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Get Ready for Way Day, Cyber 7, Cyber Month 2024: Maximize Your Sales and Boost Your Business!

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Sellers, circle your calendars! If there is one event in home decoration and furniture excitement to which people really look forward, it is:

Wayfair Inc., the global home goods leader, announced its annual Way Day sale in October. As a seller, this is your chance to capture a massive surge of active customers looking to buy, all while Wayfair offers up to 80% off on thousands of items, in addition to free shipping on everything. This year’s Way Day sale promises three days of incredible exposure for your products; hence, you will be sure to not let this event slip away without using the leverage for enormous sales increases.

Way Day will be offering a major promotional opportunity with Wayfair, Cyber 7 scheduled for 11/26 to 12/3. Additionally, Cyber Month runs from 10/22 to 12/09, and Holiday Deal Week from 10/8 to 10/19—it’s recommended to submit your deepest discounts for Way Day and Cyber 7, and participate in as many promotional events as possible to maximize visibility.

What is Way Day?

Quite simply put, Way Day at Wayfair represents the single largest sale of the year, providing unbeatable deals on furniture, home decor, and kitchen appliances. For sellers, it’s that opportune time when you get to highlight your products in front of new customers who are eager to rethink their home before summer starts. Think of it as Black Friday for home products, with millions searching out quality items at the lowest seasonal price.

What to be expected from a seller?

Way Day 2024 goes big, and it keeps getting even better. Wayfair will run a slew of flash deals, doorbusters, and limited-time sales-keeping customers engaged from beginning to end. As a seller, your products can be featured in these promotions, helping you reach a wider audience and drive more inventory than at any other time of year.

Flash deals run for 12 hours-with ultra-high traffic and high interest in top-selling items. Make sure your listings are super ready and optimized for success!

Top Brands & Unparalleled Exposure

As a participant in Way Day, your brand features alongside some of the biggest names in the home goods industry, from celebrity-backed lines like Kelly Clarkson Home to top brands such as Keurig, Delta Faucet, and Hoover. Your products will show premium exposure in a highly competitive marketplace. Plus, you’ll benefit from added visibility courtesy of Wayfair’s family of brands, including AllModern, Joss & Main, Birch Lane, Perigold, and Wayfair Professional.

If you have physical locations for your products, you can take advantage of special in-store offers during the Way Day sale paired with the free in-store design services offered by Wayfair. That way, you will offer customers an absolutely integrated experience.

Ways to Maximize Sales This Way Day

The following are just a few strategies to help drive success on Way Day as a seller:

Offer Exclusive Deals: People love a bargain; provide temporary deals on high-demand items. You also can participate in the 12-hour flash sales and even doorbusters at Way Day to drive even more excitement and eyeballs.
Early Promotions: Build anticipation by early promotions prior to the actual kickoff of sales. Encourage potential buyers to start filling up their carts well in advance; they’ll be entered into sweepstakes to win $599 toward their dream cart. This way, one gains more exposure and gets more sales locked in once the Way Day starts.
In-App Deals: Ensure your products appear within the Wayfair app, which gives customers 24-hour early access to sales beginning May 3. Additional discounts can be extended to app customers to ensure you capture sales before supply is depleted.
Emphasizing Premium Services: Being able to enjoy free White Glove Delivery for products during Way Day is one of the major reasons people would want to shop on Wayfair. Products falling under this service definitely have the edge over their competitors in terms of hassle-free delivery and assembly, which will eventually lead to complete customer satisfaction and create returning customers for sure.
Leverage Influencer Partnerships: During Way Day, curated collections by high-value influencers will be showcased. If your product has been endorsed by one of these influencers or if you have collaborated in product development, now is the time to use their exposure and clout. Influencer marketing drives huge traffic to your store and gives your product a different kind of exposure in a crowded marketplace.

Selling on Wayfair – An Experience in Seamless Cooperation

Wayfair is built on the delivery not only of great deals but also of an integrated frictionless shopping experience. As a seller, you could count on the Wayfair platform, as it will take care of everything from marketing exposure right through to fulfilment logistics. Whether your customers shop online or in-store, with Wayfair you can be sure they will enjoy a seamless, frictionless experience.

Leverage the brand family at Wayfair.

These various family brands of Wayfair will help the sellers reach quite a wide range of customers.

Wayfair: It’s an original marketplace offering homestyle products to suit all tastes.

AllModern: Perfect for minimalistic, modern designs.

Birch Lane: Your number one destination for traditional and classic home styles in timeless fashion.

Joss & Main: Trendy, fashion-forward pieces.

Perigold: This will be for high-end, luxury pieces and high net worth client base.

Wayfair Professional: A must for professionals who need everything from home to business.

Why Way Day is a must for sellers?

Way Day is a once-in-a-lifetime event to grow your brand and drive millions of dollars in sales. From unbeatable deals to curated collections and a full suite of marketing tools, it’s one event that drives millions of customers seeking to upgrade their homes. Reach this eager audience and realize your full revenue opportunity.

Conclusion

Way Day 2024 is the perfect opportunity to boost your sales as a seller and reach more customers by showcasing your products on our leading e-commerce platform. With up to 80% off thousands of items, free shipping, and exceptional promotional opportunities, this is an event that one should not miss. Prepare your listings and set your promotions to watch your business thrive in this exciting three-day sale event!

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Tips to Grow Your Cross-Border E-Commerce

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The advantage of owning an e-commerce business is that it can be easily grown beyond the domestic circuit. E-comm businesses can easily grow internationally. Yes, there are challenges like inventory management or handling complex logistical regulations. But, compared to growing a brick-and-mortar business, an e-commerce business can be built easily and simply.

Why Should You Grow Your Business Across the Border?

Going beyond the domestic borders helps you access a world full of opportunities. However, you must tackle international regulations to target the right customer group. These are primary reasons why businesses need to grow across the border –

Expanding internationally helps you access new markets. This helps you add new revenue streams.
By choosing to work across the border, you diversify or mitigate risks and be in a better position to handle market fluctuations and economic downturns.
Growth across the border helps your business get a competitive advantage in the domestic market.
Going across the border is a great way to enhance your brand’s visibility and recognition.
Entering new markets also helps drive innovation to meet diverse customer needs and preferences.

Ways to Grow Your Business Across the Border

In-depth Understanding of International Business Rules and Laws

All businesses need to understand the complexities of taxation in the regional context. You might also be required to establish a legal entity in the local region to scale up. Similarly, logistics requirements need to be met as per the local regulations and compliances. As a business person, you should be able to comprehend international taxation and logistics requirements, especially when the business is growing globally.

Every country has distinct regulations and your business needs to be compliant with the laws. You need to understand the consequences of failing to comply with these laws and regulations. There could be legal complications, penalties, fines, etc., and can also lead to operational disruptions.

You also need to have a clear picture of the logistics requirements. This involves customs processes and EXIM regulations. This will help run the operations smoothly across the border. Compliance with these regulations and factors saves your business from legal risks.

Understand the Intricacies of Cross-Border Payments and Currencies

Operating an international business requires that you have a clear and in-depth understanding of currency valuations and optimizing prices in regional currencies. You may need to involve experienced accountants to help you with getting clearer perspectives and strategies related to the pricing of your products in different regions.

Remember that the currency valuation differs from country to country. When establishing the prices of products as per the local currency translates into market competitiveness.

Use a Unified Platform to Monitor Global Shipping Paths & logistics

This is important that you have digitized means to track inventory and shipping routes so that every customer purchase is optimized till the delivery is done. Using a centralized platform helps modern businesses be in charge of product and inventory movement. All new-age businesses need to do this. Starting from the warehouse to the delivery of the product to the customer, every movement is tracked.

Choose ChannelSale.com’s unified platform to help businesses streamline their global shipping and logistics. The tool helps centralize the shipping path while offering access to multiple sales channels in real-time. Moreover, optimized integration with ChannelSale.com help in efficient inventory management, and reduced delays.

Automate Inventory Management

Going abroad with your business means handling diversified customer needs and markets. You need to make sure that product information across all channels is accurate. This includes details related to product weight, size, category, prices, etc. When correct product information, shipping costs and compliance-related regulations are addressed accurately. You may also need to translate the product brochures into local languages.

Take the Help of Technology

Technology is a big asset these days. Modern-day technological tools and apps like ChannelSale.com can give a competitive edge to your business. In cross-border e-commerce, sellers need to better understand their competitors. That’s how you can strategize well to grow your business. Use the power of the internet and software tools to analyze your competition in the local regions. ChannelSale.com facilitates multi-channel integration to help sellers with product listings, manage inventory and orders through a single dashboard. Similarly, the tool facilitates automated pricing updates and inventory synchronization in real-time across all channels.

Remember there is no single thumb rule that applies to all international regions. That’s because customer preferences can hugely vary from one region to another, one country to another. Make use of advanced analytical tools for competition analysis in each market. The data-driven approach helps businesses customize their services to meet local demands.

Other than this, technology also helps sellers to identify gaps and vulnerabilities in the market. This helps create brand differentiation, which is the formula for achieving success in global markets.

Key Takeaways

With real-time updates and a unified platform, you can deliver customer satisfaction to another level. No more risks of delayed shipments. Additionally, this helps you boost customer trust and engagement. Cross-border businesses are a great opportunity to strengthen your brand presence in global markets. The task is in no way easy or less challenging. However, automating the inventory, understanding the intricacies of cross-border sales, payments, regulations, and laws, and using technology are some of the ways that are highly recommended for success. Take the help of finance and global trade professionals to navigate the landscape with ease.

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Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2024 Prep Checklist

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Black Friday & Cyber Monday (BFCM) are crucial dates for businesses and shoppers. After all, the dates mark the start of the holiday shopping season. It is an excellent time for all parties to make the most, be it available products, services, or money.

It is the perfect opportunity for businesses to boost sales and strategize sales promotions and discounts to attract customers. The revenues generated by retailers during these days have a significant impact on their annual profits. Take the case of Shopify merchants. In 2023, during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, online merchants on Shopify had annual sales of over $9.3 billion.

If you are an online merchant and want to make record sales, here’s a rundown of a Black Friday Cyber Monday 2024 prep checklist.

Curate a Compelling BFCM Strategy

As a seller, you must curate the best and most effective strategies during the holiday shopping weekend to attract customers. You need to do your best. Strategies must make your sales and promotions as attractive as possible for potential customers, encouraging them to visit your online and/or offline store.

You can choose from a variety of strategies. You can upsell or cross-sell your products. You can target customers who have abandoned their carts to promote more checkouts. Other common tools include discounts and limited-time offers.

2. Extend the sales period

While the weekend is usually busy for most online sellers, you can strategize and extend the sale period. For example, you can start the sale process a few weeks before BFCM or a month before. If you have a physical store, promote something special for in-person shoppers.

The National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics mention that almost 56% of US shoppers indulged in shopping sojourns during the pre-Thanksgiving promotions and sales. You need to roll out your marketing communication well in advance – as early as possible.

3. Keep Your Loyal Customers With You

This is the key to improving your sales – acknowledge the contribution of your loyal customers. By keeping them with you, the chances of losing them to competition are minimized. To reward your loyal customers, you can increase rewards with tiered spending or offer additional discounts. Customers who visit your store early for Black Friday sales can be given bonus points. Friends and family referrals can also be rewarded. Design a customer loyalty program to award points to your existing loyal customers. Start your email marketing early to boost customer engagement and make your brand stronger with word-of-mouth publicity.

4. Indulge in Multi-channel Sales

Selling on multiple channels using high-end services from ChannelSale is one of the best strategies for an online seller, especially during BFCM. If you are already selling via different channels, this is the time to earmark the ones giving the most fruitful returns.

If you have yet to leverage other channels, you need to create more attractive propositions. Integrate and sync your inventory and product categories for best results. ChannelSale provides the best solutions for these purposes. Use the power of social media like Facebook or Instagram to multiply your reach and create channels for more sales. Create special holiday ad campaigns for all channels.

5. Start Your Email Marketing Campaigns Early

Email marketing is one of online and offline sellers’ most trusted marketing tools. If you seek to build and grow your sales during the BFCM weekend, you need to start working on your email marketing plan early. This involves planning and creating the content and scheduling the emails in advance.

You also need to invest in other technicalities. For example, you need to optimize your brand website so that visitors always have information about weekend sales. Let your site collect information related to emails much in advance. Promote sign-up pop-ups on different store pages. Strategize to attract visitors to sign up for sales and promotions.

Personalized email campaigns help with brand recognition. Try to use the customer’s first name. Give proper subject lines and include offers that attract product recommendations based on each customer’s purchase history. ‘Warm-up’ emails need to go out early, just like teasers.

After the sale ends, remember to thank them. This will help strengthen your bond with your customers.

6. Seek Out International Markets

Black Friday is as popular in Europe and Australia as in the US. A survey reveals that in 2023, the UK, Australia, and Germany were the top three countries registering high BFCM sales other than the US. Use an online platform that supports different languages, currencies, payment methods, and domains to reach out to international markets.

7. Use Tools to Forecast Seasonal Demand

You may not want to promote all your products for BFMC. In this case, it is crucial to identify the products well in advance and start the procurement work for production. Forecasting tools from ChannelSale.com can be of great help. Predictive analytics and AI based tools leverage past and present data to help sellers in decision-making. Additionally, specialized inventory management features of the platform help optimize your inventory to meet the increased demand during the weekend. You can also try the ABC Analysis to segregate your top and least selling products. Consult a specialized sales growth executive at ChannelSale.

8. Follow a planned sales map

Just like every other big thing, being organized helps. For BFCM, you can use the Google Sheets or even Microsoft Excel to stay organized. Prepare a schedule for the holiday season and use a date range for all promotions.

9. Decide your shipping strategy for the holiday weekend

With increased sales during the busy season like BFCM, you need to be well-prepared with a robust shipping strategy. This is the time to include special offers like discounted shipping rates to attract customers for bigger sales orders. As per a survey review, about 62% of shoppers look for free shipping deliveries to happen within 3 days of placing orders. You need to partner with the best in the business for faster turnaround times. Take care to mention the shipping policies on your site and include the same in your emails too.

10. Reach out to your past customers

It is crucial to keep your loyal customers with you but don’t forget the ones who had bought from your store in the past. Develop a retargeting strategy with the right tools. You can also look at reaching out to people that visited your site earlier but didn’t buy or left the cart midway. You will need to invest less to re-engage with such visitors as they already know your brands and products.

11. Make your checkout experience stand out

Customers today do not want experiences that are delayed or want them to wait. That is why, you need to work around your checkout experiences. Else, the conversion rates can get affected. Use checkout services from trusted brands like Apple, or Google to make things faster for your customers.

12. Optimize your store to handle the increased traffic

BFCM weekend means that you are expecting a surge in traffic. Ensure that your site loads faster and offers easy-to-navigate features. Use the right tools to test the loading speed of the pages. Have a technical team assess the architecture and layout of the site. Remove unrequired tools or pop-ups that can leave customers frustrated. Build in clear Click to Actions (CTAs) to promote faster reaction from visitors.

13. Create buyer-friendly return policies

Buyers may want to return or exchange items. Make it easy for them to do so, especially for the holiday season. A survey found that 87% of buyers look for free returns when choosing an online store. Ensure that the return policy is clearly drafted and published on your site. To avoid complications, use a proven returns management system for a hassle-free experience.

14. Prepare yourself for the worst case scenarios

You need to be prepared with a ready-to-use strategy in case things do not go as planned. The contingency plan should address all kinds of scenarios so that you do not get busy troubleshooting during the holiday season, taking up all your time and energy.

15. Use analytical tools for better insights

Remember, an online seller’s best weapon during the BFCM season is the analytical tool to leverage data. All your marketing efforts should be based on data analytics. ChannelSale.com offers you a centralized dashboard to throw light on key metrics like inventory, stocks, product listings etc., and provides other analytical reports to understand the sales and traffic-related metrics. Such data will reveal important aspects like – from your visitors are coming, which states or regions are generating more sales, which product categories are being clicked more, etc.

16. Strategize for repeat sales

BFCM is the right time to plan to attract shoppers year-round. The seasonality of Black Friday and Cyber Monday should be cleverly used to develop strong bonds with all your buyers. Strategize to keep them engaged. Use social media and email marketing to keep them informed about your activities and re-engagement.

17. Rework on your e-store site

Nothing can be better to promote the holiday season sales than your e-commerce site. Make sure that the homepage of your online store is not just optimized for the search engines but also for human sensory elements. It means you need vivid and interesting visuals and creatives to attracting traffic and keep them engaged.

18. Make your site mobile friendly

As per data, mobile purchases in BFCM 2023 was at 72% of the total sales while desktop sales was at 28%. It clearly indicates that buyers are more comfortable using their smartphones when shopping online. Make sure that your store is optimized and mobile responsive.

19. Focus on conversions

Simply getting traffic to your online store is not enough. You need to work towards converting the visitors for the money to keep trickling. Take help of tools that let you work on the e-commerce conversion rates in your business vertical.

One strategy that works well is the buy now, pay later (BNPL) strategy. A survey says that almost 35% buyers use the BNPL features when shopping online.

20. Chatbots can be of great help in conversions

Chatbots, operated via AI, can keep your e-commerce business working 24×7. They can help customers with queries, and navigate your site. The more friendly the interactions are, the better the chances of converting random visitors into buyers. Also, add chat windows and FAQs to make the work easier for shoppers.

21. Let your back office be ready for BFCM sales

Optimize your fulfillment workflows so that it is not a problem handling orders for your back office. Make sure your fulfillment areas are organized, and your local delivery agents have clear communication. Prepare your order priority in advance for faster processing. Hire additional staff or take help from friends if need be. Use ChannelSale.com to group orders by product type – this will help save time in preparing the orders for delivery.

22. Ensure your brick-and-mortar store is well-prepared to handle the rush

Use the right POS to sync orders from your online and physical store. If you do not have a physical store, you can partner with a local retailer for BFCM sales.

23. Focus on customer support services

Since the customer is the king, ensure that you have the right people onboard to offer fabulous customer services during this rush period. Your team should be courteous, responsive, and prompt. Communication should be flawless and your team has to be great at resolving problems. Training helps in this regard.

24. Learn from mistakes

Once the BFCM season is over, you need to look back and analyze what worked and what did not. The lessons learned can be an excellent basis for strategizing for the holiday season next year. You need to impartially review strategies and document the lessons for the future.

Key Takeaways

Planning is the key to getting it right with your Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales success. Use these 24 pointers in your checklist to create a successful BFCM strategy. With a strong plan, you will be all set to succeed this upcoming holiday season.

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Embrace the Walmart Pro-Seller Experience with the New Tiered Benefits to Boost Business

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The Walmart Marketplace is ever-evolving and with an updated Pro Seller, the experience can offer the next level of benefits to sellers. This experience is aimed at seasoned professionals and new sellers. In this context, Walmart’s new tiered structure entails multiple benefits related to scaling and growing your business.

Keep reading to explore the new seller’s tiered programs along with eligibility criteria while leveraging the benefits of Walmart’s Pro Seller Program.

Understanding the New Seller Tiering System

Walmart has rolled out its new seller tiering program embodying three levels. These are –

Rising Seller
Advanced Seller
Pro Seller

Sellers can move from one tier to another and gain benefits for their business growth. Different sets of requirements and rewards characterize every tier. This helps sellers deliver momentous and rewarding shopping experiences to their shoppers.

Each level entails different characteristics. Here’s a brief about the same.

Rising Seller

This is the entry-level tier. It is aimed at businesses that are starting in the Marketplace at Walmart and have proved their dedication to superior performances.

Eligibility Criteria for Rising Sellers:

On-Time Delivery Rate: ≥90%
Cancellation Rate: ≤2.5%
Seller Responsiveness Rate: ≥90%
Delivery Score: ≥5%
Content Score: ≥65%
Price Competitiveness Score: ≥60%
Orders Received: 100+ orders in the past 90 days
Active Days: Active for a minimum of 90 days
The seller must operate in full compliance with Walmart Marketplace policies

These sellers have started to build trust in the marketplace. The above benchmarks set the pace for the seller to grow bigger and gain significantly.

Advanced Seller

The next level is that of Advanced Seller. Only sellers that go beyond and meet the requirements of the Rising Seller level get promoted to this level. As the Marketplace gets competitive, sellers in this tier get more visibility on the platform.

Eligibility Criteria for Advanced Sellers:

On-Time Delivery Rate: ≥92.5%
Cancellation Rate: ≤2.0%
Seller Responsiveness Rate: ≥92.5%
Delivery Score: ≥25%
Content Score: ≥70%
Price Competitiveness Score: ≥60%

Key Benefits for Advanced Sellers:

Saving a 5% Referral Fee discount for different product categories.
Unlock advanced pro listing features for improved product visibility.

Pro Seller

This is the third tier. It is Walmart’s highest form of recognition for businesses that have performed the best. The package is reward-rich and designed to support business scaling.

Eligibility Criteria for Pro Sellers:

On-Time Delivery Rate: ≥95%
Cancellation Rate: ≤1.5%
Seller Responsiveness Rate: ≥95%
Delivery Score: ≥50%
Content Score: ≥75%
Price Competitiveness Score: ≥60%

Key Benefits for Pro Sellers:

The tier’s greatest attraction is the 10% Referral Fee discount. This helps businesses maximize their profits with reduced referral fees.
Sellers get to stamp their services with an exclusive Pro Seller Badge that differentiates your services from the competition, helping customers believe that you are a trusted seller.
Sellers in this tier get access to the favorable Walmart Capital Terms, which allow them to invest more in growing their businesses.
With the Review Accelerator Credit for customer reviews of new products, sellers can build trust and multiply their sales faster.
In this tier, sellers receive payouts faster to viably reinvest in their business.
Sellers in this tier can benefit from the discounted shipping rates offered by Walmart to achieve better cost efficiency.

Why Should Sellers Aim for Pro-Seller Status?

Sellers should aim for the highest tier because the tier comes with multiple benefits and serves as a status symbol in the Marketplace. The financial rewards are only one part of the overall benefits. The boost that your brand gets due to the Pro-Seller status is incomparable.

The Pro-Seller Badge has a special significance. It denotes to your loyal and potential customers that you are one of the most trusted sellers in the Walmart Marketplace. This, in turn, comes with the possibility of fuelling higher conversion rates. Besides, referral fee discounts and faster payouts offer viably impressive and tangible financial benefits. You can reinvest the money in savings to grow your business.

Besides, the funding in the form of ready access to Walmart Capital Terms offers you the required money to improve your operations, increase your inventory, and improve your marketing campaigns.

Optimizing Seller Performance

Here are some tips to reach the Pro-Seller faster.

Better your on-time delivery rate with Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). In this case, Walmart’s logistics network can be used to ship inventory.
Reduce cancellation rates by accurately tracking your inventory and fulfilling orders on time.
Respond to customer inquiries faster and promptly. It boosts seller ratings with positive reviews and repeat business.
Ensure that your store’s product descriptions and related content are updated and of top quality.
Lastly, keep reviewing market and competitor pricing to make necessary adjustments. Use Walmart’s Price Competitiveness Score to deliver value to your customers.

Benefits of Utilizing ChannelSale

ChannelSale supports seamless integration with Walmart. This helps pro-sellers to list products across Walmart’s platform effortlessly.
ChannelSale can automate product listings while syncing inventory, pricing, and product data across Walmart and other sales channels. It also offers customized product listings that use product descriptions, pricing, and images to boost conversion rates.
Pro-sellers can use multiple channels simultaneously with ChannelSale to expand their reach and boost their visibility on Walmart.
ChannelSale makes real-time inventory updation easy across all marketplaces. This helps reduce the risks of overselling or stockouts, an important criterion for pro-sellers for managing Walmart’s new tiered benefits.
Utilizing ChannelSale, pro-sellers can monitor their sales performance, order fulfillment, and inventory status on Walmart. Detailed analytics offered by ChannelSale help pro-sellers optimize their business operations.
ChannelSale’s centralized dashboard makes it easier to manage customer support services, returns, and inquiries. Simplified order management also enhances customer experiences at Walmart.
Scalability is a big plus for ChannelSale, allowing pro-sellers to grow their business within the new tiered structure.

Key Insights

Walmart’s New Three Tier system is designed for sellers to excel in their performance. Each tier comes with tangible benefits. With the Pro-Seller status, you can help improve your ratings, reviews, and metrics to boost growth on the platform.

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Poll Results: How Sellers Can Optimize Their Holiday Sale Preparation

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The holiday season is one of an online seller’s busiest and most profitable times. A seller needs to prepare well and strategically to keep everything running smoothly and perfectly during this sales period. We have compiled insights from industry experts and successful sellers to get you into gear at ChannelSale. Let’s run you through a few fundamental essentials every seller needs to consider while gearing up for the upcoming holiday sale.

Question 1: What Sellers Should Do Before the Holiday Season Begins

Sellers must focus on fulfillment, selling, and marketing before the holiday rush hits the market.

Marketing: Start by setting your holiday budget and advertisement campaign in stone. The sooner you start, the better the optimization time. This not only helps build relevance and history in the marketplace but also ensures that your ads reach the right audience at the right time.

Selling: Ensure your products are available, and your product detail pages are optimally complete. Check titles, images, descriptions, and bullet points to see if they’re all current. Detail will increase your likelihood of success during the holiday.

Fulfillment: Ensure that your inventory is complete and ready to meet the rising demand. This will prevent stockouts and keep your customers satisfied.

Question 2: What Do You Mean by “Optimizing Product Content” for Product Listings?

Product content optimization means ensuring your product listings are as informative and attractive as possible because online shoppers wholly rely on information about a product.

Titles: Make impactful, clear titles that drag in the customer and represent your product’s key benefit.

Images: Include several high-quality pictures showing the product from different angles. This will help customers better understand what they are purchasing, just like in a real store.

Descriptions: Detail your product descriptions with the benefits of the product. This will give customers an idea of whether the product is what they are looking for.

Question 3: How can a seller ensure they stay in stock during the holiday season?

Failing in the holiday season due to stockouts can be disastrous; therefore, inventory management is critical.

Inventory Forecasting: Analyze the Q4 data from the previous year and the current year’s trends for inventory needs. Areas of importance will include last year’s largest-selling products and new product lines that are expected to gain popularity this year.

Order and Availability of Stock: Always keep a substantial stock supply for your most sought-after and prioritized merchandise. People will be looking for this kind of product, and you should have enough on hand to maximize sales.

Question 4: How Sellers Can Prevent Marketplace Suspension

Marketplace suspension can eat poorly into your sales and thus should be avoided at all costs.

Product Compliance: Regularly check whether your product complies with the market guidelines. This includes checking the best-before date and evaluating the condition of your stock.

Marketplace Guidelines: Ensure that the products you sell comply with all applicable requirements under the Amazon Prohibited and Safety Guidelines.

You can minimize the risk of suspension and maintain your account in good standing by keeping up with these tasks.

Question 5: Which Tips Can Help Enhance Delivery Capabilities and Ensuring the Right Product Arrival Time?

Timely delivery is a critical success factor during the holiday season. The following are some tips to help ensure products reach customers on time:

Shipment Planning: Know shipment deadlines and work toward them to ensure goods arrive on time and that service is delivered to your customers in a timely manner.

Customer Communication: Provide order tracking to inform customers about the status of their orders and, whenever possible, offer free shipping options.

Supplier Partnerships: Partner with domestic suppliers to reduce shipping lead times and increase delivery reliability.

Discounts and Offers: You can offer discounts and special deals to shop early, eliminating possible dangers in last-minute shipping problems.

Enhance the delivery capability further by aligning product delivery to business strategies and, above all, always staying agile. Focusing on these areas can simplify the complexities involved with the synchronization of multiple markets this holiday season.

Key takeaways

While the holiday season is a gold mine, it also has pitfalls. So, if you take care of these key areas in terms of marketing, selling, fulfillment, inventory management, and delivery, you should be prepared to realize maximum sales opportunities in the marketplace. Leverage ChannelSale’s expertise in software solutions to further simplify your planning and execution on your way to great success.

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The Essential Online Shopping Calendar | July to December 24

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Holiday season is very important for entrepreneurs, particularly for e-commerce entrepreneurs. They need to make optimal use of innovative and excellent planning techniques well in advance besides aligning with the calendar to boost sales. Prior planning also helps in nurturing customer loyalty from July to December. Here, we bring you a few tried and tested ways that can be leveraged to boost business in the holiday season.

July | Celebrations Begin

In July, while we enjoy the summer season and celebrate Independence Day in the U.S., it’s also a month for Amazon Prime Day. Although Amazon typically confirms the date of the event, being ready for Prime Day can bring various benefits.

Independence Day (U.S., July 4th): This national holiday commemorates independence and the historic signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Summer vibes continue. The peak of summer brings days of fun and vacation plans, prompting customers to seek related products and experiences.

Amazon Prime Day: Brands across the nation gear up for the biggest annual sales event – Amazon Prime Day. The prime day event on the website is an annual feature that offers its Prime members with amazing deals and offers on numerous products throughout the site. Such products are sourced from top brands and third-party sellers.

August | Autumn Buys

Moving on to August, as summer gradually transitions into autumn, it’s a time to clear out inventory and gear up for fall marketing campaigns. With schools reopening in September, parents and students start their back-to-school shopping as early as August.

Back-to-school rush: Many families use this period to prepare for the school year by purchasing clothing and school supplies.

End-of-summer deals: Consider offering sales and promotions towards the end of summer to make room for inventory.

September: Celebrating Labor Day

September begins with the Labor Day. It signals the beginning of holiday sales. Entrepreneurs can make the best use of this time to show their gratitude towards their customers by offering promotions and discounts. Attract them with electronics or fashion with deals.

October: Embracing Halloween Spirit

Halloween spirit is an all-time high as the October comes to an end. It is also a perfect time for sales events. Entrepreneurs can make the most of their creative skills and come up with a range of costumes, decorations, and themed products. Launch limited edition items or bundles during this time to give buyers a feel of exclusive buying. This also helps in driving sales.

November: Honoring Veterans Day & Thanksgiving

November is marked by gratitude and reflection, with Veterans Day and Thanksgiving at their core. Show respect to veterans through discounts while captivating Thanksgiving shoppers with offers.

Anticipation plays a role, so you must kick off your efforts well ahead of time to maximize engagement.

Black Friday | Cyber Monday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the heavyweights of holiday sales, offer opportunities for e-commerce businesses. Make sure your online store is ready for the surge in traffic and sales by running ads that drive conversions and offering time promotions. Embrace the landscape on Cyber Monday by improving your website’s user experience and utilizing media and email marketing.

December | Christmas & Beyond

December marks the peak of the holiday season, focusing on Christmas celebrations and beyond. Showcase a curated selection of gifts ranging from stocking fillers to luxurious items. Don’t overlook Boxing Day, known for its discounted prices and clearance sales. Keep the spirit alive as you transition into the year with products tailored for New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Preparing for Holiday Retail Sales

Success during holiday retail sales hinges on preparation. Divide your approach into attracting customers to your store and ensuring they have a shopping experience. Use strategies like pop-up shops, discounts, promotional emails, and social media engagement to entice shoppers. Additionally, enhance the shopping journey by optimizing inventory management staffing arrangements and order fulfillment processes.

Connecting with Consumer Behavior

It’s crucial to grasp consumer behavior when navigating the world of online shopping successfully. Stay proactive, adaptable, and in tune with your clients’ changing needs. By integrating your marketing strategies with the e-commerce calendar, you can position your business for results.

Teaming Up with ChannelSale

For businesses looking to enhance their sales growth, ChannelSale provides a wealth of experience and state-of-the-art software solutions. With close to two decades of know-how, ChannelSale assists sellers in syncing product listings, inventory, and orders across platforms. Partnering with ChannelSale paves the way for avenues of growth, enabling businesses to expand their reach and boost sales on different channels.

In summary, the holiday season offers an opportunity for online businesses to increase sales and nurture customer loyalty. By aligning your marketing strategies with the calendar and tapping into the knowledge of partner like ChannelSale, you can prepare your business for success in the competitive world of e-commerce.

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Are You Ready for Prime Day 2024

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Brands across the nation gear up for the biggest annual sales event – Amazon Prime Day. The prime day event on the website is an annual feature that offers its Prime members with amazing deals and offers on numerous products throughout the site. Such products are sourced from top brands and third-party sellers.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is a massive event organised by Amazon that guarantees its members the best products based on their budget and needs. Apart from this, customers can buy items from thousands of small businesses as well.

How did it start ?

The Amazon Prime Day was introduced on 15th July 2015 as a commemorative event for the brand’s 20th birthday celebrations. Since then the same has occurred every year.

So what exactly is Prime?

Amazon Prime is known for offering the best of entertainment, savings and shopping for its 150+ million global customers and its 300 million active user accounts.

Prime membership also offers unlimited access to top-notch entertainment series, movies and content through its Prime Video platform. Users can also listen to 2 million songs, playlist, stations, etc. through Amazon Music at no additional cost!

That’s not all – users can also enjoy free games through Amazon’s Prime Gaming and get access to 3k magazines, books, etc. through Prime Reading. Prime also offers unlimited image storage through Amazon Photo services.

Tips that a retailer must follow for maximising on Amazon’s Prime Day

Amazon’s Prime Day is about making preparations for reliable fulfilment, advertising and other aspects to ensure effective outcomes.

However, there are certain areas where you must keep your major focus –

Marketing

Marketing your brand is crucial for attaining effective results. To maximize your profits, you should create a strong and unique Amazon advertising technique and schedule the promotions in advance.

Often retailers begin testing their advertising formats, campaigns, etc. to ensure that all shoppers see their offerings with ease.

Further, retailers registered to a specific brand must take advantage of the A+ content. This is crucial as it enables you to cross advertise all products and boost sales. It is also important to increase traffic to your Amazon listings.

Sales

Online retailers should effectively optimise on all features, bullets and product titles. This is crucial to increase engagement and drive sales.

It is recommended to try comparing the listings with the competitors. This helps you to understand and plan for what you are up against.

You can also try Amazon Re-Pricer to properly compete with other listings in your specific category. This also has a positive impact on your revenue.

Fulfilment

You also need to make sure that your fulfilment is minus issues and errors during the delivery and shipping.

Ensuring this brings a quick and hassle-free fulfilment during the Prime Day.

For FBA, we recommend that you ensure that all your inventory reaches the selected Amazon fulfillment centres on time. You must also set out all the expectations with your team for an effective Prime day sales execution, fulfillment and communication.

How can ChannelSale help you optimise your Amazon Prime Day potential?

ChannelSale equips small and medium-scale online sellers with cutting-edge solutions and expert services. This is crucial for automating product listings, inventory management and order streamlining across leading sales platforms.

Instead of deploying multiple human resources to manage such online avenues, you can choose ChannelSale to optimise your product listings across leading shopping sites. You can also get in-depth product sales performance reports and insights into the best practices to improve your presence.

Conclusion

Amazon’s Prime Day 2024 event is a popular and crucial event for businesses and Prime members alike. At the event, customers can shop across unique products or items at amazing prices. They will also come across numerous discounts, offers and other savings on categories like electronics, home decor, furniture, etc.

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Amazon US Retail Sales Forecasted to Grow by More than $100 Billion in 2024

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Amazon is transforming US retail and latest estimates peg the same to reach $641.3 billion this year. This is a rise of 19.9% from the previous year.

Projected growth across categories

The estimates project the following top level physical goods categories that will have the highest YoY growth rates this year on Amazon US

Category name	Estimated sales (in 2024)	Projected YoY growth rate
CDs and Vinyl	$607.5 million	+29.6%
Beauty and personal care products	$36 billion	+26.0%
Pet supplies	$22.6 billion	+25.3%

For physical goods, the following top level categories are expected to have the slowest YoY growth rates this year on Amazon US

Category name	Estimated sales (in 2024)	Projected YoY growth rate
Books	$9.1 billion	+0.9%
Video games	$5.6 billion	+2.8%
Handmade products	$606.6 billion	+3.0%

Understanding the above trends is important for planning and management of your brand growth and success.

What other categories or niches are expected to grow this year?

On assessing the growth trends of smaller niches within the top sellers on Amazon US, the following are noted –

Janitorial and sanitation supplies are a fast growing category on Amazon US this year. The same is expected to rise to 176% YoY and is pegged at $1.6 billion.
Though grocery and gourmet food category is also predicted to grow at 8.9% YoY but beverages alone are expected to cross $9 billion this year (27.3% YoY). This means that the beverages sales will capture 45% of this total category with previous value of 38.3% in the last year.

What is the most stable category on Amazon US?

Experts estimate that women’s jewellery is the most stable and fast growing category on an annual basis. The same has $3.7 billion sales projections in the year.

What is pushing the trend?

Amazon’s overall growth in the USA market is positive. The same is driven by rapid expansion of sales across numerous CPG categories. Unlike previous trends, luxury, apparel and electronics are not on the rising trend.

This shows that the US consumers are focusing on purchasing grocery, health and beauty offerings in Amazon. This is a significant finding considering the close competition from TikTok Shop that offers similar offerings.

Top considerations of your Amazon sales plan for 2024

It is important to ensure you resist the temptation to promote your entire catalogue on the platform. It is best to focus on top-selling products to ensure a strong impact. You must also ensure adequate products are available to cater to such an increased demand.

To ensure that your brand attains the desired standards, you may ensure the following –

Amazon’s strict review policies focus on favouring only credible sellers. You should encourage your customers to review on Amazon and safeguard your reputation.
You should optimise images to engage shoppers and address common challenges. You must also utilise all available image stocks effectively.
To drive more traffic to your listings, you must focus on strategic keyword placement and research. You must also work to integrate your products according to Alexa’s needs by optimising keywords and content for voice-related searches.
Build a buzz by promoting your deals and brands to interested shoppers. You can also engage with the audience to create awareness about your brand.
You must scale up efforts to reconnect with the audience even after the prime sales.

Conclusion

If you wish to transform your Amazon Prime Day sales plan, and business potential and redefine success, it is recommended to invest in ChannelSale solutions.

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2024 Holiday Shopping Season Prep Already You Bet!

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The retailers must prepare for the shoppers as soon as holiday shopping time arrives. This time of the year is very crucial for them. As per studies conducted in this field, 28 percent people start holiday shopping well before November. Thus, online retailers must be prepared for the sudden increase in shoppers. They may encounter many challenges, such as supply chain issues, uncertainties, shipping delays, etc. So, waiting till the nth hour to start preparations for holiday shopping may pose many problems.

Online retailers can devise a well-thought-out strategy that keeps them ahead of the game and handles any contingencies that they may face. Here are a few tips that can help them prepare for the 2024 holiday season shopping.

2024 Holiday Shopping Season Prep Already

Also referred to as “The October Kickoff,” this approach is gaining much traction among excited shoppers. Instead of waiting until the last minute, they start making plans for the holiday season as early as October. This way, they have ample time to look for gifts and make timely purchases. They are ready with their shopping lists and start the activity with proper planning. Once the shopping list is ticked off, the retailers can align with the shoppers, see what they are doing, and prepare for the upcoming holiday season. Thus, as the October deadline looms larger, here is what an online retailer can do-

Let us tackle any problems and check out the existing listings.
Improve the Amazon A+ content to convey your product and brand narrative.
Settle the products to include in the fourth quarter catalog.
Review all data across active marketplaces.

The retailer must optimize and collect the expected projects that will sell well in the upcoming holiday season. This way, meeting the October deadline becomes easier. It is also the best time to evaluate which products are not faring well or are underperforming from the previous year so that the retailer can create optimal inventory levels. The retailer can also make plans to enhance reach to diverse marketplaces. This way, in September, they can establish a strong presence.

Overcoming Challenges

Consumer spending habits have undergone a considerable change due to inflationary pressures. Despite high product costs, customers make purchases, but they have now become more discerning when making buying decisions. As a retailer or a seller, it is essential to stand apart from the competition by focusing on critical areas –

Assisting customers with their needs
Providing shipping options
Describing products. Offering details
Gathering feedback and reviews

Understanding the stocking schedules for Q4 inventory when utilizing marketplace fulfillment services is crucial in the supply chain to overcome obstacles.

Critical steps for success include

Setting goals
Planning and achieving sales targets during the holiday season can be quite a task as sales peak during this time, but transactions happen throughout the year.
Expanding marketing campaigns globally
Upholding customer service standards
Evaluating holiday season performance to guide decisions for the year

Make the most of the expertise and two decades of experience of ChannelSale to boost product sales growth. We use advanced software solutions to sync inventory, listings, and orders across different channels.

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Recap 2023 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Weekend | Registering an All-Time High

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Recap performance results of the 2023 Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend shopping turnout results that soared to record highs. As per a report by Adobe Analytics, Black Friday online sales were almost $ 10 billion, up 7.5% from the previous year. And that of Cyber Monday it was $ 12.4 billion, up 9.6 from 2022.

Which marketplaces were the biggest beneficiaries of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales?

Amazon and Walmart marketplaces were the biggest beneficiaries of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year. As per Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 ranking, Amazon ranks number one among the largest North American online retailers and third in its global rankings. Also, as per the 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report, Walmart is No. 2 in the Top 1000 in North America and No. 9 worldwide.

What were the total sales by Amazon and Walmart marketplaces during Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Amazon announced November 17 to 27 as the 11-day shopping event to capitalize on the Christmas sales.

It sold over 1 billion items during the event but did not share its sales value or year-to-year growth. But reports confirm that half of the billion items ordered on Amazon, or over 500 million items, were sold by small and medium independent sellers. Amazon marketplace had the highest traffic from US purchasers during the event, accounting for 26.5% per the Digital Commerce 360 analysis using Similarweb data.

Walmart was the other marketplace that saw its biggest sales days in its entire history during this Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. There was a four times jump in its peak orders per minute over last year’s sales. WFS or Walmart Fulfillment Services, which provided end-to-end services, achieved sales during these days that were four times higher than its sales ever to ship around twice the number of units than the previous year.

Four top trends and results of 2023 Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Gone are the days of standing in queues early in the morning among the rushing people for Christmas purchases on Black Friday after celebrating Thanksgiving day. In this digitalized and globalized world, the contemporary retail landscape in rushed crowds has transformed into an extended experience of shopping in the comfort of home or from anywhere.

Compared to Black Friday, Cyber Monday is a new extravaganza from 2005 for people to do only online buying and technology products. The following are the few trends and results of Black Friday and Cyber Monday that broke many records created regarding value, online traffic, number of sales, items, etc.

As per NRF or National Retail Federation data, over 200 million shoppers bought products from websites and stores during the five-day weekend from Thanksgiving Day, which was a record than any other previous year.
As per Salesforce data, there was an average rise of 4% of the selling price of all product categories in 2023 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in 2022
Adobe Analytics ICSC post-Thanksgiving weekend surveys confirm that e-commerce sales on Cyber Monday alone were $ 12.4 billion, and for the five days from Thanksgiving, $ 38 billion.
As per the US Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales grew by 7.75 % in the 2023 third quarter, which is far ahead of the total retail sales that grew only 2%

In an upcoming article we will in-depth cover the key checkpoints for online sellers to include in their preparation strategy for the next Black Friday and Cyber Monday Weekend 2024 for simplifying multi-channel selling for companies like yours to grow your business even beyond your expectations.

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