How To Survive Peak Periods In Ecommerce

With the festive period almost among us, many eCommerce businesses will be panicking over whether they have everything in place for a smooth peak. Here at 5874, we want to ensure you’re well-prepared and will get the most out of your eCommerce business during the busiest shopping period of the year. Check out our guide to surviving peak periods:

Be Informative

Make sure you keep your customers informed during peak periods. Tell them of any potential delays and explain the various shipping methods for different items, and how this could be significantly impacted during the busy months leading up to Christmas. This will ensure you avoid negative customer feedback, so that your customers will know exactly what to expect from you.

Plan, Plan, Plan

You should already be using a content/marketing plan to manage all of your marketing work, but when it comes to holidays, you should be planning at least 3-4 months ahead, preferably longer. Successful planning will ensure you’ve thought of every possible outcome, including solutions to any problems that may arise.

Keep in mind any special deals/offers over the peak period, particularly what your competitors might be doing, so you can keep ahead of the game. Going over last year’s insights and what worked and what didn’t, will make sure every year you are constantly improving and make sure your customers keep coming back for more.

Organise Your Inventory

Inventory management is key. You should 100% be keeping an accurate inventory so that you can guarantee fulfilment and avoid disappointing your customers. You should also be using a platform where you can manage all your sales channels in one place, BigCommerce is an excellent example of this.

Early replenishment is also a fundamental part of planning your peak periods, in order to prevent stockouts and keep your sales up.

Monitor performance

You should always be keeping an eye on the performance of your marketing and sales so that you can identify areas that need improvement early. Pay attention to metrics so that you get to know your customers’ behaviours. This will also help with the planning of the following year’s busy periods.

Step up your game

We all know that the months leading up to Christmas can be a stressful and busy time for eCommerce businesses, but it’s important to work together and support all areas of the business so that not one person is in charge of everything. It can be difficult for both large and small businesses, so it’s worth thinking about hiring extra bodies or a creative agency to help with the demand during peak periods. A creative marketing agency like 5874 offers 24/7 support, so we can help when times get tough.

Stay focused and try to enjoy every minute. If you follow our survival guide, you’ll be on your way to a successful peak! If you’re looking for marketing support or help with your eCommerce store, get in touch!