How to make the most of Covid 19 to INCREASE online sales

Online sales are increasing!

(especially for antiques and home furnishings)

 

So how can you maximise this opportunity?

We have seen an increase in traffic to our clients websites, and we can see some of our clients have had a noticable increase in orders. A dealer I spoke to this evening said that with the downtime they've had they've put 50 new items on the website in the last couple of days and sold 5 of them already!

With so many people sat at home with nothing to do, or working from home with an extra hour or two with no longer having to commute, online sales are surging. This isn't just for online groceries. In fact, there has been a large increase in online sales for home furnishings including antiques.

Credit: BPM Reclamation

 

As Aimee Stone Munsell, CMO at Contentsquare writes:-

"there has been an increase in spending on home furnishings, and even lingerie, as consumers switch their leisure time to more indoor pursuits"

 

Home delivery specialist ParcelHero say:-

"e-commerce purchases are likely to increase by 40%"

Now is the perfect time to:-

a) Set up a website if you don't have one

b) Invest the time in improving or updating your website if you do have one

c) Promoting your website, and getting visitors to it

If you sell (or want to sell) anything online, this is definitely the time to

make hay while the sun shines!

Websites are getting VERY busy... so get a piece of the action

Some websites are getting so busy that you can't even get onto the website without entering a queue. Below is a screenshot of what happened when I tried to access the Wickes website earlier.

So the question is; what are YOU doing to get a piece of the action, and if you're not doing anything, what CAN you be doing to be pro-active and to take advantage of the opportunity?
 

You now have that spare 5 minutes you could never find

We've all said something along the lines of the following at some point in our lives...

"I wish the world would stop for a week so I could catch up and get things done"

Well, here is that moment!

What are you going to do to maximise this opportunity?

• Add the stock / products to your website which you haven't gotten around to adding
   
• Get your website live if it isn't live yet
   
• Improve your website if you already have one, and market / promote it (read on for our tips on this)
   
• Get online if you're not already

Leave the pandemic with a better business

In any situation like this there will be winners and losers. Whilst some business will have no choice as to whether they end up as the former or latter, we're firm believers that you make your own destiny and that situations like this create opportunities when you look for them.

We aim to make sure that when we come out of this pandemic our business, our client's businesses, are better, stronger, and more robust as a result. But, we believe this is very much a choice; you can either sit back and let the pandemic get the better of you, or you can use it as a time to make your business stronger and better as a result.

In the context of what we do; if you don't sell online already, then start, and if you do, how can you make your website better and grow your online sales?

USD rate is great for selling to clients in the states

Some of our most successful UK/European based antiques & art dealers do very well in selling to clients in the states (both trade and private).

The exchange rate between the British pound and US dollar is very favourable for the Americans right now, and it's much cheaper for them to buy items from the UK & Europe than it has been for years. Plus Americans are big fans of British, French and Swedish Art & Antiques. So now is the perfect time to be promoting your antiques & art to clients in the US.

What you can do to take advantage

a) Sell online if you don't already

An obvious one, and of course we're biased! But the proof is in the pudding and we're noticing an increase in online sales so if you're not already selling online then make sure you do... ASAP!
 

b) Offer free delivery

Research shows that buyers are more inclined to buy when delivery is included in the price. That does seem to scare a lot of art & antique dealers, but it needn't as you can factor in delivery into the cost of the items, and restrict delivery to your own country. So if you're a dealer in the UK, then offer free UK delivery only, and perhaps only on orders above a certain value (eg orders over £300 get free delivery).

Having delivery included also removes a barrier to sale, as you don't have to delay any sales whilst working out delivery costs etc. The less barriers there are, the more sales you're likely to make.

c) Create a sense of urgency for clients to buy

Use offers to create a sense of urgency to make clients feel like they'd be missing out on an opportunity if they didn't buy now. Phrases like "limited time deal" can create the sense of urgency and make clients feel like they need to act now, rather than waiting until this pandemic is all over.

d) Use your mailing list

We have lots of clients who aren't yet leveraging the power of their mailing list. Use your email mailing list to send out a mailshot to existing clients to let them know you're still around for business, and to let them know about any deals you're doing.

e) Make sure all your stock is on your website

We have many clients who never get around to adding all their stock to their website because they say they can never find the time. Well, now is moment where you'll be able to find the time!

We have one client, who is a massive technophobe, who has spent the last couple of days adding on items to their website and out of 50 items they've added they've already sold 5! They wouldn't have sold any of those items if they hadn't put the effort into putting their stock on their website so it just goes to show that you get out what you put in, and it's always worth putting the effort in.

f) Promote your website as much as possible

Read our guide on 10 ways to help generate your first sale through your website if you haven't done so already

Opportunity is the key

In summary, as many of our clients have already proved, situations like this create opportunity.

What are you doing to make sure you're making the most of it?

If you don't have a website already and would like to test drive what we have to offer, we're currently doing a 14 day free trial on our websites, plus half price setup (just £195+VAT instead of £395+VAT). Call or email us today for a no obligation chat with Sharlotte or myself.