Consumers want to support small businesses.
Happy holidays! This year’s biggest Christmas gift is the gradual reopening of business and lifting of pandemic restrictions.
And this year, online shopping is expected to be even higher than last year.
Last year saw $14.3 billion in online shopping for the Black Friday and Christmas season.
Experts predict that this year, it will hit about $17 billion.
That means it’s crucial to have a robust online shopping experience that makes it extra easy for consumers.
Right now, the big chains are already promoting Black Friday and Christmas.
It’s time to jump on board and start pushing your inventory and services.
During the pandemic, communities rallied around their local businesses to see them through the tough times.
That commitment to their neighbours is continuing, and consumers feel very strongly about keeping their local businesses strong.
Mom’n’Pop stores, any small business, can use their website to pull in customers.
It’s more important than ever to showcase what you offer.
Even if you don’t have an e-commerce component where people can purchase your products online, your inventory needs to be visible on your website, your social media, your Google My Business.
Showcase inventory online
That’s how purchasing, whether online or otherwise, begins. It starts with research.
There’s an opportunity for everyone to have a piece of that $17 billion pie.
The big chains will get a chunk of it because they make it seamless for consumers to not only see the inventory but also follow through to the purchase.
But most important is showing your inventory online.
Start promoting early, and promote often. You should already be ready for Black Friday and Christmas.
The next few weeks are crucial to getting everything on your website, creating a landing page, showing inventory, and then creating a plan of attack.
Consider display ads, email blasts, text messages and social media.
If you have the ability, take your website a step further with an e-commerce page, where your customers can buy tires directly and schedule an appointment without even picking up the phone.
That’s going to take your ability to capture your audience to the next level.
Instant gratification
You can use a Facebook business page almost like a website.
You can list your inventory, push it on Facebook Marketplace, and create content posts to talk about what you have available.
During the pandemic, people became used to instant gratification.
They’ve become accustomed to shopping on their mobile devices. Your marketing should be mobile-friendly, everything from display ads, email SMS campaigns, social media.
You can also do mobile app pushes or web push notifications.
When consumers come on your site, they’re asked to confirm if they want to be there, which means they can be tracked.
You have the right to push texts to them or do pop-ups, which are inexpensive.
A consultant can help with these initiatives, to get your promotions going and capturing customers.
But don’t wait, ’tis the season!
People need winter tires and service, and if they’re shopping online, they’re doing all the legwork.
You just have to supply what they’re asking for.
