The landscape for small- to medium-sized e-commerce merchants is constantly changing. To adapt, merchants must be quite nimble and able to alter their strategies at a moment's notice. Below are some tips for small- to medium-sized merchants to help identify new customers and keep them coming back:
Early bird gets the worm. According to the National Retail Federation, 40 percent of Americans start shopping for holiday gifts before Halloween. This past holiday season, those online retailers that started their holiday campaigns early (some as soon as the day after Halloween) tended to see better results. Without exception, merchants who started early had much stronger sales growth than previous years. Plus, early holiday sales tend to drive additional chatter around the water cooler. Start creating a ton of buzz on Nov. 1, then weaken discounts throughout the month to reward early shoppers.