With the growing importance of eCommerce, Diageo has committed to sharing guidance on how best to develop your digital offering with its ‘Digital Selling for Success’ guidelines. These include key growth pillars Reach, Ease, Inspiration, Education and Optimisation.
Last month, we looked at improving reach and education, this month we delve into ease, inspiration, and optimisation.
Ease
To ensure maximum conversion, the shopper journey should be seamless and convenient – for trade shoppers and end consumers alike. Having the ability to search and access desired products anytime, anywhere, is key. Mobile commerce sales are growing year-on-year, and mobile now accounts for almost half (44.85%) of all UK web traffic, with tablets accounting for a further 7.55% (Statcounter, June 2020).
Digital allows wholesalers to offer an improved choice without being restricted by shelf space in bricks and mortar locations. Within the digital shelf, availability has the biggest impact on sales, followed by site content and search (Econometric modelling research, GB, 2019). Think ahead to key calendar occasions and ensure there’s enough available online stock to meet an increase in demand or surges in trading, for example, retailers placing larger orders after the weekend. Ensure products are set up online so that brand, category and any misspelling of the product name are picked up on search. It is also essential that all products show key product images.
Finally, when implemented well, menu navigation (taxonomy), must help shoppers search quickly and easily for the products they need. This is essential for converting sales, with two-thirds of shoppers abandoning a transaction if the order process is too difficult (Pocket Shoppers: eCommerce on the Move, 2018). Remember shoppers shop by category, so avoid subcategories that require specialist knowledge to navigate. Products should always be sorted by most popular as opposed to alphabetically and ensure top SKUs are in the top five results to reduce search time. Product titles and descriptions are the most important elements of the product detail page and help to drive search.
Inspiration
Providing inspiration for retailers to fulfil their customers’ needs is just as important online as it is in-depot. While customers may have missed out on the on-trade experience during the pandemic, they want to feel inspired to try something new and exciting. Shopping often starts with an occasion in mind, and digital gives the ability to connect with trade shoppers 365 days a year, meaning smaller consumption occasions which may have not been activated in depot, such as bank holidays, weather related occasions and BBQs, can be easily activated on wholesalers web portals at the click of a button.
When thinking about how to activate online, wholesalers should tap into upcoming consumption occasions by providing cross-merchandising prompts, such as spirits and mixers. Furthermore, consider a dedicated space on-site to talk about category and ranging advice, to inspire shoppers and increase basket spend. When thinking about how to win through innovation, consider promoting new products through adverts which are linked to, or merchandised with the core range to maximise engagement.
Finally, digital presents a great opportunity for year-round gifting and seasonal exclusives. Ensure gifting SKUs are highlighted through product images and consider setting up an easy to locate, dedicated gifting page on key occasions throughout the year such as Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This should be supported with key category information and size of prize.
Optimisation
In digital, optimisation is a fundamental benefit, allowing you to future-proof your business by using data to test, evaluate and tailor your online offering in line with what works best for your audience. Wholesalers should analyse sales data in line with on-site campaigns as well as looking at how much traffic different parts of their sites get. This allows businesses to understand what works and quickly adapt, as well as understanding the impact of digital-led activations. This is invaluable insight which you may not have access to in-depot, and the gateway to enhancing performance.
To get support and access more information on Diageo’s Digital Selling for Success guidelines, please contact your Diageo account manager.
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