Pre-Covid

Buyers went to ‘physical’ shops to see, touch and feel objects on the shelves. The decision to buy (or not!) was made with the product in their hands in front of them. Over 80% of shoppers want to see and feel the item before committing to buy. Some, however, would still choose to go home and buy online anyway, but the vast majority would buy on the spot. 

In-store retailers would also benefit from impulse buying. The carefully planned journey to the till littered with tempting goodies, the queues only slowed us to give our minds even more time to make those last-minute and impulsive buying decisions.

Post-Covid

Your fingers do the walking so-to-speak across the desk, tablet or phone. If you’re lucky, your product will get a glance. A few seconds is maybe all you get to connect with a buyer. 

Online shopping behaviours have been significantly increased in 2020, triggered by the pandemic. The question is, are these behaviours going to have a lasting effect? Have people got now become used to this new way of shopping and are now much more likely to continue down this online ordering path? 

We have seen big household brands such as Debenhams, Peter Jones and the Arcadia group falling by the wayside, leaving smaller digitally switched-on micro-brands coming up from the rear.

To survive as a retailer these days, you need to have a fabulous online brand presence. From eye-catching packaging, stunning photography and having a beautifully designed eCommerce website experience, to ‘post and sell’ on both Facebook and Instagram… oh, and don’t forget to be a fantastic storyteller within your marketing. If you could encompass all of this, which is no easy task, then you’ll step into 2021 gaining an edge when it comes to brand connection.

" It’s no longer the ‘on-the-shelf appearance’, but more like ‘on-the-screen appearance".

So, I suppose you could say online social selling has (or should have) changed the way brands design their packaging. Will it stand out online? How will we shoot photographs of it and get the message across within the few seconds you have before someone swipes their fingers across to the next post? 

As a seller of a product, you need to maximise visual impact because the sense of touch is disabled from the packaging and product photography to the emotive story-telling. These elements all play a much more significant part when selling online. If you can improve and master these traits, you’ll thank me for it later.

Here are a few tips to consider as you approach 2022:

• Look at your website and ensure that it’s mobile-friendly, has social media-rich features that enhance your visibility on Facebook and Instagram
• Your product photography is dialled-in, and you have a designer that can help you enhance these and modify as we shift through the seasons
• Get yourself on Instagram and Facebook, then connect the two platforms and start a shop
• Start following ‘up and coming’ trendy retailers (even if they are not in your immediate space, it will give you an idea of their content, product shots and brand style that is proven to work).
• Get a Facebook pixel on your website (in case you decide on ads or re-targeting at a later date)
• Look at joining the 71,000 small and medium-sized businesses and sell via Amazon
• Post socially and be regular about it
• Find and involve industry influencers, like vloggers/bloggers and let the magic happen!

We hope that this article gives you some food for thought as we head into what looks to be another ‘heavily dominated by covid’ year. Best wishes to you all this Christmas and hope you all have a prosperous New Year.

Click here to arrange a FREE SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT or get in touch by emailing me,  lisa@thethinkingcap.co.uk