6 Steps to Improving Your E-Commerce Holiday Sales

3. Tags in print media. Microsoft's Tag Reader is a new kind of barcode that connects print material via mobile phones to a company’s website. Add the tags to posters, product packages, ads, your website, billboards, clothing — the list is endless. When consumers use the free Tag Reader application on their mobile phone, it will automatically open a webpage.

4. Hover-over in digital media. This functionality will not take away from existing creative or create clutter, and at the same time provides site visitors with the capability of instantly finding additional information about products (e.g., ratings and reviews).

5. Text-over in video. Video can also benefit from a similar approach using a noninvasive text-over that provides additional information about a product or purchase location.

6. Landing pages and personal URLs. Take the customer experience one step further with tailored landing pages and personal URLs (pURLs) for advertised products. The pURL is shown on all consumer contact media. When the shopper logs in, they receive a list of stores in a certain radius which carries the product. This information can also be emailed or sent to their mobile phone.

Retailers spend a significant amount of money on the acquisition of new customers and increasing business from existing ones via integrated marketing. The fulfillment channel is the last hurdle. By incorporating a few simple activities, retailers can improve the shopping experience while reducing friction. This leads to an increase of tangible and nontangible benefits. Investments have been made in all channels to reach a target audience; finishing strong in the last mile will provide substantial returns on existing investments.

Kamal Tahir is director, services management of marketing analytics, at Experian Marketing Services. Reach Kamal at @kamaltahir.