Free Merchant Account Tip: Prepare for the holiday shoppers
Christmas season is associated with traffic, shopping, and of course, the birth of someone special to the Christian community.
Christmas notwithstanding, the holiday season is fast approaching. September is just a whistle away, and this has prompted the good shoppers of the world to start their holiday shopping - online. Reports have shown an increase in online spending as early as the month of August. For free merchant account holders, this is your chance to break even. But your normal selling techniques, the way you market your products as well as your website should be even more inviting to shoppers in the world.
In other words: enhance your website for the holidays, and they maybe prompted to buy.
Here are some tips to prepare your site for holiday shopping:
1. Decorate
Remember when you used to go with your parents to pick out the best pine tree there is in the lot? Well, it's pretty much similar to online shopping. Merchants should prepare their sites for the holidays with decorations (graphics - something google would do to their search engine logo) and effects to bolster the holiday cheer even more. The scrawniest tree is left on the lot long after the holidays have gone, and it could happen to your site too. Be careful though on over-decorating - loading time can be a drag and prompt customers to go elsewhere.
2. Customer reviews
Amazon did it. Other ecommerce sites have done it too. Invite customers to post reviews of their purchased items and see an improvement on your revenue and customer relations. People depend on other people's opinions of certain things - especially things they'd like to buy. If people make positive reviews of your product then well and good, if not, then maybe merchants can take the comment as well as the product reviewed and see what improvements you can make. Customer reviews account for an increase in buying from customers.
3. Invest in better looking photos
Shopping online can be a risk other customers aren't willing to take - especially if they can't see your product, and more so if they can't view your pictures clearly. Optimized pictures are favored, and if possible, add more than just 2 or 3. Other sites add zooming capabilities to their photos, and descriptions are very much minute.
4. Ship to my lou my darling
Not all shipping companies are created equal - some don't deliver to PO boxes, others don't deliver direct to homes. Customers would appreciate it if you revealed the shipping providers you are partners with and gave them options. Knowing the shipping providers allows them to choose where to have their purchases delivered.
5. The power of the plastic
If you still haven't heard the news, most shoppers online use credit cards to complete transactions. Get a merchant account(free or through a broker or bank), and offer credit card processing. Some free merchant account providers also offer check services. The more payment options you have, the bigger and better your customer base will be.
The holidays are upon us yet again. And for merchants, this accounts for a big percentage of their yearly revenues. Leverage the holidays, and prepare for the shoppers. They come in tribes, dressed plainly in their pajamas in the comforts of their homes, and brandishing the mighty plastic card.