Ready to get involved in Australia’s largest online sales event? This year’s bumper sales event is predicted to be a massive earner for retailers. But statistics show many brands let critical opportunities for ongoing profits fall through the cracks.
Most retailers are too busy focusing on immediate KPIs to see the actual benefits these bonanza sales can bring (and there are many holiday and retail sales dates ). But the good news is that these lucrative opportunities are in reach for most retailers, provided you do the work.
The retail landscape — and customer expectations — have changed, and so must your mindset.
To make this year’s November Main Event a supremo success, retailers should focus on five crucial areas:
So, roll up your sleeves, and let’s plan and prepare for Click Frenzy - November 2022 in a way that would make any Boy Scout proud.
To get maximum sale profits and give your shoppers memorable customer experience, you need outstanding point of sale software. Get a free, customised demo with an Australian-based retail expert today to find out how Retail Express POS software can help your retail business.
We all know how bad the current supply chain and logistic problems are for Aussie and Kiwi retailers. They can drastically damage profits and also cause irreparable harm to brand reputation. These delays frustrate shoppers and turn them off your brand for life, ruining the customer experience (a huge no-no for retailers right now).
Here’s what you can do to combat potential disaster:
PLANNING:
FULFILMENT PREPARATION:
Ensure all sales staff (online and in-store) know the online deals. Too often, in-store staff are oblivious to online events. Remember: nothing turns a querying customer off faster than a salesperson shrugging their shoulders!
SITE SPEED: How fast is your site speed? Online shoppers want lightning-fast websites. Keep in mind that there’s more margin for forgiveness with non-commercial websites, but a slow-loading eCommerce site is a conversion killer.
So what’s a fast-loading eCommerce website? The highest eCommerce conversion rates occur with page load times between zero to two seconds, according to website optimisation software company Crazy Egg. (Check them out — they have some staggering statistics regarding this issue.)
Contact your developer and make site speed a priority. See this excellent article by Portent for valuable info.
HOSTING CAPABILITIES: Contact your hosting provider and check that your website can handle the extra traffic.
LANDING PAGES: Audit them with the following criteria:
COUNTDOWN TIMERS: Consider creating excitement by adding a countdown timer to your website.
COMMUNICATIONS: Communicate in every way you can to remove any barriers to customers purchasing by implementing the following:
SHIPPING/RETURNS POLICIES
Check your website's shipping and returns page and clearly state your turnaround times, shipping times, returns policies and any other costs they may incur. Be honest and realistic — customers respond well to transparency. They’re more likely to forgive if kept in the loop.
Lifelong customer value (aka customer lifetime value or CLV) is the anticipated total amount of money that a customer will spend purchasing products from your retail business over their lifetime.
Every retailer must determine the unique CLV of their customers (or, better, customer segments). You cannot rely on other retailers’ data as every retail business is different due to the various industries and customer bases.
But the consensus is clear: repeat customers are worth more than new customers, as new customers are far more expensive to acquire.
Why does this matter at sales time?
In the US, 64% of retailers say the customers gained over the Black Friday weekend have a lower lifetime value than customers acquired at any other time of the year, according to Shopify. Retailers often excitedly focus their KPIs on total revenue, missing the critical opportunity to nurture loyal and lifelong customers.
TIPS:
In the UK, one in three shoppers returns what they buy on Black Friday, according to IMRG.
This painful reversal of cash flow caused by returns immediately after sale time can financially devastate a business and cause massive administrative headaches. Even worse, if handled poorly, they can disappoint the customer and permanently turn them off your brand. With this in mind, retailers must do everything possible to:
A: Avoid returns (to minimise the admin, labour time and overall expense)
B: Be prepared for the inevitability of some returns and ensure an excellent customer experience to win over these customers for future sales.
But wait – what about the cost? And who should foot the bill?
Most of today’s consumers expect free returns. (We know, it’s tough.) Research from Emarsys indicated that 45% of consumers say that not having a free returns policy was enough to turn off a Black Friday purchase. And this issue was a more significant deterrent than any other factor.
So, how can a humble retailer charm the credit cards off their customers by offering a delightful ‘free returns’ experience without slowly crucifying themselves?
The answer: Do everything you can to avoid returns.
“Minimise the risk of returns by maximising the customer’s awareness of the product.”
According to the delivery service Transdirect, you can minimise the risk of returns by maximising the customer’s awareness of the product. For example:
If returns are required, do not tick the customer off. Make this an opportunity to offer a thrilling customer experience so the customer wants to return for more.
You can improve the customer experience by:
After the event, use smart retail reporting software to capture data that delivers valuable insights into your customers and products. You’ll discover your most popular products and determine why certain products were sold at sale time and not before. Are the items overpriced for most of your customers? It’s a great opportunity to assess your stock and trim the fat of any redundant items.
Also, when analysing your Click Frenzy 2022 sales data, remember to factor in returns. Agree, it’s such a wet blanket, but we must be realistic.
Click Frenzy describes the event as “Australia’s first and most recognised national online mega-sale event”. Created as the Aussie alternative to America’s Black Friday event in 2012, it’s grown into a year-round, multi-event sales extravaganza.
Click Frenzy brings together online retail brands and their exclusive offers on a centralised shopping platform only six times a year for a limited time.
Shoppers can browse through thousands of deals and hundreds of brands in one place. (Note: to participate, retailers must sign up at the Click Frenzy Australia website.)
Potential customers can search by category, brand, product name or item. Once they’re ready to buy, they click on the desired deal, which sends them to the relevant retailer to complete their purchases.
We have choice news for you, Kiwis: Click Frenzy was recently launched in New Zealand, in May 2022. The legendary frenzy of clicks is now yours to lose sleep over, too.
Click Frenzy mega-sale events cover a range of categories from home decor, electronics, fashion, travel and more. The most popular events are Click Frenzy Mayhem, Click Frenzy Travel, Click Frenzy Julove and Click Frenzy – the Main Event.
Focus on the 5 areas we have highlighted, and the Click Frenzy November event can be the gift that keeps on giving. But planning can only go so far without the right POS software. Retail Express point of sale software can help optimise and automate your business at sale time in the following ways: