With everything feeling \u2018a little up in the air\u2019, it can be difficult to gauge what\u2019s set to happen\u00a0this peak. One thing\u2019s for sure though, agility will be key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this post, we discuss what a COVID-19 peak season could look like for eCommerce retailers, and the opportunities for those agile, innovative brands in a year of unprecedented challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Door-busting, elbow-shoving, shelf-clearing. That\u2019s the Black Friday mayhem of yesteryear, not Black Friday<\/a> of 2020. The future of the biggest shopping discount day of the year remains unknown, but \u2013 it will still happen. For agile brands, it could be the most successful yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years we\u2019ve seen Black Friday merge into one weekend-long event together with Cyber Monday. In\u00a02019, it\u00a0was almost a month long. This year though, it is possible that it\u2019ll become a much longer event, with online retailers thinking more about when the official launch of the Christmas holiday season will begin (seeing as consumers are set to start their\u00a0Christmas shopping earlier<\/a>\u00a0this year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whichever way it pans out, these discount day\/s give consumers something to look forward to, something to be excited about. With a special deal added to basket, they feel smug and share their bargain buy news with friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, as with any peak, pandemic or no pandemic, consumers will want reassurance that the items they\u2019re buying online are actually available \u2013 not out of stock. One nifty aspect of ControlPort<\/a> is the \u2018earmarking\u2019 of stock against orders as they\u2019re taken, rather than when the product is picked and packed. This means orders won\u2019t be accepted for stock that has already sold. Useful, especially for these peak sales periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James Hyde, CEO of James and James recently featured in\u00a0Modern Retail<\/a>\u00a0(see pages 40-41), explaining why he believes the latter half of 2020 offers an unprecedented opportunity for agile online brands. He touched upon the facts of our\u00a0\u2018new reality\u2019\u00a0and how lockdown triggered a major re-think of fulfilment operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insight from numerous\u00a0surveys<\/a>\u00a0tells us that retail continues to face a seismic shift to online sales, with many brick-and-mortar stores looking to boost the capacity of their fulfilment quickly to gain market share in this space. So, those who have already been leading the way and doing their usual thing in eCommerce have likely found new entrants on the scene, employing new tactics and new approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With this in mind, eCommerce brands will need to consider doing things differently this year, not just in terms of product and price point, but customer service and\u00a0experience. Now could be a good time to delve into communicating the social purpose of your brand, as\u00a054% of global consumers feel honesty and authenticity is extremely important<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you place more emphasis on your brand messaging and marketing, it might also be a good time to\u00a0outsource your fulfilment\u00a0to alleviate some of the pressure on your in-house resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peak provides many unknowns this year, more so than previous years, and therefore many considerations for online retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might be asking some or all of the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, thinking about your\u00a0fulfilment operations<\/a>\u00a0specifically, you might be asking:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is likely only scratching the surface of possible scenarios and considerations for your business. Fulfilling customer orders and keeping them happy has to be a priority, especially as you may find brand new, in-store shoppers shopping with you for the first time. This is a perfect opportunity to wow them, from the moment they visit your website to the moment they open their door to a parcel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a resilient and agile eCommerce business, you need a platform to rely on that delivers speed, real-time accuracy, and performance. This technology<\/a> is your ammunition for providing the responsiveness that customers expect, and when you have this at your fingertips, there is opportunity to have a record-breaking peak.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNew online players<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Embrace the unknown<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Seize the opportunity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n