TECHNOLOGY
toinfinity is an award winning digital agency specialising in maximising online opportunity. They work with clients with the ambition to become multi-millionpound web businesses. We may have only just started to see the summer sun, but toinfinity are already preparing for the Christmas sales. In their first TBE column toinfinity give us their Christmas trading review, helping you prepare for a prosperous winter of sales.
WHAT SHOULD ONLINE RETAILERS BE DOING TO PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS?
Many retailers still believe that December is the biggest month for sales, that simply is not true anymore. Some companies that are Q4 heavy have seen that they have missed target over recent years, the reason for this is they have either not planned or have underestimated the power November now holds for retailers.
Over the past three years we have had many clients coming to us asking about online retailing trends around the lead up to Christmas, this is mainly due to the affect Black Friday has had on e-commerce. This originally American concept has exploded within the UK, with the first one held in the UK by Asda in 2013( not surprising as Asda is owned by US retailing giant Walmart). As an e-commerce agency we have had to clearly understand the impact it has on retailers and how we can unlock the secrets of how businesses in the UK can maximise this time of the year.
the case, Cyber Monday 2015 was the biggest day for online retailing ever within the UK as consumers decided not to wrestle with each other for bargains in the shops, but instead stayed in their front room and shopped online.
So with this significant move online retailers should start planning for the pre-Christmas sales as early as possible.
Embrace the latest business technology at an Excalibur Discovery Day
Swindon based Excalibur, specialists in communications and IT for business are inviting you to embrace the latest technologies at one of their Discovery Days.
Discovery, dis-cov-ery noun [ countable, uncountable ]
an act or the process of finding somebody / something, or learning about something that was not known about before.
Black Friday is still something that some UK retailers shy away from because due to its nature, it hits margin quit heavily. However, most retailers now are focusing marketing efforts on Black Friday by discounting heavily and holding extended pre- Christmas sales aiming for sales volume rather than margin. Some companies have been going crazy with discounts and sales lasting up to 11 days, though most last four days due to the rise of‘ Cyber Mondays’.
We have seen Black Friday consumer behaviour fluctuate significantly year-on-year within the UK and feel that this is due to this sales period still being in its infancy over here. Last year shops were all set for a repeat of the manic scenes seen on shop floors around the country in 2014, however this was not
Ultimately if you ' re looking at getting exposure organically to your site in time for the sales in November, you should be working on it now, however from a paid search and email perspective if you spend your time wisely over the summer you can get a very strong plan in place ready for November.
We are giving a talk on this subject and we will be publishing our findings from the last three years of research on June 29 at Arclite House, Swindon. Follow the details below to book your free space now.
Please note: Tickets are very limited!
Discovery Days offer a hands-on approach, demonstrating the capabilities of the latest Microsoft and Vodafone products available in the marketplace to aid your business success, alongside some fun with cutting edge gadgets including the Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets and 3D printer technology.
In a workshop style, Excalibur offer practical tips and advice and invite attendees to share their problems with the group. They will share with you their journey, share the pain points and lessons learnt as they adopted and then rolled out the core approaches and technologies that have transformed their business.
There’ s no sales pitch, the idea is to inspire you to look at things differently. Excalibur will demo products that can enable your business to become more profitable and efficient, but what happens next is up to you.
Excalibur Discovery Days are taking place on the following dates:
June 16, July 28, September 15, October 27, November 24
Both morning and afternoon sessions are available and the day takes around 3.5 hours. To find out more and to book your space email Sara Witham: sara. witham @ ex-c. co. uk
SPECIAL FREE EVENT
Christmas Online Retailing Trends " Unwrapped "
June 29 at Arclite House, Swindon
Book your ticket by emailing info @ toinfinity. co. uk Hurry as numbers are limited
26 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2016