Once seen as purely an American celebration, it’s now taken the UK by storm seeing a 7.3% increase in online spending in 2018 from the previous year. Online retailers are encouraged to start prepping for the consumer onslaught sooner rather than later. So without further ado, let’s jump into it, shall we?

Alternative Discounting

Heavily discounting your prime stock isn’t the only way to attract switched on bargain hunters to your store. Vouchers and gift cards are a great alternative that won’t hurt your profit margins too much. This gives consumers an incentive to return at a later date. Consider adding this option as a spending incentive at checkout.

Email Campaigns

eCommerce stores are encouraged to build excitement early. A useful tactic for retailers is to begin emailing as soon as the end of October as the vast majority hit consumers inboxes the week of Black Friday or on occasion the morning of. This can be done as a part of digital marketing, you can take assistance from a PWA agency in Portsmouth.

With Black Friday being a time-sensitive event this is the perfect time to use a distinct sense of urgency with your emails! You can do this effectively by teasing a countdown of your official launch and added countdown of how much time they have remaining to snag their favourite deal. Try adding an email sign up pop up to your site incentivising that with exclusive deals.

Get SEO Savvy

Stats from PI Datametrics show, the most valuable and heavily searched terms last year used the phrase ‘‘Black Friday’’ and related concepts like deals or sales, as shoppers actively explore retailers offering deals around the event. Surprisingly some of the most popular websites surrounding the event were publishers, the Independent being the second most browsed website after Amazon. This is why it is so important for retailers to utilise this information. Maintain a black Friday deals page for your website, keep it fresh with new content, shopping tips and stats and ensure any links and publicity don’t go to waste!

Mobile Optimization

With those time-sensitive Black Friday deals, customers are likely to utilise their cellular phones to beat the ques. Your site should be optimised for mCommerce with the help of our Magento eCommerce agency in UK, regardless of the forthcoming season. Still, for this such an event, it’s essential to focus on payment methods to ensure the customer journey is smooth sailing.

I’ve written a blog specifically on mCommerce optimisation if you’d like to read more on this.

Up your site speed

Statistics show 46% of shoppers will not return to a slow website ergo a fast website is mandatory if you want success this holiday season. An effective and straightforward way to do this is to use adaptive images. According to the HTTP Archive, 61 percent of a website’s page weight on a desktop computer is images. PWA agency can use tools such as Adaptive Images or Picturefill on your website to save bandwidth. Even simpler, you can adopt new image formats such as WebP and JPeg XR, this can aid in reducing the image density without sacrificing on quality.

If you have any questions about anything discussed in this blog or if you’d like to chat about a project, feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to help businesses reach and surpass their eCommerce potential.

The post Top 5 Tips for a victorious Black Friday appeared first on Magento eCommerce Agency in UK | StreamMarket.

While we’re in this tricky time, it’s essential not to let your productivity take a nosedive. When you’re productive and working this not only aids your business but your mental wellbeing too. Staying stagnant and cooped up can be tricky; however, with efficient planning, we can get through this together.

Stick to your routine

Get up at the same time as if you were about to hit that commute. Use that time you would be stuck in traffic to practice some yoga, do that household chore you’ve been putting off, have a balanced breakfast or all of the above! It’s also helpful to get into that work mindset, so get out of those PJ’s and get into something that makes you feel confident. You’re like batman by day, Bruce Wayne by night. Kind of.

Create a separate workspace

While it’s tempting to work from bed, the temptation to take a nap and switch on Netflix could overwhelm you, jeopardizing your work schedule. Consider separating your work life from home life by turning that vanity into an office desk, maybe you’ve got a little nook you can transform into a workspace? Go for it! This may be tricky for those with a lot of family in the household, but as long as you don’t work where you like to have fun, you’re on the right track. 

Lockout social media

Social media can be distracting at the best of times, but while you’re working from home, it can be a detriment for your productivity. Switch your phones internet off, log out of social media on your desktop and hell, turn off the internet if you have to (and can).

Write your to-do list

Without a clear and defined workflow, you’ll find you feel a loss for motivation. Make sure the first thing you do when you get to your home office is plan out your day, step by step, little by little. I also find it satisfying to write each to-do on a separate not, crumpling it up in a victorious fashion and throwing it in the bin.

Celebrate your Achievements

Without your co-worker BFF or boss keeping you in check and patting you on the back, it can be challenging to find the motivation to move forward. No matter how small you should revel and celebrate how far you’ve come in the day. From making that to-do list at the start of the day, creating that email campaign or completing that big deadline. Reward yourself; you’re doing great.

If you have any questions about anything discussed in this blog or if you’d like to chat about a project, feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to help businesses reach and surpass their eCommerce potential.

The post Five tips to help you remain productive while working from home appeared first on Magento eCommerce Agency in UK | StreamMarket.

Where has the time gone? 

The eCommerce industry is continually growing and evolving, influencing the customer journey in ways we’ve yet to see. That being said, here’s what we do know about the most prominent trends to come in 2020.

Personalisation matters

Customers want to feel connected to a brand, a person, not a robot. So sending an email recommending ten varieties of slow cookers after Sally bought on five days prior won’t cut it. 33% of customers have ended their relationship with a business because of insufficient or no personalisation in place. Consider implementing cart recommendations based on their purchases and searches. With the help of our Magento Ecommerce agency in UK, you can achieve all of it. In email campaigns, address your customer by name and ask them feedback on their purchases. We all want to a part of something, and it shows as 48% of buyers actually spend more with a brand when they’re given a personalised shopping experience.

Voice Commerce

Time is money. That’s why by 2020, voice commerce is predicted to generate over £35 billion in the U.S alone. vCommerce is becoming more popular with customers with its ease of access, closely following mCommerce. Retailers should act promptly on this trend to be one step ahead of the competition.

Rise of eCommerce in non-western countries

Once a retail titan, the United States’ share of the total global eCommerce retail market is projected to decrease by as much as 16.9% in 2020. India, China, South Africa and Russia have seen a boom in their economy, and it’s forecast that they’re going to be essential players in the future of eCommerce. 20% of all retail sales in 2022 will emerge from those currently residing in these emerging markets. So there’s huge potential. Consider making your site multilingual with our Magneto eCommerce agency in UK to reach these exciting prospects!

New Payment Options

“’Mo variants of currency, ‘mo problems” as a wise poet once said. Digital wallets, such as Google Pay, Paypal, Apple or Samsung Pay are broadly realised by eCommerce retailers, and it would be foolish for you to think it’s just a fad. These digital services enable customers to open their digital wallet more effortlessly in your store, creating a smooth and non-turbulent shopping experience. It’s predicted that cash and cards will become redundant as these will be the prominent force by 2030.

Social Shopping

With mobile phones enveloping our lives from morning to night, it no surprise that social media has become a part of the customer journey. Since social media platforms started integrating their platforms with buy buttons, it’s becoming an eCommerce force to be reckoned with. More than a quarter of consumers are now making their next purchase only a scroll away from an aunt twice removed, sharing her hot take on the inflation of butter in her local shop. With everyone and their dog currently on a social media platform (2.65 billion estimated in 2018), it would be wise to implement this into your marketing and sales strategy.

As the eCommerce world continues to evolve and grow, as should you. It’s vital that in order to be one step ahead of the competition, you need to be open to learning where you can, wherever you can.

If you have any questions about anything discussed in this blog or if you’d like to chat about a project, feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to help businesses reach and surpass their eCommerce potential.

The post Top 5 Ecommerce Trends For 2020; And How to Utilise Them appeared first on Magento eCommerce Agency in UK | StreamMarket.

Also known as Cyber Monday 2, Green Monday falls on December 9th this year and is the biggest online shopping day in December, as it’s the last day that shoppers feel confident they’ll receive their gifts before Christmas.

To give you a brief overview, Green Monday was created in 2007 when eBay noticed a significant bump in sales on the second Monday of December. They decided on naming the day as such because they perceived online shopping an eco-friendlier approach, as appose to frantic last-minute shoppers driving to physical stores.

To utilise this lesser-known holiday, we’ve written three last-minute tips.

1. Optimise for Mobile Buyers

Like Cyber Monday, Green Monday is more alluring to Millennials and Gen X with 60% purchasing their festive presents online, compared to just 40% of Boomers. Considering mobile transactions made up around 60% all of these digital sales, that’s huge! Okay, I’ll stop with the statistics now. Consider displaying clear, bitesize information on your site for shoppers on the go to bump up the SEO charts! Our Magento eCommerce agency in Portsmouth can do for you!

2. Learn from Black Friday

Use Black Friday to improve your marketing & processes, analyse the data and see what marketing was successful and what crashed. Were there particular products that were more desirable? It’s also essential to use your best marketing tool of all, your customers! Consider examining any feedback your customers have left you since their BF purchase and acting on them.

3. Charging for shipping? Stop that

The whole point of Green Monday being a significant day in the eCommerce calendar is that retailers are expected to deliver their products prior to Christmas day. Providing free delivery on this day can set you apart from your competitors, an enormous 93% of online shoppers say they are likely to buy more if you offer it. Consider adding banners and other graphics to reassure your shoppers their order will arrive on time.

If you have any questions about anything discussed in this blog or if you’d like to chat about a project, feel free to get in touch. We’reWe’re always happy to help businesses reach and surpass their eCommerce potential.

The post Three last-minute Tips to utilise Green Monday (Cyber Monday 2) appeared first on Magento eCommerce Agency in UK | StreamMarket.

As Boris’ Brexit deal gains an overwhelming amount of support from the residents of the UK, are we finally about to face what a post-Brexit Britain will be like? 

 We’ve been told the stories, read the headlines, but what does Brexit mean for online retailers in the UK? Well, to give you a brief rundown; 91% of adults occupying our humble British Isles use the internet, contributing to the third largest eCommerce market in the world, with China and the USA holding first and second place. This makes our shares in the eCommerce sphere quite prevalent and a no-deal Brexit that more daunting.

 The effect on eCommerce at present

We’ve been told the stories, read the headlines, but what does Brexit mean for online retailers in the UK? Well, to give you a brief rundown; 91% of adults occupying our humble British Isles use the internet, contributing to the third largest eCommerce market in the world, with China and the USA holding first and second place. This makes our shares in the eCommerce sphere quite prevalent and a no-deal Brexit that more daunting. As our Magento eCommerce agency in UK has witnessed, let us take a look at the effect on eCommerce.

 What will the future hold for online retailers?

 But it’s not all doom and gloom. Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight Director, IMRG, says retail is likely to be more protected from the effects of Brexit than other sectors.

Mulcahy: ‘The macroeconomic climate – which must be linked to some extent to the looming Brexit deadline – does seem to have exerted some influence over online retail sales growth in recent months. That said, retail should be more protected against possible impacts than other sectors; while the housing and car markets are having a tough time, it does mean people are making less of the really high-expenditure purchases which, in theory, leaves more for the lower-cost, more regular purchases made on retail sites.

‘A caveat to that would be if things get very volatile over the next few months, with currency fluctuations hiking up prices of certain products. But one factor that can never be overlooked in retail is the impact of the British weather. February has been exceptionally warm, which may be stimulating sales activity for fashion retailers selling new season products. If we get favourable weather in March / April, that may be a significant driver of sales growth – if it’s cold and our exit from the EU doesn’t go well, it could be a very tough time.’

 How should we prepare for post-Brexit eCommerce?

To put it bluntly, there are only two outcomes: deal or no deal. Unfortunately, preparing for both eventualities would require a large number of resources dedicated to finding the best solution for your business including Magento certified developers. This is an unrealistic option for the vast majority of retailers, particularly SME’s. Hence, it’s recommended that online retailers focus on what they can control. But don’t fear. GOV.UK has provided a plethora of advice to help all variants of business prepare for Brexit, whatever the outcome — providing advice on everything from exporting, importing, employing EU citizens, protecting intellectual properties and more. Whatever Brexit is on the near horizon for Britain, it won’t be long until we know for sure. Probably.

If you have any questions about anything discussed in this blog or if you’d like to chat about a project, feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to help businesses reach and surpass their eCommerce potential.

The post Anticipating Post Brexit eCommerce appeared first on Magento eCommerce Agency in UK | StreamMarket.