singapore.
➜ Aug. 21 or 22: Eid al-Adha (holy festival/feast
of sacrifice). Worldwide Muslim celebration
lasting 11 days. Start and end dates may vary.
➜ Aug./Sept.: school year in numerous
countries including the U.S. Canada, Mexico,
Switzerland, Israel and Algeria.
Sept. 2: Father’s Day, Australia and
New Zealand.
➜ Sept. 3: Labor Day, United States —
Labour Day, Canada.
➜ Sept. 22: Oktoberfest, Munich,
Germany. Lasts 16 days.
➜ Sept. 24: Heritage Day, also called
Shaka’s Day, South Africa.
➜ Oct. 8: Thanksgiving, Canada.
➜ Oct. 8: Health and Sports Day, Japan.
➜ Oct. 31: Halloween, celebrated in
numerous countries.
➜ Nov. 1 and 2: Día de Muertos
(Day of the Dead) celebrations, Mexico.
➜ Nov. 6 or 7: Diwali also known as
or Festival of Lights.
The most important Hindu festival
celebrated in several countries including
India (starts Nov. 7 and a day earlier in
South India), Singapore (Nov. 6)
and Malaysia (Nov. 6).
➜ Nov. 9-10: Crazy Web Shopping Day
(all day and night), Italy.
➜ Nov. 11: Singles’ Day, China and also
Southeast Asia. Shopping spree.
➜ Nov. 22: Thanksgiving, U.S.
➜ Nov. 23: Black Friday, U.S., worldwide.
Shopping spree.
➜ Nov. 26: Cyber Monday, U.S.,
worldwide. Shopping spree.
➜ Dec. 2: Hanukkah, or Festival of Lights.
Worldwide Jewish celebration
lasting eight days. Starts that evening.
➜ Dec.12: Harbolnas, Indonesia’s
National Online Shopping Day.
➜ Dec.18: Free Shipping Day, at participating
online retailers in several countries.
➜ Dec. 25: Christmas. Worldwide
Christian celebration.
➜ Dec. 26: Boxing Day, in
the United Kingdom and several
Commonwealth countries such as
Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Start of post-Christmas sales.
➜ Dec. 26: Kwanzaa begins.
Celebration marking African
American and African heritage in
the U.S. and the Americas.
Lasts one week. Includes gift exchange.
➜ Dec. 31: New Year’s Eve.
Celebrated worldwide.
