| > | | | | someone else’s design to build your online store |
| The off-season is not time to sit idle; it’s the | | | | and 2) Just for the sake of beautification never |
| time plan your business strategy afresh for the coming | | | | cut-down on navigational ease. Your online retail store |
| shopping season. Now is the time to rework your | | | | should look unique, aesthetically designed and yet it |
| online retail store and if you don’t have one, get | | | | should offer the complete freedom to find out the |
| a web store built immediately so that you get multiplied | | | | products comfortably. |
| sales during the shopping season. It’s | | | | - Work on your categories: Your product categories |
| holiday’ season for most of the retailers; no | | | | are like the departments or the floors’ in |
| long queue outside the store, no yelling customer over | | | | your retail store and the sub-categories are like |
| the phone for replacement, no capitalized email for | | | | shelves or racks. So, arrange your categories as |
| delayed delivery — there is a lull everywhere | | | | neatly as possible. If you are planning to add new |
| these days. It’s the off-season — the | | | | products, add the categories and sub-categories. |
| same fanatic buyers simply not interested to buy | | | | Experts say that the top selling categories or products |
| anything these days! So, what do you plan to do these | | | | should come first so that the customer’s eyes |
| days? Watch soccer? Watch Wimbledon? Go | | | | zeroes on those the moment he arrives at your online |
| fishing? Or do you have something else to do that | | | | shopping cart. |
| would give you robust PROFITS during the coming | | | | - Recheck the pricing: Last year’s pricing |
| shopping season? Well, it’s time to think | | | | structure may not work this year. Note down your |
| seriously about your business! | | | | best and worst performing products. Find out what |
| The off-season gives you the time to assess your | | | | others charging for the same product. Remember, a |
| business capabilities and plan for the shopping season. | | | | product that performed well last year may not |
| In fact, most of the successful online retailers analyze, | | | | necessarily do well in the next year. So, keep your |
| plan and act during this period; thus, just before the | | | | pricing competitive. |
| shopping starts, they launch something completely | | | | - Plan your search-engine marketing activities: Search |
| NEW and end up achieving record-sales’ by | | | | engine marketing is a long process and if you start it |
| the time the shopping season is over. Forget those | | | | now, you will get the results right at the beginning of |
| game-changing marketing ideas of online giants, even a | | | | the holiday season. |
| few simple and yet organized steps can do wonders | | | | - Rewrite the product description: Researchers say |
| for your business. | | | | that the 70% of the reasons behind shopping cart |
| | | | | abandonment are inadequate or incomplete product |
| - Automate the online store: If you are using POS | | | | information and product details written in sales |
| software like Microsoft Retail Management System ( | | | | language. Your customers were not born |
| RMS Microsoft ), it’s time that you integrate it | | | | yesterday; they know what they want to buy. So, find |
| with your online store. Integrating your Dynamics RMS | | | | out the products whose descriptions are incomplete or |
| or the POS software system with the online retail | | | | unnecessarily exaggerated and make the changes. |
| store will save more than 50% of your data-entry and | | | | These are not everything that you should do during this |
| order-processing time. | | | | off-season. Explore new business possibilities, ask your |
| - Revamp the design: Do you compare the design of | | | | shopping cart vendor to help you and even more, if |
| your website with your competitors? Does it look | | | | you don’t get a suitable answer, it’s |
| pale? Or is your competitor has a new design-element | | | | high-time that you change your online shopping cart |
| or a catchy animation that has the potentiality to woo | | | | provider and go for a reliable before the shopping |
| more customers? Check out now! But please note | | | | season begins. |
| two things — 1) You SHOULD never copy | | | | |