The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted people’s daily lives tremendously, and eCommerce is not an exception. The government is trying hard to protect lives by announcing lockdowns, testing, and giving timely treatments.
Restrictions are also implemented for outdoor movement apart from supplying and procuring essential commodities. While most of the grocery stores are shut due to the lockdown, online businesses are witnessing dramatic changes in customer behavior.
The current situation has created an increase in demand for essentials, which is a big opportunity for online marketplaces or brick-and-mortar retailers. It is really remarkable that government is introducing various small businesses assistance programs that encourage small and medium businesses to sustain their businesses in these hard times and encourage online
It’s time for them to increase their sales and revenue. For people selling non-essential goods online, the situation is contradictory as they may face delivery issues, and apparently, people are panicking to get essential goods.
Purchasing essential products online is helping people follow rules of social distancing. However, this sector does face specific challenges. Market experts believe that e-commerce is a lifeline for cities going through lockdowns to fight against the pandemic.
Below are some e-commerce tips for Magento stores to expand business for e-stores with more demand and some solutions for overall e-commerce business to get over this crucial time.
Tips for businesses in high demand:
- Plan and market on multiple platforms:
During this pandemic, the habit of online shopping is not the same anymore. Some customers do prefer purchasing goods directly from the website, but some like purchasing stuff looking at social media ads like on Facebook or Instagram. And so, promoting products online on various platforms using social media, search ads will help you do branding and boost business too.
- Look for numerous suppliers:
Customers need certain products for daily use, but it is difficult to serve all of them with sufficient goods during this crucial period. Many countries like China, New Zealand, USA, etc. have announced that they have paused international trading and manufacturing products on higher levels. And so you should prefer working with multiple local vendors as a short-term solution in the pandemic. You can also try and get products from other countries who are still importing products and are safe.
- Look for new shipping options:
Contact numerous shipping companies as not all of them ship products in all regions as they have limited resources, which leads to delay in deliveries. So you must make a list of shipping carriers to make sure that your products reach your customers on time, even in difficult situations.
- Make a checklist for more efficiency:
Among the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, to avoid cancellation of orders because of out-of-stock items, try and maintain a checklist. Canceling or rejecting orders after being placed will create a negative impact on your brand. If you have a lot of products to store when they are in high demand, you can consider renting more warehouses.
- Highlight best-selling products on the homepage:
Adding to the list, online businesses should observe what people are often purchasing and then highlight those products on the website’s main page. You can also build some landing pages to float some best-selling products to get more traffic to your site.
Tips for businesses in low demand:
- Optimize your website:
It is the right time to optimize your website, as your loyal customers can see a positive upgrade of the website and feel more connected to it. Likewise, smooth site performance will entice prospects even if the number of visitors is inconsiderable during this pandemic. Once things are back to normal, your e-business will be ready to come back with positive website performance and notable customer satisfaction.
- Continue marketing:
In this lockdown period, people tend to spend more time online, on gadgets and applications. Due to less business, you would prioritize cost-cutting, and one of the ways would be cutting on promotional fees. It will actually be more harmful as your customers may not remember you post the Coronavirus pandemic. You should keep in touch with your customers and send them emails about new updates, engaging content, and promotions like you used to.
- Update your content, focusing on what people need right now:
The current situation is tough for everyone. You can update your content as per the current market demand. Create engaging content considering what will attract people in this situation. It would be best if you kept your audience hooked to your page so that they don’t forget you.
- Hire employees for short-term:
Numerous people have lost jobs in the pandemic. Although in a couple of months, the labor market might get back on track, and big companies may recruit people with high-demands. So hiring staff for half-time or full-time would be beneficial instead of firing them. This would not only ease the salary matter, but you may come across some well-experienced team. This way, you could avoid a shortage of employees to post the crisis.
We all know crises are not very common. When they happen, companies need to take different steps and shape themselves according to the needs of people, be it their customers, employees, and partners. We cannot plan for every circumstance, but we do learn how to deal with the market and manage our company in such situations. We hope the above e-commerce tips for Magento stores were helpful enough for your online business.
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