According to a report by Statista and eMarketer, online retail sales are projected to reach\u00a0$6.51 trillion<\/a>\u00a0by 2023. That same report also says that ecommerce websites will claim around 22.3% of all retail sales.<\/p>\n So, if you weren\u2019t planning on investing in your ecommerce strategy this year, you should. Here, we\u2019ll talk about the different elements of a smart ecommerce strategy. You\u2019ll get familiar with:<\/p>\n Not only that, we have included some sage advice and tips from industry experts on the emerging trends you can expect to encounter in 2023.<\/p>\n Data and search are pretty much the big topics I see everyone talking about. What I\u2019ve noticed with a lot of people (clients and a lot of agencies) is that by not knowing what to do with their data, it\u2019s costing the company a small fortune, not just loss of potential new revenue\/customers but also lost revenue on acquiring data and not understanding what they should be doing with it.<\/p>\n Other experts who have shared their wisdom in this article include:<\/p>\n Without further delay, let\u2019s jump into it!<\/p>\n Finding the right products to sell is key to success in ecommerce. You can no longer create commodity or \u2018me too\u2019 products and expect success. Instead ask yourself \u2018what problem is my product going to solve\u2019 and \u2018why would someone buy my product\u2019 as opposed to all the others out there. Use data from Amazon reviews and forums to understand how to make better products and improve the customer experience. That along with understanding keyword demand on Amazon will allow everything to flow more easily as you launch and market your product. [This will be especially popular in 2023] because ecommerce has gotten more competitive and old strategies I mentioned no longer work.<\/p>\n Arguably the first and most important thing you should focus on is what products to sell.<\/p>\n While inflation is expected to fall from\u00a08.8% to 6.5%<\/a>\u00a0in 2023\u2014meaning consumers will have more\u00a0purchasing power<\/a>\u00a0in the next 12 months\u2014you still need to be highly selective about which products you plan to offer in this economy.<\/p>\n You can take several approaches to fine-tune your product offerings:<\/p>\n Let\u2019s flesh out that last bullet with an example. Keyword research offers a fantastic way to get a sense of what problems customers are facing and trying to solve in the new year.<\/p>\n One way to figure out what customers want is by looking at search engine results.\u00a0Keyword Magic Tool<\/a>\u00a0gives you data on both exact and broad match keywords, meaning you can see what else people are searching for in addition to the keywords you have selected.<\/p>\n But even if you have a brilliant, keyword-focused product strategy lined up for 2023, you will still need to learn how to work the current global supply chain.<\/p>\n In terms of next year, I think Supply Chain will be a major emphasis for most retailers. 2023 will mark the first year since COVID hit where we will not have a set of YOY sales data skewed by COVID. Retailers should have more accurate data to forecast and plan for inventory so they’re not running out or overly stocked of products.<\/p>\n Global shortages of items like children\u2019s pain relievers, computer chips, garage doors, and even a\u00a0beloved hot sauce<\/a>\u00a0have created a stressed consumer base.<\/p>\n A number of\u00a0compounding factors<\/a>\u00a0caused these shortages, including the novel COVID-19 virus, unemployment, a reduction in raw materials, and global unrest.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, these issues are\u00a0not projected<\/a>\u00a0to improve in 2023. But you don\u2019t have to panic just yet.<\/p>\n Knowledge is power, and with the help of free apps like\u00a0ImportYeti<\/a>, you can use competitive market research to source suppliers and keep products on your shelves. Your inventory might not be as robust as it was pre-2020, but you don\u2019t have to live in supply-chain limbo.<\/p>\n ImportYeti shows you over 70 million U.S. customs sea shipment records. This is invaluable data on where your competitors get their products shipped from.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you run a video game ecommerce business. Your top competitor might be GameStop. If that\u2019s the case, enter \u201cGameStop\u201d into ImportYeti to see what its inventory looks like and where it sources its products.<\/p>\n You can filter your results by the supplier\u2019s country of origin, the date range of their shipments, the total number of shipments, and even the product descriptions (which also has a keyword search feature so you can really narrow down your research).<\/p>\n Not only that, ImportYeti also provides a matrix of the top relationships your competitors have with suppliers, and what other businesses those suppliers have relationships with.<\/p>\n Using this information, you can reach out to these suppliers to see if they\u2019d be interested in building a relationship with your business.<\/p>\n Knowing where you can source your products is just one part of competitive research needed to grow your business in 2023. Additionally, competitive analysis should be another focus of your ecommerce strategy this year.<\/p>\n To grow your business on marketplaces, you will need to consider tactics outside of advertising to get a real competitive advantage. Consider programs like editorial recommendations, search ads, social media, and email marketing strategies to expand your reach at a reasonable cost per acquisition.<\/p>\n 2022 saw a number of new seller tools and improvements from Amazon. I believe that in order to stay ahead of the competition in 2023, brands will have to stay on top of these tools and become first movers in their categories.<\/p>\n Instead of only looking at the direct competitors, look at the indirect or even the market leaders of other segments to understand what works for them. Sometimes, even your competitors might have excellent website traffic but might face conversion issues. So don\u2019t blindly look at the direct competition that you decide on. Look at their approach if it\u2019s as per the consumer perspectives, the market situation, and customer expectations for your industry and decide which competitor to pick up and what level of research can take you closer to your goals.<\/p>\n The best way to grow your business is to outperform your competitors; be the website or brand your customers think of first when they have a problem.<\/p>\n But you can\u2019t know if you\u2019re beating the competition without doing extensive\u00a0competitor analysis<\/a>\u00a0and research.<\/p>\n Ecommerce business is projected to soar. Online retail sales are expected to\u00a0exceed $6.5 trillion by 2023<\/a>. That means competition amongst small ecommerce businesses will likely be fierce over the next 12 months.<\/p>\n With so many emerging and growing small ecommerce businesses vying for the same customer base, competitor research becomes absolutely vital to the success of your business.<\/p>\n Fortunately, several tools and templates are available that make this research a simple, straightforward process.<\/p>\n First, make a list of your competitors. You can source this by looking at:<\/p>\n Once you have your list compiled, focus on these top three things:<\/p>\n Then head to your competitors\u2019 websites and take notes on each of these focus points.<\/p>\n You can keep track of what you find with this handy\u00a0free template<\/a>\u00a0we have created.<\/p>\n When looking at the price of your competitors\u2019 products, are they comparable? For example, take a look at these two websites, B&H and Adorama, that sell camera equipment. Both businesses sell a Nikon Z5 camera.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll notice that both prices are identical, down to the cent.<\/p>\n Now, Nikon might control or set the price for retailers selling their cameras, but Adorama and B&H both offer packages, kits, and bundles that allow them to set unique price points.<\/p>\n This also benefits customers who need more than just a camera body to get started on their photography hobby.<\/p>\n When setting the prices for your own ecommerce business, consider packages and other special offers that will set you apart from your competitors.<\/p>\n This is especially important if your margins are tight and you don\u2019t have much wiggle room on the base price of your items.<\/p>\n Above, Adorama has created a Nikon Z5 package that includes an SD card, camera bag, and more, at the same price point that just the Nikon Z5 body sells for on other photography sites.<\/p>\n So, take note of any promotional packages, bundles, or other specials your competitors are offering.<\/p>\n With Fernando Angulo,\u00a0<\/strong>Senior Market Research Manager at Semrush<\/em><\/p>\n To scale your online business, you need to know what\u2019s in your online market and be aware of other companies, products, or services that may threaten your expectations.<\/p>\n Why do market research?<\/strong><\/p>\n Brands need real-time information about what\u2019s happening in their industry. And they need to know what position they have in the market, how to expand their share, and what returns they can expect.<\/p>\n Having\u00a0data from your industry<\/a>\u00a0can help you develop an effective marketing strategy (an example from the\u00a0Market Explorer tool<\/a>\u00a0is featured below).<\/p>\n What aspects should be considered during the process?<\/strong><\/p>\n The depth of your market research is up to you, but you should consider some key concepts such as:<\/p>\n When we focus on the growth of our brand as compared with competitors, such as in the graphic above showing examples of The North Face, Patagonia, and Columbia, we must look at the reasons for such rapid growth and turn to a deeper analysis.<\/p>\n Any tool or strategy designed to analyze large amounts of data in order to produce useful information is simply referred to as an \u201celectronic commerce analysis.\u201d Ecommerce produces complex and complete data sets, particularly those that are related to audience analysis, because it operates in a nearly entirely virtual environment.<\/p>\n Ecommerce competitive research evolves to keep pace with customer experiences and track purchases across all touchpoints: mobile, social, web, and retail store.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t overlook how your competitors are reaching their customers. What is their share of voice? Where do their ads appear in search, and how many high-value keywords are they ranking for in organic search?<\/p>\n These are all questions you\u2019ll want to ask as you do your analysis. Thankfully, competitor analysis tools can help you do most of the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n For information on a breakdown of how your competitors get their traffic (paid vs. organic), go to the Benchmarking report in the\u00a0Market Explorer<\/a>\u00a0tool.<\/p>\n With\u00a0Dan Saunders<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0Head of Performance Marketing | International Keynote Speaker & Judge<\/em><\/p>\n Adobe recently reported that\u00a055 percent of marketers see data-driven marketing as their most important business opportunity<\/a>, while 42 percent saw improving customer intelligence as a key priority. If your marketing initiatives are backed by data, you\u2019re likely to see a much higher ROI\u2014and there are a few ways you can use it to drive conversions:<\/p>\n Keep customers moving through their buying journey: Is your data showing traffic flowing to your site but only a few are converting? Using data, you can view a user\u2019s journey through your website including where they came from, how they interacted with your site, and where you lost them\u2014all of which can inform future campaigns. CRO techniques can be used to maximize these conversion opportunities and help reduce barriers to conversion by interpreting data to inform onsite improvements. This report from\u00a0Market Explorer<\/a>\u00a0allows you to generate a list of your competitors and see, side-by-side, just how and from where they get their traffic. At the top of the page (see the blue box in this screenshot) you can filter by channel to see their traffic patterns on a more granular level.<\/p>\n Another competitor analysis tool you can leverage is the\u00a0Advertising Research<\/a>\u00a0tool.<\/p>\n The Advertising Research tool allows you to keep tabs on what Adwords your competitors are bidding on. The tool offers tons of data points and filtering.<\/p>\n For example, you can track Adwords that your competitors have gained and lost over time. Just click on \u201cPosition Changes\u201d to get a report detailing their gains and losses.<\/p>\n This is a fantastic way to assess the paid advertising gap in your industry. Maybe you can pick up Adwords that your competitors have lost and gain new traffic.<\/p>\n While paid advertising is essential for both you and your competition, search engine optimization (SEO), at both the local level and beyond, can help you get a better ROI on your marketing efforts.<\/p>\n SEO lends itself very well to ecommerce, especially for sites with a larger inventory, because it\u2019s a scalable, low-cost sales channel. Today, most brand awareness occurs on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. As per the study by KPMG, two-thirds of consumers plan to reduce their non-essential spending in 2023. So if a consumer needs to buy non-essential things, they would have more layers of research before spending. In that case, being present on search engines become unavoidable. Repurpose the content you create for social media marketing, put it on the website as a blog and video, optimize the site for a powerful user experience, and be present at local events to build the brand\u2019s authority and visibility. Being seen works far better than being virtual.<\/p>\n Great SEO can help grow your business exponentially. Bad SEO can sink your website to the bottom of the search engine results pages (SERPs). That\u2019s why it is vital to have a multi-prong, careful approach to your website\u2019s SEO.<\/p>\n This is especially important in the world of ecommerce where sites tend to be large and feature tons of product pages and item listings. Keeping your website tidy and user-friendly will help you maintain your current customer base and grow your following.<\/p>\n Not to mention, the\u00a0global recession<\/a>\u00a0is putting huge pressures on paid channels\u2014CAC continues to rise<\/a>, straining paid advertising budgets and marketing strategies.<\/p>\n Organic SEO not only brings the cost of CAC down, it also works well in partnership with your paid ad strategies.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t already begun investing in organic growth, now is the time to get started.<\/p>\n We have a comprehensive guide to SEO for ecommerce\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and some handy tips on building an ecommerce content marketing strategy\u00a0here<\/a>. But, just to give you a broad-strokes idea of what this investment will entail, here are some tactics that successful ecommerce websites use:<\/p>\n This is by no means an exhaustive list\u2014just small pointers to offer you a little SEO inspiration heading into 2023. SEO has a major influence on ecommerce growth, but there is an emerging trend in the world of marketing: influencer and affiliate marketing.<\/p>\n Modern consumers tend to choose shopping online: 63% of every purchase begins with online shopping. More than 2 billion people are digital buyers\u2014this means that over 27% of the world\u2019s entire population buy things online. And almost all of them have at least one account on a social media platform, following some influencers there, as there already are more than 4.5 billion social media users on the planet. Sounds like a huge audience to reach! Influencer and affiliate marketing<\/a>\u00a0has become huge in the last five or so years. If you haven\u2019t delved into this world, it is a sales tactic that employs the use of popular influencers, third-party sites, and other brands to market your products for you.<\/p>\n A great recent example of influencer marketing that led to increased conversions (in this case downloading an app) was the partnership between Dunkin\u2019 Donuts and influencer Charli D\u2019Amelio.<\/p>\n D\u2019Amelio became very popular on TikTok, and when Dunkin\u2019 Donuts realized there could be a lucrative partnership potential, they created the custom Charli iced coffee drink.<\/p>\n This influencer partnership resulted in an over\u00a056% percent increase in downloads<\/a>\u00a0of the Dunkin\u2019 Donuts app.<\/p>\n The vast majority of influencer marketing now happens across social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.<\/p>\n The benefits of influencer\/affiliate marketing are numerous:<\/p>\n In particular, ecommerce brands can benefit from establishing strong relationships with influencers. Any time you release a new product, you can have a select group of influencers at the ready to test the product and provide an honest review on their social media pages.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re in the market to build some new influencer connections, try an app like\u00a0Influencer Analytics<\/a>\u00a0to help you:<\/p>\n With the Influencer Analytics app, you can filter influencers by channel or name to get the most relevant results.<\/p>\n Prime Day, Prime Early Access & Turkey Five (Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday) will continue to be the most significant ecommerce sales events of the year. Expect more retailers to jump on the bandwagon and run their version of these sales to entice shoppers. Walmart ran \u2018Deals for Days Sale\u2019 and Target ran \u2018Target\u2019s Deal Days\u2019 in July during Prime Day.<\/p>\n While it would be nice for customers if you could run a sale or big promotion weekly, that\u2019s probably not realistic in 2023. Between supply chain issues,\u00a0saturated markets<\/a>, and customers fatigued by gimmicky and aggressive sales tactics, you might not get the response you\u2019re looking for if you advertise a markdown every week.<\/p>\n So, it\u2019s really important to be thoughtful about the timing around seasonal sales and promotions.<\/p>\n Two of the biggest sales events of the year are Amazon Prime Days and Black Friday. These events cover only a few days but can have a massive positive impact on your visibility.<\/p>\n According to Digital Commerce 360, over\u00a0300 million items<\/a>\u00a0were sold on Amazon during the 2022 Prime Days event.<\/p>\n Consumers broke records on Black Friday 2022, according to Adobe Analytics, by spending an incredible\u00a0$9.12 billion<\/a>\u00a0on online purchases.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a safe bet that these two events will be lucrative in 2023 as well. Prepare by planning out now which items you want to advertise and mark down for these events.<\/p>\n An\u00a0Amazon Price Study<\/a>\u00a0conducted by Semrush came to some very interesting conclusions about what products sold best on\/around Black Friday 2022: women\u2019s lingerie and PopSockets for phones. So, you may want to think outside the box about what items you mark down for seasonal promotions.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re selling on Amazon, be sure that your listings are enticing and set up correctly. Semrush has a\u00a0suite of apps<\/a>\u00a0that are designed to help you optimize your Amazon ecommerce business.<\/p>\n Now would be the perfect time to get the\u00a0Product Research for Amazon<\/a>\u00a0app to track buying and listing trends leading up to Prime Days 2023.<\/p>\n While you should be selective about what types of promotions you run, offering seasonal promotions is prudent, especially if you sell seasonal products.<\/p>\n If you run a bathing suit company, you\u2019ll likely want to start marketing your new line of suits in the winter because customers in cold climates will love nothing more than thinking about lounging by a pool. Consider offering them a promotion on purchasing multiple suits.<\/p>\n At the end of the summer season, you can again offer a discount rate on your suits since people will be focused more on buying coats and cold-weather attire.<\/p>\n REI does a fantastic job timing its promotional sales with seasonal changes and upgraded product offerings hitting the marketplace.<\/p>\n While it almost always has some sort of promotion on its website (or through its co-op program), not every item is discounted.<\/p>\n For example, it is not uncommon for REI to promote and slash prices on running shoes mid-winter, or around the first of the year. That\u2019s because many customers will be making resolutions to get fit or spend more time outside.<\/p>\n By running these well-timed sales events, REI also signals that they know and understand customers\u2019 wants and needs.<\/p>\n Another way to support your customers through the ecommerce sales process\u2014and by extension, grow your loyal following\u2014is by building a comprehensive resource hub or network to answer customer questions and concerns.<\/p>\n It is virtually inevitable when running an ecommerce business that you will encounter customer questions or concerns. Even the most conscientious, thoughtful businesses need to be ready to address these comments.<\/p>\n Building or growing a customer support arm of your ecommerce business should absolutely be a top priority in the coming year.<\/p>\n While it is great to have foundational solutions like\u00a0\n
\n
\n
Find Products That Will Sell in 2023<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
Tools that can help:<\/h3>\n
\n
Tackle Current\/Future Supply Chain Issues with Data<\/h2>\n
\n
Tools that can help:<\/h3>\n
\n
Do Competitor Analysis\u2014Small Business Is Booming<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Discover Your Market Potential<\/h2>\n
\n
Paid and Organic Search Analysis of Competitors<\/h2>\n
Tools that can help:<\/h3>\n
\n
Maximize Your Traffic Performance<\/h2>\n
\n
\nRe-engage inactive customers: Many brands believe if they have a great product or service, customer retention will naturally follow. While this may be the case in some instances, it is not an effective long-term strategy. Earning customer loyalty requires an ongoing, consistent effort. Do you have customers that haven\u2019t converted with you in a while? Re-engage them! You\u2019ve already established trust, inspired confidence, and even have data on their previous interactions, making it easier to identify their needs. By re-engaging your customers in a relevant and positive way, you can raise brand awareness and strengthen loyalty.
\nIdentify what\u2019s trending: Data allows you to track real-time changes. If you can interpret the trends of your audience before they even begin, you can apply them to your business to create a competitive edge. Combining data from ads, social media, customer habits and even the economy, informed predictions can be made on what your audience might want next. The ability to forecast upcoming behavior allows you to improve business operations, product developments, future-proof technology, and ensure your marketing strategy is always relevant.<\/p>\nTools that can help:<\/h3>\n
\n
Invest in Your SEO (Content, Technical, Local)<\/h2>\n
\n
\nIn 2022, Google started to invest heavily in shopping Search and changed the SERP design significantly. Ecommerce webmasters can now impact their product snippets with shipping times, refund policy, and discounts through Google Business\u2014every online store should look at this!<\/p>\n\n
\n
Tools that can help:<\/h3>\n
\n
Influencer & Affiliate Marketing Are Crucial<\/h2>\n
\n
\nConsumers trust influencers, their opinions and recommendations. This makes influencers perfect providers for ecommerce brands that wish to win consumers\u2019 hearts and increase sales. Influencer Analytics’ global influencer marketing research shows that 92% of consumers trust influencers\u2019 native ads more than traditional advertising. People are more willing to listen to the influencers than brands themselves: the research also shows that 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations and only 38% trust branded content.
\nAll these make influencers one of the most valuable sources of traffic for brands, including ecommerce ones. Marketing experts admit it. Also, the ROI of influencer marketing is reported to be 11 times greater than that of more traditional types like banner advertisement.
\nSo it\u2019s no surprise that influencer marketing is becoming more and more popular. Ecommerce brands strive to use the most effective marketing channels, and influencer marketing has already proven to be one of those.<\/p>\n\n
\n
Tools that can help:<\/h3>\n
\n
Plan Seasonal Sales and Promotions Wisely in 2023<\/h2>\n
\n
Amazon Pricing Trends<\/h3>\n
Tools that can help:<\/h3>\n
\n
Build a Responsive Customer Support Network<\/h2>\n