The orange graph above shows daily online sales trends from September 2, 2021 - January 1, 2022. The blue graph shows the online sales trends for September 1, 2022 - Oct 17, 2022, which are down -20.7% compared to the same period in 2021. That year over year decrease in online sales may hold through the rest of 2022, but website sales also have the potential to increase substantially if consumers feel the need to shift their in-store purchases online due to increases in COVID and/or Flu infection rates. As you can see in the orange graph above, there is a very steady ramp up in online sales starting in November. Immediately following Thanksgiving, the online holiday rush then peaks until mid December when sales begin to rapidly decline. To extend those peak online shopping days, you may want to consider offering your online customers in-store or curbside pick-up. If you already offer this feature, this would be a perfect time to promote it. In-Store Pickup
There are about 580 bookstores hosted on the IndieCommerce platform this year. Around 50% of online purchases at those stores are fulfilled using in-store or curbside pick-up. Independent bookstore customers love this feature. It gets online customers into bookstores to pick-up their orders, as well as giving stores an order fulfillment option that only a local bookstore can offer. Leading up to the holiday shopping season, you should promote this option in your store and on your website. Prepare Your Website For Holiday Shoppers
Here are some ideas to help you optimize your website for the upcoming holiday shopping rush. See: https://www.bookweb.org/indiecommerce/holiday-tips-indiecommerce-indielite
The single most popular items sold online at IC and IL bookstores during the holiday shopping season are gift card and gift codes. Be sure to promote these products on your home page and in your online marketing, whenever and wherever possible. Online Shopping Fraud
With the increase in online purchases your website may also become a target for online credit card fraud. PLEASE take some time to review this page: https://www.bookweb.org/indiecommerce/fraudulent-orders as well as this report: https://www.bookweb.org/fraud-report. The report outlines recent trends that have been reported to our staff by booksellers. That report is frequently updated and should be reviewed by all staff that are involved in online order processing. If you suspect a fraudulent order, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to assist you. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to email us at [email protected]. The IndieCommerce Team |
