I recently wrote “What Retailers Can Learn From Walmart’s Incredible E-Commerce Growth In 2017” for Forbes.com. Why? This year, Walmart posted an impressive 60% year-over-year e-commerce growth, and then Walmart announced it will sharply scale back store openings to focus more acutely on E-Commerce. So I wanted to take a look at what tactics have helped to drive this phenomenal E-Commerce success for them.
Below is a list of 10 tips I suggest in the article for how retailers can learn from Walmart’s growth to drive their own.
10 Tips for Retailers to Drive Success with E-Commerce
- Enhance sales and awareness of your products and offerings by participating in large marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart.
- Collect zip code information from online shoppers in order to understand whether the shopper is within a reasonable proximity to a local store to support in-store pickup.
- Leverage in-store analytics and warehouse and inventory management systems to understand and optimize every one of their inventory locations.
- Use APIs to better manage costs by expanding carrier selection, tracking and integrating with critical systems, and to drive complex inventory and shipping processes.
- Take advantage of cloud solutions that connect to existing systems more seamlessly than on-premises solutions. They also allow retailers to innovate more quickly by frequently testing new features and functionalities.
- Test your own ways of getting products into the hands of customers more quickly through services like UberRUSH and Deliv.
- Define what product categories you want to grow within and target partnerships or acquisitions based on that goal.
- Look at in-store customer behavior and feedback as well as site-wide search to understand what products and brands your shoppers are looking for. This may reveal a product or brand that you don’t already offer.
- Respond to shopping behaviors that are becoming increasingly personalized and engagement driven. Evaluate and define your average shopper’s identity and values, and then map out marketing strategy, shopping experience and e-commerce features based on their desires.
- Invest in digital marketing methods that will directly impact traffic and sales, including:
- Email marketing: Shoppers expect to receive offers and coupons from retailers they’ve already shopped with. Build a list of customer email addresses and offer discounts and coupons via email.
- Design: Make sure your site has a beautiful and compelling design and that it’s easy to use.
- Reviews and ratings: Reviews help with search engine optimization converting buyers.
- Social media: Integrate Instagram and Facebook by posting product photos and demos, encouraging users to share and purchasing ads on the platforms.
