30-second summary:
- Ecommerce has become an increasingly important element of any business, but it is more important than ever going into the 2020 holiday season.
- With the plethora of brands vying for ad space online, companies must make the most of their marketing budgets by adjusting their digital strategies.
- Socium Media CEO Owen Loft offers four tips for breaking through the noise to get in front of your customers and boost sales this holiday season.
Retailers already set up for online sales had an immediate advantage, but others quickly fell behind. Instead of reaping profits from consumers who have chosen to shop from home, retailers without online infrastructures have missed out on booming sales opportunities. Online shopping[1] was already trending upward before the pandemic, but the pandemic pushed the shift from physical to ecommerce ahead by five years[2].
Businesses cannot afford to overlook digital. But one question remains: How can they bolster their online presence and get in front of their target customers in the current landscape?
Holiday season 2020: A perfect storm of competition
Reaching customers who have flocked online has become more challenging (not to mention costly) as large retailers take control of valuable advertising space. And big-box stores aren’t the only ones driving up the cost of digital advertising[3] — political candidates have sunk more than three billion dollars into campaign advertising[4] this year.
Major retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart are taking more online-centric approaches to holiday shopping this year. Many have already announced that they will keep their physical stores closed on Thanksgiving. Some will even remain closed on Black Friday or offer limited shopping hours, pushing customers to stay home and shop online.
With the coronavirus pandemic stretching