WHAT'S CAUSING THE CURRENT SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION?

There are several reasons why the world is experiencing a supply chain disruption in 2021, and possibly into 2022. If you remember the panic toilet paper buying when the pandemic hit, in a way this became a trickle-down effect.
 
That’s because supplies began panic buying more materials than they needed to keep up with demand. This ranged from all kinds of items and materials, including plastics, wood, and even soybeans. No matter what industry you are in, you are likely observing some effect of supply chain disruption and product shortage.
 
Production in China slowed down during the height of the pandemic. Serving as the world’s factory for nearly all everyday items (and much more), availability for materials came to a screeching slow down.
 
Meanwhile, the current shortages are also causing price inflation. As the global economy works to recover from the pandemic, businesses and customers alike are feeling the crunch.

HOW IS THE DISRUPTION AFFECTING ECOMMERCE?

Product shortages are causing problems ranging from dissatisfied customers to having a plan for an economic downturn.
 
The disruption is forcing ecommerce brands to predict how customers and even your competitors may respond to economic downturns. It’s also making brands look into alternative suppliers and devise a plan of how to get what they need.
 
However, the effect of the disruption isn’t entirely negative. The disruption presents an opportunity for some or all the following:

• Rethinking your strategy of customer loyalty
• Devising a better plan for a new supply network
• Pick up market share

 
No matter the positive or negative effects of the disruption, here is how you can start handling shortages.

WHERE TO START WITH HANDING SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION

Ecommerce is incredibly competitive, and having a plan on how to handle disruptions can save your sales as well as your reputation. However, brands must face reality that this disruption is likely going to last for quite a while. Without a plan, you’re sailing on a sinking ship.

Consider Your Inventory

The first approach is looking at your current inventory. What do you currently have that you can ship to customers quickly and affordably?
 
This is the time to start stockpiling on items needed for inventory. Imagine what you would need if your supply chains were entirely unavailable to you. Even though there is likely going to be a wait, put your orders in as quickly as possible to build up inventory. This way, you won’t be caught unprepared or unable to supply customers with what they need.

Get a Backup Supplier

There’s no better time than now to consider a backup supplier. What other suppliers can you reach out to for fulfilling inventory needs? You might need to consider new suppliers from other corners of the globe to help bring in new inventory.

Partner with Logistics Professionals

When you’re having trouble determining the logistics of low (or no) inventory, it can pay to partner with the professionals. They can potentially help you find new sources of inventory that you may have otherwise overlooked.
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Create an Emergency Plan

Consider what you will do if there is no inventory available to buy. This will be part of your plan of action to stockpile what you need. However, you’ll also need to consider how you will communicate emergency plans to customers.
 
Customer communication is a major aspect of surviving a supply chain disruption. In part II, we’ll show the best practices of customer communication during a supply chain disruption---a big key to surviving the uncertain. 
​

Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan on Unsplash

It was a year-and-change ago that we first addressed the good news/bad news narrative ecommerce merchants were facing after a global pandemic kneecapped economic and public health concerns around the world. That was a seismic shock on a number of levels, but as business and life needed to go on, we explored strategies for preserving investments and even making the most of a new captive audience of shoppers forced to buy online.

Fast-forward to this point, more than halfway into 2021, and we are still here. After a brief period of “reopening” after a vaccination purported to liberate us from isolation, a resurgent Covid-19 wave has yet again imperiled virtually every aspect of our lives.

How did your store fare during the initial lengthy duration? Did you thrive or struggle? Whatever is your story, it’s about to again face challenges. But the shift toward online buying has paved the way for a potential continuation of opportunity.

Lockdowns hitting physical retail establishments last year bumped up the statistics for ecommerce merchants worldwide, but not by a significant margin – at first. Eventually, those numbers increased, reflecting comfort among consumers who grew familiar with and appreciative of the convenience of buying online.
​
Averages being averages, not everyone fared the same. The Latin American marketplace Mercado Libre doubled its daily sales between the second quarter of 2020 and the same period of 2019. Coronavirus, not a friend to anyone, did boost sales in the US for ecommerce merchants. Year-to-year sales increased just over 32 percent at the height of the lockdown. Perhaps Americans were more motivated than anyone to shift their shopping venues.

Not all good news

Though a general trend sent consumers to their computers and phones in record numbers, that did not translate to a universal benefit for all sellers. The reason will resonate as obvious: averages are driven by big players, and all in all, the existing ecommerce giants such as Amazon and Walmart saw the most gigantic hikes. In other words, either those who had experience with established online sellers were more likely to go to them for all or most purchases, or shoppers who were new to the game decided to trust the marquee merchants over smaller entities.

“Digital divides” played a role in this; online infrastructure was prepared to deliver, so to speak. Mid- to small-level sellers had a lot of catching up to do. And for some it never really materialized.

That said, this continued global struggle with a pathogen that doesn’t seem likely to go away presents a renewed opportunity to seize on what is already existing in everyone’s business model, provided they made early efforts to transition.
​
An important factor for sellers around the world is the role governments play in facilitating access and relaxing regulations. Convincing elected officials that economic fitness, including critical levels of tax revenues essential for day-to-day operations, is a primary goal, is paramount. Most understand but may lack the willingness to invest at a time when budgets are shrinking. Economists understand this is the opposite of good economic policy. An organized effort to convince them otherwise could make an extraordinary difference that benefits all. 

Whether you're jumping off the dock or settling in for a backyard BBQ, we hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

​Come back next week for a new post on Covid and its continued affects on ecommerce.

​Welcome back to the How to Handle Abandoned Carts that Don’t Result in Sales series. In part I of the series, we discussed the following:
 

• The reasons why customers abandon their carts: lack of trust or unexpected costs.
• How to reach out to abandoned cart customers in a timely manner: time is of the essence.
• Best practices for customer outreach: how to reach out to customers who abandoned their carts, using email and other avenues that we’ll discuss in part II.

 
Implementing the advice from the last blog can help you create an outreach plan at the precise timing. But what if you can automate some of the process while saving sales at the same time?
 
Now, we’ll discuss tools that can help you automate abandoned cart problems and regain sales.

​1. Optin Monster 
Optin Monster is a popular pick as a cart abandonment saver tool. It uses advanced page-level targeting to track the behavior of your visitors.
 
From there, Optin Monster will provide your customers with irresistible offers. This tool also comes with attractive and beautifully designed templates which are entirely customizable. Some of the approaches that Optin Monster includes countdown timers, floating bars, and geotargeting.
2. BigCommerce Cart Abandonment SoftwareWant to send automated emails for abandoned cart users? BigCommerce Cart Abandonment Software implements this approach.
 
It works like this: a customer adds an item to a cart. They close out of the browser or leave without purchasing.
 
From there, BigCommerce Cart Abandonment Software will send an email to your customer and remind them to come back.
 
You even have an option to add a coupon for extra enticement. Keep in mind that one of the reasons people abandon carts is unexpected (or high) shipping costs. An automated email with a coupon for free shipping can sweeten the deal.
 
3. Chatra Live Chat + Cart SaverHow about a pop-up chat box in real time when a customer abandons their cart? That’s what Chatra Live Chat + Cart Saver is all about.
 
This is a powerful plugin for engaging visitors. An interesting advantage is that you can see what customers are typing before they hit the send button. It’s almost like reading their mind!
 
How can you take advantage of undecided shoppers with live chat, including Chatra and similar services? Several approaches include:
 

• Determining the average time on the website from the time of browsing to making a purchase, triggering a live chat option after that time period. You can track time on your website by using Google Analytics.
• Nurture customers who reach a specific dollar threshold in their cart.
• Assist with payment problems in real time if incorrect information is submitted during checkout.

 
Implementing an automated process for abandonment carts can be a game changer for saving sales. Keep an open mind in terms of which approach works best for your business. You may begin with one idea or automated tool and then switch to another, tweaking to get your desired results.
 
Understanding your customers and their behavior can assist with scoring more sales while increasing buyer confidence. Meanwhile, these 3 automated tools can help you save time while overcoming abandoned cart obstacles. 

​As customers browse your products, it’s not uncommon to add products to cart without making a purchase. Unfortunately, the average abandoned cart rate is 72%, which can seriously take a bite out of your profits. 
 
While frustrating, there are solutions to help this happen less often while having more successful transactions. In this two-part series, we’ll show you to handle abandoned cart situations that don’t result in sales.

Why Do Customers Abandon  Carts?

Before we dive into effective strategies for handling abandoned carts, it helps to know why people abandon carts in the first place.
 
There are several common reasons:

• Unexpectedly high shipping costs or taxes
• Requirement to create an account
• A time-consuming checkout process
• Slow shipping and delivery
• Website performance problems
• Limited payment options
• Lack of reviews and/or social proof 
• Browsing and researching product, leaving the item in the cart to return to it later

 
The good news is that there are ways that you can reach out to abandoned cart customers and alleviate their concerns. 

Reaching out to Abandoned Cart Customers: Time is of the Essence

There is a strategic process for reaching out to abandoned cart customers, especially if you want to do it effectively.
 
Timeliness is important when it comes to reaching out. You’ll want to act quickly, as the experience at your online store will be fresh in the customer’s mind.
 
Meanwhile, a timely outreach can help tap into the purchase mindset. A customer might still have the idea of an item or shopping on their mind, making it easier to lead them back to the cart.
 
Another important note to keep in mind is accessibility. The customer might still be on their computer or on their phone. If this is the case, it can be a quicker and easier process to finish the purchase. 

Best Practices for Abandoned Carts: Customer Outreach 

Now that you know the importance of timeliness, it’s time to think about best practices to put into action.
 
One of the most popular ways to reach out to customers with abandoned carts is via email. Abandoned cart emails can be quite effective when used correctly, helping you to regain up to 14% of your sales.  
 
You’ll want to send the email within the first 2 hours of the abandoned cart occurrence. If this doesn’t yield a response, send a follow up email 24 hours later.
 
In the email, you’ll want to include a photo of the item that the customer is considering. This approach will get the item back on the customer’s mind. Providing a link to their cart can give them quick access to make the final purchase.
 
If you still find yourself having a hard time with abandoned carts, this is a chance to add a discount to the product or offer free shipping. Since unexpected costs can contribute to abandoned carts, this is one way to address the issue.
 
For part II of our abandoned cart series, we’ll discuss tools to use for abandoned carts. These automated suggestions will help save you time with the ultimate goal of customers finishing their transaction. 

Photo by David Clarke on Unsplash

Don’t be surprised if the lion’s share of blog posts and other venues devoted to offering tips on building and sustaining your ecommerce biz are directly related to marketing. It’s clear by now that the virtual world of shopping has expanded consumer options exponentially, which comes with its own Catch-22: yes, you have a built-in audience you’d never have as a simple physical store; no, you are not the only game in town. Crafting a smart, savvy marketing strategy is the only way to become a viable presence with a statistically significant customer base.

Thankfully there are innumerable useful hints on how to market an ecommerce business, and they range from commonsense to proven to edgy, new approaches developed after the phenomenon of online buying reached its multi-decade stage.
​
Following are strategies known to generate business and, more importantly, to keep it.

• REWARDING REPEAT CUSTOMERS
  
  Once you hook a buyer and deliver both excellent products and superior service, consider offering them a loyalty bonus in the form of a discount, exclusive sales info, or anything you create as an appropriate and do-able campaign.
  
  
  
• TAP INTO THE UNKNOWN
  
  People seem to crave a quasi-gamble, as evidenced by the volume of lottery tickets sold every week. Carry that over to your ecommerce store by converting lookers into buyers, enticing them with a “mystery discount” they will only uncover after spending time on your site. It’s a tactic that’s irresistible to some, and unoffensive to those who aren’t terribly interested.
  
  
  
• PERSONALIZATION PLUS
  
  Online shopping is as personal, if not more personal, than in-store buying. Consumers tend to execute targeted searches in their spare time. Consider developing segregated sub-stores within your main store, setting up “lifestyle segment promotions” aimed at luring buyers in search of something special.
  
  
  
• ‘TIS THE SEASON
  
  Holiday or seasonal promotions are as old as time in the commerce sector, and in ecommerce, they reflect a superb sales strategy. Take great care in presenting a campaign that is aesthetically pleasing, well planned, and reflective of an offer that is unique – not just an extension of a current sales promotion.
  
  
  
• FLASH-BANG FOR EFFECT
  
  Repurpose the tried-and-true “flash sale” invented by predecessors in commerce. Whether you’re offering a clearance price on older inventory or a temporary price reduction on current fare, these tend to be effective for capturing the attention of shoppers. Even better, design a secret flash sale that teases with a graphic offering a percentage-off deal by “unlocking” through a website click.
  
  
  
• NO DOWN TIME
  
  Our final tip is to be on-brand, on-time, and on-target every day. Accomplish this by ensuring every visitor to your store’s site experiences the full potential of engagement and interest. Promotions should target existing customers, but also be incentivizing new buyers who want to be part of the club. In short, make every contact count.

 
For a bevy of fabulous tips, facts, strategies, and overall info on the evolving ecommerce world, check out ecommerce specialist Namogoo. They are awesome.

When their customer base is virtually all over the country, or even the world, ecommerce merchants must employ a different strategy than brick-and-mortar sellers in terms of assessing consumer demand. There is no way around this, and it highlights the upside/downside element of internet selling by expanding a customer base while fighting to retain competitive advantage over the litany of other online merchants.

One way to push ahead is to expedite an analysis of trends that drive consumer choice in real time. The pace of demand and taste is always evolving, and often doing so faster than the pace at which most can adjust. This is the time to acquire a method of quickly figuring out what is most likely to make your online store a success. The answer is to turn to rapid customer research.

While there are several ways to accomplish this, we find several useful resources that can guide sellers. Depending on the user research method you prefer, you can get into varying levels of assessment with respect to what your buyers and potential buyers want. Shopify, with its frequent and generous tip offerings to ecommerce vendors, supplies this collection.
​
The pandemic-induced physical lockdown that prevented customers from making quick trips to local stores naturally shifted more and more consumers to online shopping, a phenomenon that was widely celebrated among ecommerce vendors. It also established a new list of demands and considerations that each seller should have studied in order to take advantage of the expanded buying class. 

​Three important factors stand out:

• Will the pre-pandemic campaigns designed to lure in those already comfy with online buying serve the new brand of internet shopper? Research experts’ tips on whether your prior messaging is applicable now, especially as we head into the holiday shopping season.
  
  
• With the second year of pandemic-forced limitations on in-store buying, are you comfortable with your approach to marketing, inventory, and policy issues that were used last year? More physical stores are considered “open” now; that said, an increasing rate of Covid-19 infections may lead to more actual lockdowns. You must prepare your holiday business strategies accordingly, knowing that you will face a potential loss of online business, yet must prep for another banner year of mass sales.
  
  
• Customers’ shopping experiences should always be the hallmark of your business strategy, so make sure that your efforts to conduct rapid research takes into account the post-sale satisfaction levels you count on to make a name for yourself and your store. In short, customer service is still key.
  
  

Quick adaptation has always been a critical force in operating ecommerce stores, but this year in particular may be the ultimate test in how well and how fast your response and planning tactics will bring you a successful season, let alone year as a whole.

Among dozens of considerations merchants of all type need to take to heart, one of the most impactful is offering reduced pricing either as part of a sale even to all or even to selected loyal customers. This has become a problem for many ecommerce vendors, especially. Discounts are well known to be magnets for new and existing buyers; in fact, for online commerce, they are a driving force in the skyrocketing rate of revenues year after year.

For larger e-sellers, discounts are a staple and a primary marketing tool. Giants such as Amazon use them to produce maximum revenues on a marginal basis, meaning they may profit more on the sheer number of sales, even if they take a loss on each individual transaction.
​
But when is and is not a good time to slash prices? Here are some important factors to evaluate, broken into two categories -- advantages and disadvantages:


The Yes Effect, or why offering sale prices is a great idea:

1. AOV, or Average Order Value
   How much revenue are you generating for each customer on checkout? This figure offers a useful tool for overall assessment on the typical sale. If you bundle a variety of products together, it helps generate sales for categories that are experiencing a dip in revenues. Ecommerce big players adopt this strategy frequently.
   
   
2. Long-term loyalty discounts
   Retain long-time or just somewhat regular customers by rewarding their repeat purchases with discounts. This is on balance a good way to encourage continued loyalty. And it’s not limited to product discounts. Also consider perks such as “Buy one; get one half-off” or “Receive a logo T-shirt with each $50 purchase.”
   
   
3. Kickstarting a client base
   Offering discounts right off the bat is a great way to look attractive to new buyers. Provided you are in a position to follow through, benefits such as free shipping are tried-and-true methods of luring up to 70 percent of shoppers who are first-time visitors.
   
   
   

The No Effect, or why sales pricing may backfire:

1. More harm than good?
   Some e-tail analysts say that regular deep discounting can be a self-inflicted fatal wound when customers begin to suspect they are a false representation of your usual prices. Overdoing discounts is a pattern seen in jewelry stores offering half-off gold chain sales and never change that policy over a period of years, for example.
   
   
2. Stay in the black
   Profit margins suffer when an item is discounted too heavily, as customers may expect that price to hold over time. If you continue it, your bottom line suffers. If you don’t, buyers may look elsewhere.
   
   
3. Offer good stuff
   Quality control changes everything. If your products don’t meet the standards buyers come to expect, they will see the discount as a manipulative tool to peddle inferior goods. This is especially true with respect to products offered with no warranties.
   
   

The basic points to be considered in contemplating a regular discount program require a careful study into your inventory, your current profit figures, your reputation going into the program, and whether you feel confident that it’s a positive business model that will serve you years down the road. Proceed with caution, but don’t be shy about proceeding if it all adds up.

The old adage goes something like this: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” We’ll back off of the hyper-dramatic element therein, while still making a solid point. And here it is: Attempting to ramp up your practical and technological upgrades can be a colossal failure for an ecommerce store if it is not prepared to make certain that it’s functional.

Countless blogs—including ours—eagerly advocate for trending technology as a method of padding your bottom line. It’s simple to discover a new strategy that uses tech concepts to make your site more noticeable and competitive, and even simpler to share it as a fabulous way to help you sell. The downside of this unfolds when the execution goes south, and disappointment ensues.
​
This blog post represents a reversal of our typical entries, for good reason. It’s equally important to avoid errors as it is to take advantage of popular, accelerating trends.

​Here are some examples, pulled from past suggestions we and others have made:

• MOBILE SHOPPING and MOBILE PAYMENTS
  At some point, these will be standard elements, as conventional as opening a brick-and-mortar store. For now, though, there are considerations that should be acknowledged with respect to ensuring your online store is providing seamless access without interruption, including a compromised interface that translates to poor visual presentation and makes prospective buyers immediately turn away. If you wish to place an emphasis on tailoring your store interface for smart phones (which are a fast-growing method of consumer buying) make sure you have either the personal expertise to make it work, or the resources to hire someone who does.
  
  
• CHATBOTS and REAL-TIME COMMUNICATION
  Offering instant access to live support is a golden opportunity to rival the level of service available in physical stores. But if your app is not functioning correctly, leaving a customer in limbo, it may lead to their vow of never visiting your store again.
  
  
• OUTREACH MARKETING
  It is never inherently wrong to incorporate personal interactions following either a sale or an inquiry. Emails, text messages, social media direct messaging– all of these can be invaluable tools for establishing a close buyer-seller relationship. That said, too much may be too much. Not everyone enjoys this level of communication. Always ask in your first outreach, in a careful, conversational manner, whether your marketing messages are welcomed.
  
  
• VISUAL AUGMENTED IMAGERY
  Online commerce increasingly is embracing the strong impact of video in addition to still images. Capturing the attention of potential buyers by providing them with a near-living example of how your products will suit their tastes and needs can be powerful. But if your technology or application is not up to par, it can distort what you sell and turn them off forever.
  
  
• REWARDING LOYALTY
  Not that loyalty programs are a newfangled strategy for endearing buyers, but e-commerce merchants developing them need to be careful to avoid overselling. Your reputation as a relatively new source for shoppers can quickly deteriorate if their first attempt to participate is unsuccessful due to an unforeseen factor that makes it impossible to follow through. The trick is to be judicious with reward offerings, updating them incrementally as you gain the confidence in your ability to deliver.
  
  

Now that you know what not to do, you can gain confidence in what you can do, and plan carefully with a strategy going forward that is aimed at growing your store and your reputation in a sustainable manner.

The dizzying pace of futuristic strategies to enhance your online store has a somewhat new entry, and you might want to pay attention. Enter “augmented reality,” or AR, to the mix of methods for capturing and keeping a customer base devoted to revisits. This is a proven hack to showcasing the best of your product mix.

The definition of augmented reality is an overlay of computer-generated imaging over an authentic environment. In lay terms, it means AR picks up on an element in the real environment, then inserts objects related to it using varying levels of interactivity.
​
Sound complicated? It may, but as with any emerging technology, there is plenty of help to get you started. First, evaluate how useful it will be to your business. If your products are heavy on design (as opposed to strictly functional and generic), AR can make them come to life for potential buyers. All smart phones are equipped with AR-capable functionality. Beyond this, the visualization customers experience will put into context how the product will work in their everyday world. This is an ingenious invention.
 
Let’s talk numbers.

• With respect to ecommerce, augmented reality catapults buying decisions in a manner that once was reserved for onsite shopping. Experts estimate that customers are 11 times more likely to make that purchase when an AR “try-on” is available.
  
  
• Almost one-third of retailers are already at one stage or another of implementing an augmented reality feature.
  
  
• 55 percent of customers surveyed say they want to access interactive content when pointing their phone at a product.
  
  
• 75 percent of customers surveyed expect retailers of all types to offer an AR experience in the future.

​The perks of augmented reality are obvious. Whether you sell fashion, sporting equipment, home goods, or gardening tools, the ability to craft a moving image of how your products will appear in the real life scenario is invaluable. Furniture sellers may allow potential buyers to superimpose a sofa into their living room using AR over a smart phone, which saves them the trouble of imagination. You get the idea. It’s the next-level boost for remote commerce that is sorely needed.

But there are restrictions, naturally. Smart phone viewing scales down the actual size to virtual size. Though phone users are accustomed to this adjustment, it’s not perfect as a way to present your products. Counter this by getting tutored on a more streamlined, effective presentation.

Cost is another issue, as many e-tailers are budget-conscious. Complex apps for AR can be spendy. Consider this as part of your deliberations, taking into account the importance and likely success of capturing buyers through virtually real imaging.

There are other drawbacks, but also other definite pluses that aren’t mentioned here. Your best bet is to research, research, research. Start here for a comprehensive primer on how to make this technology work for you.

If augmented reality is not for you now, it may be in the future as your online store grows. Keep in mind its robust features and potential, and continue to study AR as its technology advances. But if you’re ready to take the plunge, there’s no time like the present.