The holiday season is just around the corner. It is the busiest time of the year for retailers. An Adobe Digital Insights report found that in 2017 daily online consumer spending exceeded $1 billion for 58 days during the holiday period. Credit card processing company First Data reported overall spending increased by 9.2% from 2016 to 2017. With the holiday shopping season making up the bulk of business’ annual sales, it’s no surprise that many focus their entire year around those few months. But with all the clamor and bustle involved in crafting marketing strategies designed to drive customers to your business, it’s easy to forego evaluation of your backend systems. What you really need is the power of automation.
Perhaps you’re saying to yourself: “My workflow is fine! I haven’t had any trouble fulfilling orders to this point!” If you’re expecting a spike in sales volume during the upcoming holiday shopping season — and you really should be! — then the tiniest inefficiencies in your processes will quickly become painfully apparent. Here are some things you should consider when preparing your business for the holiday shopping season:
How Much Time Are You Wasting On Manual Processes?
Manual processes that typically take “only” 5 minutes to complete — such as migrating data from your order database to your fulfillment sheet — can accumulate over the course of the sales period. Those 5 minutes soon became 30, then an hour, and before you know it your entire sales system is backed up and the customer experience is ruined. Automation can perform such repetitive tasks in an instant, allowing you to focus your attention on more important things.
Are Product Information And Pricing Up-To-Date?
You’re bound to make several changes to your product catalog in the weeks leading up to the holiday rush. Does your existing system allow for automatic updating of product information across the board? If not, small changes in one sheet may not be correctly reflected in others. When your data flows are disconnected and isolated, you run the risk of data inconsistencies appearing throughout your entire system. Out-of-date pictures, incorrect prices, and mislabeled product availability confuse and frustrate customers.
Are Your Fulfillment And Call Centers Capable Of Handling Order Spikes?
Customers expect quick action on their orders and instant information regarding order status and complaints. Your fulfillment center should be able to comfortably ship orders during sales spikes. Your call center should always have real-time order information available to them and be sufficiently staffed to handle customer queries and complaints. It’s also necessary to consider how easy a customer can return or cancel orders. The returns and cancellation processes should be clearly written and easy to follow.
The holiday season is easy to prepare for — it comes the same time every year, after all — but the lessons learned and changes made can be invaluable when sales spikes occur outside of the typical seasonal rush. A viral ad campaign for your product could trigger a sudden leap in sales, forcing you into a situation where your system is incapable of meeting customer expectations. Optimizing your workflow and processes by automating manual processes and unifying your existing systems will ensure your business is ready for whatever sales opportunities are on the horizon.
Your various systems that handle orders, inventory, customer service, and other integral functions should all be communicating with one another through your eCommerce platform. Watertight integration ensures you can take full advantage of sales opportunities as they show up throughout the year, whether you’re expecting them or not