Booming Online Sales
After two years of booming sales for online retailers, there’s a dip in online purchases (noted by Financial Times reports). Do you use online platforms for your business or passion? Do you intend on making any adaptions moving into 2023?
I do use online platforms for my holistic beauty business. And I have seen sales take a dip. Now that the scare of Covid has reduced, customers are returning to brick and mortar stores (especially within my industry of beauty/skincare/Haircare). For 2023, I’m doubling down on my Omnichannel approach to sells. I’m increasing my B2B brick and mortar sales efforts, in Person engagements, etc.
For my online platform, I use Square to conduct my business needs. With this platform, I can invoice, send quotes, create contracts, and even offer payment plans on goods and services. I do tend to make some adaptions in 2023. I plan to utilize the different apps within the Square platform to increase our social media presence, drive more consumers to our website, and increase sales for the year. This has required some strategic planning on my part, but I am working through things and hope that this new year brings in more success for the business.
Yes, I definitely use online platforms to promote my business & engage with the public. Every end of the year I make adjustments to my marketing and I also rebrand myself. Once 2023 starts I implement new ideas and continue on growing and engaging.
Tay Paulson | Photographer/artist
I currently use the most common social media platforms Facebook and Instagram but have began to notice people ask for a website more commonly than my social media. I plan on opening an online shop possibly through Etsy or my own website in general. This will be a challenging task as I’ve never created a shop before and I hear they can be very confusing. I’ve had my business for over 5 years now so it’s definitely time to make that leap and I’m very excited for this next step
Basically all of my sales are made online with the exception of a few in-person markets less than once a month. I’ve definitely noticed a drop off as we progressed towards the end of 2022, so 2023 will be a lesson in digital marketing. I’m planning on upping my social media presence, starting a monthly newsletter to engage current customers/subcribers and offering new products.
Yes I use online platforms for my business. My beauty supply store is solely e-commerced based. People can shop online and have their items delivered to their front door or if they are out of state they can choose shipping. In 2023 I’m not sure if I plan on making any adaptions to my business model to be honest. Yes my community wants a physical location (beauty supply store) that is owned by a person of color BUT on the other hand a lot of my customers LOVE the fact they don’t have to leave and they can still get their hair items. They love the convince that I provide with my business. What I do plan on doing in 2023 is obtaining a delivery van so that I can stop using my personal car for deliveries.
Online platforms such as social media is very important for my business. I use it to showcase my products and new inventory that I receive in weekly. However, I tend to keep a close relationship with my clients and vendors. By keeping a close relationship with my customers, they are able to comfortably stay updated with me for new inventory, leading to more sales. There are a few adaptions that I will be making moving into 2023. One of these adaptions is to create a private website that is only accessible with a password. This password will be given to my customers. The website will be updated daily with new and incoming items so that my customers can always be updated. Another adaption is to make better use of social media ads such as Instagram reels, Facebook ads, and creative TikToks.
For me online has always been my go to. I think it’s easy and efficient. Although I do recognize that times are getting harder in the financial crisis might be getting worse. I would say keep using online products and use it in a way to benefits you. Keep finding deals and coupons to help assist with some of the cost. Every product I’ve ever used came from online whether it was getting editing tools for my videos when I do my radio show. Or whether it’s buying equipment for my studio online. Finding features and producers online. Finding beats on online websites. Obviously Amazon is a huge source for people. Guitar Center has been a huge source for me online. So if you feel it’s working for you, keep using online retailers for whatever you need them for. Again find good deals and coupons. I’m sure the retail companies will shoot back up in the next year. People are starting to get their financial status back where it needs to be. I think everything will be better in 2023.
This question has a lot of moving parts. For the sake of time and this platform, In short, I will focus on the situation that drove the online boom in sales, the current decline, and my area of business. that is affected by the ups and downs of online sales.. Based on research and real-life experience the worldwide health crisis known as a pandemic and specifically COVID-19 drove the two-year online sales. I released the freshman book Who’s the Oldest; a twin question in April of 2021′ and the sophomore Gummy Worms for Fishing in June 2021′ during the online sales boom. As we all know literature had already gone digital and in 2007′ with the release of the Amazon kindle the technology drove e-book sales and thus literature was already in the position to weather the pandemic sales storm as well as benefit from the boom in sales during the lockdown. Coming forward to 2023′ as the pandemic has subsided and the day-to-day functioning, including shopping, going back to normal I expected online purchasing to decrease. As a new author and being an independent author at a time when physical book sales had already declined due to ebook technology and other reasons, I use online social media to push the brand which can turn into sales in ebook or physical Physical book sales generates more profit but because I am not in physical bookstores online sales is very very important! In conclusion, I will be making strategic decisions in 2023′ to adapt to the literary market regarding online shopping on the delines. There is a popular saying “all things are not created equal.” and to that, I say not all children’s books are the same. Mac and Roni Read is a series and not just a one-book generic character-based book. Mac and Roni Read are trademarked and poised to go into an animated format which in my opinion correlates to online sales.
I am Edward Eliesya J Wallace / Creative Director and Owner of New Clothing Brand Edward Eliesya, New Online Webstore with Shopify named DOPE REGALIA. I used to and still own Eliesya J’s Boutique on Wix and Mafanikio African Goods & MTindo Modeling & Events on Square. I have had an Online Presence for many years but I have not had the success I’’d wished for but some. I ran into a lot of payment issues with Square that decimated my business. I switched to Wix and their Payment Processing service was wack. I moved now to Shopify and I have been having sales and I’m happy with the platform so far. I’m the coming year I definitely want to grow my Brands and have them be on one central website, get a sales funnel, utilize automation, better accounting and bookkeeping, utilizing other sources like TV, Tik Tok, Pop Up Shops, Fashion Shows & delegating responsibility, freeing up time for me to focus on scaling my businesses. I definitely also planning on incorporating a team of people that do things like marketing, sales, public relations, social media management, digital media, and branding, and fulfillment teams. I’m optimistic even though I will probably be still working a full time job while and during but so looking forward to the adventure.
Yes I do use online platforms for my business, and it is possible that I will be making changes as a wholesale model for 2023 but that is something that fashion brands need to do to reach new audiences so that they can feel the quality materials we use in our garments. They can also see how the piece looks on them as just taking a guess when purchasing online, they can also see the fit since not every garment/ brand fits the same. So moving into 2023 it is a logical move to move over to Wholesale and Physical retail (including pop-up shops and events) which has seen a resurgence towards the end of 2022.
To ignore the importance of online platforms would be impossible as they have reshaped our personal lives and the businesses that we own or frequent. The last three years have increased our reliance on these platforms whether it is for shopping, information, convenience, or efficiency. But the sheer number of platforms available will mean that businesses will need to focus their marketing strategy on both reach and frequency, and building brands that resonate in order to attract end-users. This will include having a strategy that includes digital content, search engine optimization, social media, website usability, imagery, and customer testimonials.
I use a variety of platforms to promote my brand and products. Online shopping has had its benefits as well as its challenges. I started preparing for this shift in early 2022 by submitting our brand to more brick-and-mortar stores, adding free shipping to our online site, and increasing customer loyalty programs by shopping online. I do believe that online sales will still have its place but more importantly now is product accessibility and convenience that will take precedence. I intend to expand by opening my own brick and mortar space soon so my customers can continue to shop all avenues available to them.
Hello, and thank you for having me today. My name is Nichole, and I am the founder & CEO of Namaste Naturally, an online handmade self-care business that promotes a positive self-care routine while educating the community about harmful skincare ingredients to avoid. I currently do use an online platform for my business. I do have big exciting plans to make adaptions for Namaste Naturally in 2023. Those adoptions include hosting in-person events to teach the community about DIY skincare recipes like homemade facial masks with ingredients in the fridge, homemade makeup remover, and homemade hair masks. It’s easy to make products at home with the ingredients you already have. I would also like to have creative sessions with other business owners to help them get more creative with the products or services they may offer. There are many ways to use the same content with a creative spin. Another big goal is to consistently network and attend networking events that will allow me to make new connections and potentially present new opportunities with other like-minded individuals. Lastly, I would like to have teaching events in which I will educate the community about all things regarding the skincare ingredient label, from the skincare symbols to the ingredients within the product and the effects those ingredients may have on your body. The goal is to have more in-person events that allow me to educate the community about the skincare ingredient label and offer them creative ways to use current resources on hand. 2023 is about releasing all fear and getting wiser and braver with the skills we already have. It’s time to get all the way out of your comfort zone!
I have noticed a huge change in my online sales. My colleagues in other states have also noticed a decline in online sales and vending opportunities due to people still being nervous about being in public/ around a large group of people at in indoor venue. Moving into 2023, I plan on taking calculated risks by signing up to do smaller outdoor pop-up type events to sell my products and service in person and gain new clientele.
I use online for all my business and sales and I also deliver within my area.
We are definitely seeing this dip. We are an online and mobile fly shop in Northern Colorado and our sales are primarily online since we don’t have a brick and mortar store. In order to stay relevant in 2023, we are increasing our participation in local events/festivals so we can sell gear in person and promote our mobile fly shop option. Our mobile shop, called Party on the Fly, allows people to schedule time with us to bring our fly shop to them. This option creates a personal, intimate shopping experience. We primarily focus on products by and for women and have learned that women appreciate a more personal approach when shopping for fly fishing gear, which is something they don’t typically see in most fly shops.
Yes, we are a digital marketing agency and all of our marketing efforts are done online platforms for our clients. In terms of adaptations for 2023, here are some things we’re implementing to ensure success for our clients: 1. Longer sales cycles – with the economy cooling off, we’ve noticed a longer time frame between click to purchase online. People are not taking action in the typical 1 – 7 days we used to see and sales cycles are tripled. In order to work with this, we’ve adapted an even more robust follow up strategy via email + SMS which as resulted in gaining between 20 – 30% of revenue just from our email + SMS campaigns for our clients. This is a huge shift in patience and understanding attribution models much better. 2. Client retention – we’re putting way more focus on client retention with our clients. Customer LTV to CAC ratio has become a north star for many brands instead of just looking at ROAS. We’re working with our clients to develop long term scalability and growth strategies which includes understanding our LTV numbers and looking for low hanging fruit to bring those numbers up. 3. Diversification – we run ads on all major online platforms and we’ve found that most of our clients could get away with only marketing on one or two channels (usually Facebook + Google). Now, we’re running ads/ marketing efforts on Hulu, Amazon, FB + IG, Google, Youtube, TikTok, Pinterest, etc. You name it, we’re looking into it and testing daily to see which platform combinations work best for each individual brand.
We’ve seen a dip in both traffic and completed online transactions. We’re actively working on increasing foot traffic as a local comic book store in Fort Collins, Colorado. We’ve built our business around ecom, our passion for comic books doesn’t include packing a shipping all day. We are laser focused on switching our main revenue stream from online to in person in 2023. During Covid there was a huge Ecom push, but people are settling back into life and have decided they want to shop in person. At Beeda’s Thingamajigits we’re positioning ourselves to facilitate this transaction as best we can.