On February 28, 2023, we hosted our latest RevUp webinar. These sessions are designed to give online retailers practical ideas for offers and campaigns they can start running ASAP.
Two members of RevLifter’s campaigns team were on hand to provide some great, actionable advice:
- Amelia Stroud
- Lauren Cloughly
Read the write-up below, or check out the full recording of the session at the bottom.
Let’s get stuck in.
What does this part of the year look like for retail?
Amid the rising cost of goods and low consumer confidence, it’s fair to say retailers haven’t been dealt with the kindest of hands in 2023. Lauren explained the challenges of this period:
We’re discussing the time of year when we’re going from Q1 to Q2. This is generally a flat period for most verticals. We see an uplift in conversions around May as people start their summer shopping. This period after Christmas and before Summer needs interventions to stimulate more conversions.
Amelia added some thoughts on the current macro-economic environment:
With the cost of living crisis, people are struggling with bills. So how do you ensure you offer them a good deal they’ll find attractive?
Lauren highlighted the discount rates from the period last year:
IMRG reports an average discount rate of 33%, with a wide range being offered right up to 81%. The key is ensuring discounts aren’t wasted – and you’re not giving margins away when you don’t need to.
Testing and optimization
As retailers attempt to hit a sweet spot between motivating customers without giving too much away, Amelia emphasized the importance of testing to find the right offer:
It’s not about one size fits all – it’s about finding the right offer for your customers and your wider demographic. Testing different discount amounts, trying percentages off vs. money off, or experimenting with unusual amounts. Maybe 13% off would get more attention than 15%?
Lauren mentioned some testing she’d done recently with a client:
Minor wording changes like “take 5% off” vs “get 5% off” can produce interesting results. A lot of clients have better results with a monetary value off (e.g., “save £10”) rather than a percentage (e.g., “save 10%”) even if it amounts to the same thing. People prefer not to have to do the arithmetic.
Segmentation
Lauren was keen to mention segmentation as part of the overall conversation about testing. This is a recent and now crucial addition to the RevLifter feature set:
Segmentation lets you be far more precise with how you target offers. Many clients take advantage of being able to serve different offers to new vs. returning vs. repeat customers.
Amelia brought up the combination with testing as being powerful:
We can learn much about visitors from how they behave in segments and really deliver personalized experiences, testing what works for those segments to get the maximum value from each.
Key calendar events
As aforementioned, being straight after peak season, Q1 can be a quieter time for sales. Thankfully brighter times are just around the corner.
Lauren and Amelia went through some offer ideas for key events coming up:
- Celebrate International Women’s Day with offers specifically on your women’s categories
- Try a shamrock hunt to get engagement on St Patrick’s Day
- Push gift ideas on Mother’s Day
- Try an Easter egg hunt or Easter daily deals
- Remind people of your environmental credentials on Earth Day
A couple of great offer types
Finishing with a couple of suggestions on creative plays, Amelia expressed her excitement for using geotargeting based on weather:
Many of our customers don’t have much time to dedicate to being clever with data and targeting, but geotargeting with weather is pretty straightforward. We can identify where people are using their IP address and serve offers based on the temperature or weather near them up to five days ahead.
And how product recommendations can be linked to events and discounts:
I might need to spend an extra £25 to get free delivery, but I don’t have good ideas on what to get to go with what I have in my cart. All recommendations are very controllable, with sliders to adjunct weightings. And you can recommend products based on whether they are appropriate for Mother’s Day, Earth Day, or any occasion.
If you’d like to work with our campaigns team on offer ideas for your brand – get in touch.
