The tips that will fly your online sales during the big shopping months - voila! Of money

The months of November and December are known as significant sales months.

The Christian holidays, which bring with them Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday along with the Chinese Singles' Day, make the cash registers ring again and again.

This is, of course, also about online sales.

In November 2022, e-commerce sales in the United States are expected to increase by 15.5% and reach a record amount of $235 billion.

A survey conducted for November-December 2022 revealed that 85% of consumers plan to make online purchases this time of year, an increase of 5% from last year.

Mickey Sokolowski, eBay's director of marketing and communications for emerging markets in EMEA, believes that online business owners can maximize this period if they arrive well prepared and prepared.

These are the tips he provides online merchants in preparation for it:

This is one of the most important things.

Israelis sell a lot to the United States and England, where the importance of customer service is very high.

You must be able to provide a quick, high-quality and accurate response to those who contact you, even if this means recruiting additional personnel to the existing one.

Make sure no question is left unanswered, as it can be the difference between an undecided customer who finally buys and an undecided customer who turns around.

Customer service must be available even after the end of the peak shopping period, so there may be inquiries from customers regarding the delivery date, products that have not arrived or products that the customer wishes to return.

There is nothing more frustrating for a business than high demand that cannot be fully met due to insufficient inventory.

Therefore, for the November-December period, prepare with as many stock reserves as possible, so that the demand is met not only in the expected sales scenario, but also in the best case scenario ("Best Case Scenario")

It is important to understand which products have more demand, what sells better.

It is also important to understand what the competitors are selling, and at what prices.

In this way, the merchant will be able to adapt to the market and produce differentiation according to different parameters (product, price, visibility, etc.).

eBay has a tool called Terapeak that allows a merchant to perform such market research easily and simply.

Other selling platforms have their own tools for these purposes.

It is recommended to use them.

at a time when there are many buyers and there are also many sellers.

In order to stand out among them, it is recommended to place special emphasis on the visibility of the listing: a catchy and accurate title, professional product photos from several angles and a broad and comprehensive product description.

So, for example, if you are selling an electrical appliance, don't be satisfied with just the name, picture and description - include all the technical specifications (Spec) in the body of the listing - which will make it easier for the buyer to examine his data while he is still on the sales page and not start a Google search, from where he may not return at all to your sales page.

Those who buy online have long since done so not only in front of their home computer screen.

Many shoppers make purchases while sitting on the couch with their tablet or smartphone - on the go.

Be sure to make sure that your online sales pages are adapted to these - and that way you won't lose a wide audience of potential buyers.

Miki Sokolovsky, eBay's marketing and communications manager for emerging markets in EMEA (photo: Inbal Marami)

Yonatan Ivegi, VP of Trade DHL Express (photo: Yevtza Pavel Tulczynski)

6. Offer specials

The November-December shopping period is also known as the specials period.

Don't hesitate to do so.

Offer attractive prices, benefits and gifts.

If you don't - your competitors will.

Since this is the time to kick into high gear, don't hesitate to invest in marketing resources.

Publish on several different platforms, and when it comes to social networks - don't be content with uploading posts to your commercial page (which often receive relatively low organic exposure) - but also invest in sponsored promotion.

ensure that inventory and orders are synchronized between your various sales channels, that there is no shortage of inventory and that all the systems you use are working optimally.

"There are hundreds of millions of people looking for products," concludes Sokolovsky.

"It is important that you are everywhere for them, on every sales platform. If you meet the buyers wherever they are - you will sell more, much more."

for Yonatan Ivegi, VP of Trade at DHL Express, it is clear that electronic trade from Israel has been growing significantly in recent years. According to him, the Corona period has increased the field dramatically, so much so that predictions of the volume of trade for 2031 have already been realized in 2021. "This includes an increase of 50% in the number of active customers from around the world who purchase from Israel through e-commerce," he points out. "However, one should not become complacent due to this tide and one must understand that for a customer from abroad, the customer journey, the experience he goes through when he purchases in the virtual store, is important. The various consumers in the world expect from the store To always be relevant and constantly innovate in terms of its products. They also expect personalization, customization of products according to the buyer, which is a hot trend in recent years. All this in a simple and fast experience."

Another interesting fact that Ivegi reveals is that studies show that 50% of the customer's purchase considerations - the very decision whether to purchase or not - are not related to the product itself but to shipping.

"This is why we at DHL Express study these trends and teach our customers how to conduct themselves," he says, and gives a number of his own tips related to shipping:

Whoever offers his customers only one shipping method, for example fast and expensive or slow and cheap - Misses consumers for whom a certain parameter is significantly more important than the other: the one that is sensitive to the price and the one that needs the product quickly.

The global shipping standard is 8 days, but an answer must also be given to those who want the product before that or those who prefer to pay less and receive it later.

That is why it is recommended to offer three different shipping options, with different delivery times and prices.

On the same subject: it is important to offer an extremely fast delivery option.

A joint study by Google and DHL showed that 74% of purchases customers prefer shipping within two days.

Yes, shipping speed has become a significant factor in the purchase and one that many customers are willing to pay extra for.

Therefore, the cost does not fall on the merchant, and he only earns twice: a purchase that is made and a customer satisfied with the speed of the order's arrival (which will also make him a repeat customer).

Each country has its own laws regarding packages entering its territory and the customs clearance it has established.

In order for the customer to have a perfect experience, the merchant must know these laws and reflect them to him in advance.

In this way, it will be possible to avoid a situation in which the customer is badly surprised by the fact that he is required to pay customs duty on his order, is frustrated by the delay in his shipment at customs, or bombards the merchant with questions for these reasons.

To save money in such cases, you must also make sure to send accurate shipping documents with the package, clarifying its contents and value.

When requesting the shipping details, do not be satisfied with the name and address alone.

The e-mail address and the cell phone number have already become elementary details, since if once the notification about a package reached the customer via a note from the post office - today he receives a text message or an email about it.

Even specifying the ID number can be effective, as adding it allows the package to be released faster in the destination country.

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