Die Geheimnisse erfolgreicher Direct-to-Consumer-Unternehmen lüften

Optimising acquisition costs and marketing channels is extremely important. Still, many brands overlook just how equally important it is to optimise their inventory management, one of the critical factors in online sales success.

According to an estimate by IHL Group, e-tailers can pursue $117 million in additional revenue for every $1 billion in sales by addressing inefficiencies and disconnected inventory data across their organisation.

This article will break down the common mistakes to avoid and the best practices to improve your inventory management.

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1. Inventory management: common mistakes to avoid

Inventory forecasting will never be 100% accurate, but you can take specific measurements to avoid the most common inventory management errors and minimise the impact on your revenue.

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According to IHL Group, inventory management errors are responsible for $1.75 trillions in losses each year for D2C brands:

• Avoidable returns: $642.6 billion annually
• Out-of-stocks: $634.1 billion per year
• Overstocks: $471.9 billion per year

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A. Out-of-stocks

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‍In 2021, Meta's advertising revenue reached the $117 billion mark and Google's $209 billion... The numbers reflect the increasing investment brands are making in customer acquisition.

Knowing that 80% of consumers are willing to switch brands and buy from another website if the product they want is out of stock on your site. Nothing is more painful for a brand than losing a sale to a competitor after spending money to drive traffic to their product pages 🙄. 

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💡 Bigblue tips 

We will address the importance of integrating the data of your e-commerce with your warehouse, but if you are on Shopify, you have the option to:

• stop selling a product (hide the product or display that it is "out of stock" on the product page)
• put an item on pre-order

Our recommendation is to synchronise your data in real-time or every hour between your e-commerce store and your warehouse. And don't forget to remove out of stock products from your marketing campaigns to avoid unhappy customers.

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B. Overstocking

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To compensate for out-of-stocks, you may tend to overstock... but remember that the more products you bring to the warehouse, the higher your storage costs will be. 

We had an example of a brand launched in 2020. At the beginning of our collaboration, we found out that they had just bought an entire year's worth of sales of a single item. Their forecasts were inaccurate, and they still have not sold all the units. It was risky and cost-intensive for a new brand, which led to a cash flow problem.

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2. Stock management: best practices

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A. Track sales on your CMS and anticipate seasonality

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Nothing is more reliable than your order history on your Shopify or CMS to prepare your inventory forecast. 

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💡 Bigblue tips

To avoid mistakes, we advise you to take into account and anticipate your temporary operations and marketing campaigns, for example:

• Your campaigns with influencers
• The peak period and sales, for example, Black Friday and Christmas
• Your press campaigns and TV appearances

Pap et Pille, a brand that we love that trusts Bigblue with delivering their cookies (on both B2C and B2B), participated in the TV show Qui Veut Être mon Associé last December. Their orders exploded by more than 100% the next day following their appearance!

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B. Anticipate the delivery times and warehouse management

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It is also necessary to consider the time needed to bring the goods to the warehouse. An essential step to avoid stock-outs before intensive sales periods, Black Friday or Christmas sales, for example. 

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💡 Bigblue tips

• Plan for one month of buffer at least: make sure your products arrive at the warehouse a month before Black Friday and the sales period.
• For greener logistics, favour ship and rail freight. This type of transport takes two months from China at a lower cost under normal circumstances.
• In case of emergency, opt for air freight (able to deliver within one week).
• If you have several warehouses, look at your options to repatriate your stocks quickly.

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C. Restock as often as possible

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To avoid overstocking errors and optimise your logistics costs, you need an accurate estimate of the time to sell your inventory. To calculate it, have a look at your sales history, production costs, and replenishment times and costs.

You can rely on an Excel file to track your inventory. But there are solutions to save you time.

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💡 Track your merchandise inventory with Bigblue and determine your best sellers by week and month, quantities sold, and days to deplete based on your order history. You can also set up alerts to restock them.

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D. Test pre-orders to launch a collection

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Pre-orders are an exciting option to test the market before you launch a brand or before releasing the production of your new collection. Below is an excellent example of the brand Asphalte that works exclusively with pre-orders for each product. They received 13,303 pre-orders for their new jeans.

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Or the case of Zèta Shoes, with whom we have collaborated since the launch of its Ulule campaign that exploded their objectives by 2.683%. From one day to the next, Laure Babin, founder of Zèta-Shoes, found herself sending 2,700 pairs of shoes instead of the 100 orders initially planned.

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E. Add the returned products back to your stock

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A well thought out returns policy is imperative as 92% of shoppers have indicated that they would buy from the same store again if the returns process is simple. 

A good returns management can work as a safety stock buffer. To play this card, you will need to have a solid integration between your warehouse and your CMS and take into account the return and processing times at the warehouse and the ratio of damaged products that cannot be put back in stock.

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💡 Bigblue tips

Facilitate returns; despite their bad reputation, they can become your best customer retention lever. You can use a returns portal to collect information on 

• The most frequently returned items and adapt your collections
• Reasons for returns: wrong size, damaged item, style. Based on the reasons for return, you will be able to anticipate which items can be put back in stock.
• Offer the possibility of printing return labels at the post office to make it easier for customers and shorten delays.

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F. Manage your packaging inventory

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It's important to remember that you’ll also need to replenish your packaging to ship packages. Bigblue provides you with standard, plastic-free packaging. Still, if you want to offer a fully customised, branded unboxing experience, you'll need a restocking plan for your: flyers, custom envelopes and boxes, samples, and wrapping paper.

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Runa Capital led the round with LPV as the secondary lead investor and additional participation from existing investor Samaipata. Bigblue provides customers with prime-like deliveries, branded tracking emails and a dedicated returns portal to enable a superior experience.

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^{E-commerce giants like Amazon and Zalando have invested billions in software and infrastructure to provide the best experience for their customers. Still, these solutions are only optimised for their businesses. To sell effectively, e-commerce brands search for solutions tailored specifically to their needs — Bigblue offers an all-in-one platform optimised for each independent brand and helps companies selling online deliver the best and most unique customer experience.}

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Bigblue provides shipping automation, transport optimisation, branded post-purchase communications, and more. The company operates an intelligent European warehouse and carrier network that uses AI to pick the best shipping method for each shipment and ensure fast and green fulfilment.

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With Bigblue, brands can add a personalized insert to their packages, customize their packaging, or tell their story in shipping notifications. 

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Bigblue counts more than 300 client brands, and in 2022 will ship 4 million parcels from 3 different countries. Bigblue's all-inclusive pricing and native integrations with Shopify and other leading e-commerce platforms make it easy for sellers to quickly set up their account, send inventory, and start selling with fast, branded fulfilment in as little as one week.

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Powering independent brands in France since 2018, Bigblue does not simply offer a fulfilment solution that matches Amazon standards – we aim to make it easy for brands to grow online. With this new round, we will support scaling service offerings for Bigblue's growing base of online merchants, fuel hiring efforts, and continue to position the company as the leader in the D2C fulfilment space. - Tim Dumain, co-founder at Bigblue.

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With its new program Fast Tags, Bigblue helps brands to reduce their marketing costs: it automatically pushes eligible buyers a 98% accurate 1-day delivery time along their purchase journey.

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_{Fast Tags' early adopters have seen a significant increase of 20-40% in conversion, with substantial savings in acquisition costs.}

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Since its inception, Bigblue has been committed to making logistics greener and helping brands move towards sustainability.

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This becomes relevant since 85% of people globally prefer to buy from sustainable brands, and logistics has a key role to play in improving the environmental impact of e-commerce. Bigblue works hand-in-hand with its merchants to match their sustainability expectations: its proprietary technology optimises transport routes and truck filling, reducing carbon emissions by 25%.

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In addition, parcels are delivered via cargo bikes and electric vehicles in major cities, all packaging is plastic-free and recyclable, and the company's warehouses are Ecocert certified.

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Runa Capital sees Bigblue as a crucial part of the online merchants' tech stack and believes that the e-commerce market will continue to grow at an impressive pace in the future. We're confident the team has everything to become the European leader in e-commerce fulfilment. We appreciate the platform's potential, and are happy to support the team on its way to success. - Dmitry Chikhachev, General Partner at Runa Capital.

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With the 15 million funding, Bigblue plans to hire 100 new people over the next 12 months in sales, marketing and operations and triple its engineering staff. The start-up opened its first international office in Madrid in January and will expand to the rest of Europe over the next year.

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This European expansion comes with ambitious goals: the team plans to expand low-carbon 1-day delivery to all of Western Europe, help national brands to become European by supporting them in their internationalization, continue to improve the post-shopping experience and extend its Fast Tag Program to help more brands get rid of overwhelming acquisition costs.

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About Bigblue

Bigblue is an order fulfilment platform that enables e-commerce merchants to offer their customers the ultimate delivery experience, thereby helping merchants increase sales and maximize return on ad spend. The Paris-based company operates an intelligent European warehouse and carrier network that uses AI to pick the best shipping method for each shipment and ensure fast and green fulfillment. All Bigblue services are included in a single cost so sellers know exactly what they will pay on day one. The company has native integrations with Shopify and other leading e-commerce platforms, allowing sellers to create an account in minutes, send inventory into the Bigblue network, and start selling with fast, branded fulfillment in as little as one week. Bigblue already has 300 client brands.

For more information, visit https://bigblue.co/.

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About Runa Capital

Runa Capital was launched in 2010 by the founders of Acronis, Parallels, and Acumatica, and has since become a leading global VC firm. Runa Capital is investing from Fund III, which focuses on early-stage investments in deep tech, including quantum technologies and cloud infrastructure, and SaaS, including vertical solutions for the healthcare, finance, and education industries. Runa Capital has invested in more than 80 companies across Europe and North America, including Mambu, Smava, Nginx, MariaDB, Brainly, Acumatica, and others.

For more information, visit www.runacap.com.

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About La Poste Ventures

La Poste Ventures is the Corporate Venture Capital of La Poste Group, endowed with 50 million euros, based in Paris and operated by XAnge. La Poste Ventures is involved in Seed and Series A fundraising, investing 300,000 to 3 million euros. His investment thesis focuses on La Poste's strategic sectors, particularly SaaS, transport and logistics, health, ecological transition and the circular economy.

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XAnge is an early-stage investment fund based in Paris and Munich with 600 million euros under management. Its investment team supports European entrepreneurs who aim to change everyday life through technology by investing amounts of 500,000 to 10 million euros from the start-up phase. With an investment thesis centred on bringing technologies to as many people as possible, XAnge invests in the deeptech, healthcare, fintech, SaaS and e-commerce sectors. XAnge has, for example, supported Lydia (Finance), Welcome to the Jungle (Human Resources), Believe (Music), MrSpex (eCommerce) and Ledger (cryptocurrencies). XAnge operates the La Poste Ventures fund alongside La Poste experts.

The evolution of the consumer journey has logically led to profound changes in purchasing expectations in both BtoB and BtoC sales. A study conducted by Forrester Consulting shows that while traditional BtoB journeys were predominantly offline and linear, the transition is increasingly towards a digital and omnichannel experience. 

Conversely, brands following the Direct To Consumer model that characterises DNVBs (for Digital Native Vertical Brands) seem to be migrating from a 100% digital journey to a shopping experience that includes the physical shop. This is the case of Tediber, the e-tailer specialising in mattresses, which has opened its famous 'Night Boxes'. These are physical shops, spread across the four corners of France.

Whatever your sector and sales model, the trend is to systematically put the consumer journey back at the heart of strategies, leaning towards more options and omnichannel flexibility. 

ONVBs (trading digital for omnichannel) are therefore officially the new DNVBs. 

But to become omnichannel, and take advantage of this model to boost sales and profits, brands now face a number of challenges. 

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The DNVB model: victim of its own success?

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The Digital Native Vertical Brands (DNVB) model has inspired thousands of entrepreneurs. And almost every product, even the most niche, has had its DNVB version. The low barriers to entry in digital commerce have been a key factor in the DNVB tsunami. But this success is also a risk to the viability of the model, generating ruthless competition on margins and acquisition costs... A competition that has been accentuated by the fact that most DNVBs focus on the same target of digital natives. 

And while their model was based on disintermediation, to increase their margins (and share them with their clients on a "fair price" basis), most DNVBs have become so dependent on online acquisition that their margins are now almost entirely captured by Google and Facebook. 

This is why more and more DNVBs are now turning to physical outlets. But just as physical distribution networks are having difficulties with e-commerce, pure players are also finding it difficult to master physical distribution...

In both cases, the reason is simple: it is a completely different business.

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Omnichannel-native brands: the birth of a new model for BtoB and BtoC sales?

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In this context, we are witnessing the emergence of a new brand model that is structurally omnichannel: the ONVB, for Omnichannel Native Vertical Brands. The concept of omnichannel is not new, but it is the "native" aspect of ONVBs that makes this model innovative. 

Indeed, from the outset, ONVBs are designed to use multiple distribution channels (e-commerce, points of sale, pop-up stores, retailers, etc.). Thus, the brand, the audience, the products, the margin level, the returns policy, the internal organisation, recruitment, IT processes (CRM, payment, stock management), the customer experience, logistics, communication, etc., are all designed for an omnichannel approach. 

As a result, the ONVB does not suffer from the technical or organisational debt that weighs on the historical players! 

Among the many advantages of this model, we can mention : 

• Reduced dependence on paid acquisition. ONVBs can better adjust their acquisition efforts to market conditions;
• A larger, international audience at their fingertips. Unlike their predecessors, ONVBs are free to deploy themselves widely on indirect channels. They therefore attract a wider audience, less sensitive to the exclusive character of their brand. Pop-up stores in shopping centres are another excellent example of an effective acquisition channel for ONVBs. They allow the brand and its products to be exposed to potential new customers at a very competitive price. It is also an opportunity to interact physically with customers (via storytelling, customer feedback, etc.). ONVBs can also use digital tools to test new distribution areas in a more cost-effective way. And then leverage their distribution partners to roll out their brand on a larger scale.

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The first successes of the ONVB

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The first ONVBs were developed on instinct by entrepreneurs who better analysed the limitations of the previous model. In France, the forerunner was perhaps Bobbies, launched in 2010 with a simple showroom, quickly followed by an online shop and an indirect sales strategy. This was followed by the opening of its first own physical shop in 2013. In 2014, Merci Handy simultaneously launched its coloured antibacterial gels in e-commerce and wholesale. Its network now includes nearly 3,000 retailers.

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🌟👖 The example of LEPANTALON

While the transition from the DNVB model to omnichannel may seem more complex, there are many success stories. This is the case, for example, of the brand LEPANTALON, which began with Direct To Consumer, distributing its products exclusively on its own website. Then in its own shops and physical points of sale, in particular to allow customers to try on their clothes and become more familiar with the brand's sizes. 

Today, LEPANTALON's acquisition levers are fully omnichannel. In-store interactions help to increase traffic on the website, and vice versa.  

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The challenges of omnichannel: a more attractive, but also more demanding strategy

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The ONVBs can therefore be seen as a natural evolution, or rather an evolution of the DNVB model. Omnichannel thus takes up the main assets of the latter, with particular emphasis on the customer experience, lean launches, brand differentiation and transparent, local communication.  

However, as we have just seen, the barriers to entry remain higher. To be successful in indirect sales, the brand must be stronger and the storytelling more universal. The ONVB model also requires a much wider range of skills. It includes everything from deploying and managing dozens of outlets to hundreds of resellers. 😱 The model also takes longer to deploy. On average, it would take 2-3 years to be operational across all channels, compared to just 6 months for DNVB. 

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Among the other challenges that have emerged with omnichannel, especially in BtoB selling, merchants face: 

• Back-office integration between channels; 
• Difficulties in sharing customer data and analysis across channels, countries or trade areas; 
• Limiting constraints imposed by distribution partners, franchises or wholesalers; 
• Potential conflicts between different channel organisations;
• But also implementation difficulties (such as lack of commercial incentives). Or limited staff skills and management resistance. 

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Creating a consistent online and offline sales experience: the main challenge of multi-channel (BtoB and BtoC)

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In contrast to the massive wave of DNVBs, it is likely that not as many omnichannel brands will emerge. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, as this lesser competitive pressure will leave higher margins for the ONVBs that will come out on top! 👀 

To achieve this, it will start with a successful transition from a 100% digital model to opening physical shops. An exciting moment for brands, but also a colossal challenge to manage a network of shops. And above all to adapt their strategies, as digital success does not automatically translate into physical success. 

💡 Bigblue's tips

Below we share with you the 3 levers to pull to ease the path to omnichannel. 

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1. Controlling your communication

The challenge of communication systematically arises in a more frontal manner when the number of physical points of sale increases dramatically. The transition from digital to physical necessarily requires tuning the violins. 🎻

Your brand must start by clearly defining its brand universe and thinking about its online and in-store translations. It must also set up communication channels adapted to its new partners. And thus, ensure a good dissemination of information through its network of shops, but also towards its retailers. 

The best way to get rid of this problem is to use a platform that allows seamless and instant communication between the shop teams, the area managers and the head office. 

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2. Managing your teams in omnichannel

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In-store visits also become necessary as your network grows. Having a complete overview of what is happening in your outlets is easy when there are only a few to monitor. But then again, the game changes when you are talking about dozens or even hundreds of shops!

DNVBs that are just starting to develop their physical offerings have a clean slate that can help them avoid falling into bad habits. The key is to learn from the failures of the retailers who came before them. The very ones who simply digitised their in-store management processes. Don't make that mistake, failure is guaranteed! 😵

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🌟👖 LEPANTALON’s example

LEPANTALON, for example, has worked hard on the recruitment and training of its teams. The brand has worked to find ambassadors, sticking with its values. It especially values friendliness and smiles, the attitude of advicing and listening rather than an aggressive sales approach, which does not fit with its online shopping experience. 

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3. Ensure brand consistency

As its presence diversifies from online to physical shops, but also to concept stores and pop-ups in department stores, the omnichannel brand must fight to keep its universe from being diluted. This is as true for BtoB sales as for BtoC.

To maintain consistency in your image and customer experience, you need to set standards. For digital native brands, who are also true pioneers of the experiential retail model, it is even more important to cultivate a good reputation by creating a unique and engaging brand experience.

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🌟👖 LEPANTALON’s example

LEPANTALON once again gives us keys to prevent scaling your network from becoming an obstacle. To maintain a consistent brand identity, it is thus crucial that each channel follows the same vision. The first step is to put it on paper. Then deploy it with the same common thread that will be applied to both channels. For the in-store channel, the brand focused on the interior design, for example, in line with the DNA created online. 

In general, this goal of consistency is easier to achieve by monitoring compliance with head office guidelines using a centralised digital platform. 

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The importance of an integrated SaaS for omnichannel operations in both B2B and B2C sales

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Regardless of the sales model (B2B or B2C) or the industry, the key to success for brands is to offer their customers an omnichannel journey. From their point of view, it doesn't matter whether they buy online or offline. It's all about finding the most convenient and fastest channel at any given time.  

To stimulate and coordinate their omnichannel efforts, merchants need the support of technology partners. This includes a SaaS solution, such as Shopify and Bigblue, that will allow them to manage their operations (CRM, online sales, logistics, and corporate resources). Brands that choose this approach argue that it offers them a faster implementation speed and better stimulates continuous innovation. It will therefore ultimately be more cost-effective than an on-premise solution!

Discover how Bigblue can help you sell everywhere! We provide easy fulfillment for your wholesale orders, retail locations, pop-up stores, and more. The flexibility of e-commerce delivery for your BtoB sales locations.

Shopify is one of the most advanced and popular e-commerce solutions for merchants - and a good reason! Undoubtedly, the CMS offers the most tools and, therefore, the most possibilities to customise your customer experience. But as complete and efficient as Shopify is, it can only partially compete with the power of marketplaces like Amazon. 

With more than 152 million monthly visits in France in 2021, Amazon is the undisputed leader in e-commerce. And the champion of customer satisfaction, with 89% of its users saying they prefer to buy on Amazon. You can now enjoy both e-commerce worlds by learning how to sell on Amazon using the Shopify CMS. 

Before we see how-to, let's understand why this is the best option for your brand! 

How to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of selling on Amazon?

It's no longer a secret: Marketplaces represent a tremendous opportunity for your brand. In 2020, the world's leading marketplaces represented a sales volume of $2.67 trillion. That's 62% of online sales that year! 😱

The question for merchants is whether it is more relevant to start their store or sell directly on Amazon. The answer is that it is best to do both. However, before making a decision, it is essential to understand the strengths and weaknesses of marketplaces.

A platform like Amazon provides enormous visibility to your products and allows you to reach more potential customers. Amazon alone has over 300 million active accounts worldwide. You can become a seller in a few minutes and get a worldwide audience just as quickly. It's an excellent opportunity to reach new audiences and showcase your products at scale!

But all this comes at a price...

Turning obstacles into opportunities 

In addition to competition and costs, Amazon has faced criticism for limiting sellers' access to valuable sales and customer data. You can gain a competitive edge and improve your business by understanding your sales pipeline, including customer buying behaviours and annual fluctuations.

Amazon's platform offers its users many choices and quick and convenient options to find the product they are interested in and have it delivered in record time. The overall customer experience needs to be on par with an independent store, where visitors can discover new items organically. This is also true for the post-purchase experience, a critical moment to build customer loyalty.

The lack of branding and control over the final experience delivered to the customer and the data that would allow measuring the ROI are good news for you. Instead, it's a unique opportunity to take advantage of Amazon's traffic while enjoying the specific benefits of your CMS. 

You reduce your dependence on a single business model by multiplying your sales channels. And you give your customers more options to discover your products and engage with your brand!

Shopify: a complete solution to brand your customer experience

Among the options you can offer your customers to discover your brand and buy your product, we have to mention Shopify. The latter allows you to create your online store via various custom themes. In addition to facilitating the branding of your e-commerce site, Shopify is accessible to beginners and requires no prior knowledge!

The solution is hosted, which means it runs on its servers. So you don't need to worry about hosting your store, either. Product listing, payment module, and even marketing tools (mailing, blog, etc.) are provided and ready to use. 

The benefits of Shopify

The numbers speak for themselves. 1.75 million merchants sell using the Shopify platform. The latter processed $119.58 billion in order value in 2020.

Why is it so popular?

Its simplicity

Its intuitive interface allows merchants to focus on managing their business. The "drag & drop" mode makes it easy to customise your store;

Its technical support

A dedicated team is available 24/7. A reassuring element for beginners who would need help to familiarise themselves with Shopify;

Endless customisation possibilities

Shopify allows you to create a store that looks like your brand and world. With a wide selection of themes, some of which are free, you can customise your customer experience and quickly adapt it to their feedback;

Shopify’s app store

‍With over 1,200 plugins and apps, Shopify allows you to streamline and automate your sales channels. If you're not familiar with accounting or inventory management, there's bound to be an app that can do it for you;

Its marketing opportunities.

‍The more your store is visited, the more your sales increase. Shopify allows you to increase your traffic organically, thanks to its many SEO tools. You can also easily create your coupons or promote your brand on social networks. For example, connecting your different ads accounts (on TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram) to the Shopify CMS. Then measure your ROI thanks to add-ons that allow you to deepen the data of your page;

Its ability to grow with you

‍Shopify adapts to the size of your business and brings you specific tools according to your brand's growth stages. 

The disadvantages of Shopify

Despite its many advantages for your brand, Shopify also has some disadvantages. For example, customising your online store takes a lot of work. 

To go beyond the choice of themes offered on the application, you will have to go through the Shopify Liquid configuration tool. In practice, the latter will undoubtedly prove too technical for inexperienced merchants. Unlike WordPress, which relies on PHP to customise its themes, the Shopify method will be more challenging to master. 

The other disadvantage of Shopify lies in the content marketing side. Create a blog and optimise it for SEO to increase your organic traffic. Or make it easy to integrate your social networks into your store to boost your brand visibility. But Shopify could still improve their editor (especially for galleries) or product integration in blog posts. 

You can install the relevant applications from your App Store to add some of these missing features. However, these extensions present new challenges and require a lot of your time. That's where Bigblue comes in! We make it easy for you to manage the more complex aspects of Shopify's CMS (especially around your inventory and shipping management) with the functionality of our platform. 

In practice: how to sell and combine the power of Amazon with Shopify’s customer experience?

So how do you make the most of both platforms? And more importantly, how do you sell on Amazon using Shopify's CMS?

To sell on Amazon, you have two basic options: 

• FBA (or Fulfillment by Amazon): This platform does everything. You send your inventory to an Amazon Fulfillment Center (FC), which ships the products and handles customer returns. You control the amount of stock you send to the FC. Then pay the storage fee plus a fulfilment fee for each unit sold. Amazon handles the payment and sends you your revenue every two weeks in this model. The catch is that you will have no control over your branding (customising packages, flyers, etc.). Nor any way to access your customers directly (or indirectly)!
• The MFN (Merchant Fulfillment Network): You interact directly with your customers and manage shipments, returns and support. The MFN (or FBM, for Fulfillment By Merchant) is a good option for made-to-order products. Or items that require a longer processing time. It's also the way to regain control of your customer data and control the experience you offer them. All you need to do is connect your CMS (in this case, Shopify) to Amazon. 

How to sell on Amazon using Shopify

E-tailers have been able to integrate Shopify with Amazon since September 2015. A long-awaited integration that allows them to connect their shop with the millions of potential customers of the American giant!

In concrete terms, you can add Amazon to your sales channels on Shopify and even create Amazon product listings from existing items. Using Bigblue's App, fully integrated with Amazon and Shopify, you can fulfil and track your orders in real-time, which can now be done directly in the Shopify admin panel. 

Bigblue also syncs your available inventory across all active sales channels. With multi-channel snapshots of your key SKUs and shipping costs, you now have a complete view of your business performance.

To complete the Shopify integration on Amazon and Bigblue, follow these steps: 

1. Add Amazon as a sales channel

Log in to your Shopify shop and click on the "+" icon next to "Sales Channels". Select Amazon and click "Add" to confirm.

2. Register with Amazon Seller Central

Register as a professional seller and upgrade to an Amazon Seller Central business account to find out how to sell on Amazon with Shopify.
Then, open the Amazon services and click on "Start Selling". You will be asked to fill in your name and email address and choose a password to create your seller account.
After creating your professional seller account, you will need to get approval from Amazon to validate that your products fit into the categories you entered.

3. Create Amazon listings of your products

Before you can start selling on Amazon, you must create product listings. The good news? You can now do this from within Shopify! Click on Amazon in the "Sales Channels" section, then click on "Create a Listing". Choose the product you want to list and click "Select a product".
If you already sell on Amazon, you can also migrate existing Amazon listings to your Shopify shop. Listings from your Professional Seller account will be visible on your Amazon listings page in Shopify.
Also, take the opportunity to set your inventory tracking policy from your shop's inventory settings. You can allow Shopify to do this, or you can do it manually.
That's it: you can now start selling on Amazon through Shopify!

Managing the duality of selling via Amazon and on your own Shopify CMS 

At first glance, Amazon may seem like an enemy threatening your business. The platform can help you grow your brand and boost your sales when used correctly!

However, this increased visibility comes at a cost. In particular, it implies losing control over your conversion and branding. It also risks damaging the experience you offer your customers and your ability to measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. 

So to take advantage of Amazon's effectiveness while maintaining your brand and supporting its growth, the best solution is to combine Amazon and Shopify (and all your channels). 

At Bigblue, we are particularly fond of the approach of Diego Alary, the king of the "foodporn" recipe on TikTok. He has over 2.5 million followers on the social network and sells his recipe book on several different channels:

• on TikTok, via its Shopify CMS
• on its website hosted on Shopify
• via Amazon in MFN

All this is thanks to Bigblue's platform. With all of his sales information synced in real-time, Diego completely controls his ROI and can create a great shopping experience for his fans!
Think of your Shopify shop as your home base and Amazon and your social networks as the beacons to drive more traffic to it. You can significantly increase your sales with strategic planning, experimentation, and marketing hacks (including taking advantage of Shopify's social networking opportunities).
So think about combining the tools available to you, and let Bigblue handle your logistics too!

Congrats on making another sale! Hold off on popping the champagne, and keep it chilling in the fridge for the perfect celebration moment. Why? Checkout completion is only the beginning of your relationship with your customer. To build customer loyalty and convince more shoppers to buy from your online store, you need to offer a 5-star post-purchase experience. This will ensure the sustainability of your e-commerce business.

Here are 10 examples of e-merchants to inspire you!

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1. Jimmy Fairly

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Jimmy Fairly offers a top-notch post-purchase experience in e-commerce. They provide a kit for customers to get reimbursed by Social Security a yearly reminder to visit the optician. The eyewear manufacturer also seamlessly connects their online and in-store experiences.

Customers can visit a store to try on glasses and then receive a quote by email. Additionally, they can come to the store for adjustments or pick up an antifog kit, which is especially useful with the widespread use of masks.

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2. Tediber

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Tediber knows what makes a bedding brand great - comfort! They even send customers an eye mask one month after their mattress arrives.

Plus, their post-purchase email sequence is top-notch - they provide a precise delivery slot and even offer deliveries up to 10 pm for those who want their mattress after work. A guide is also provided to assemble and install the bed frame easily, or if you're feeling lazy, their trained delivery man can do it in under 3 minutes!

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3. Veja: a post-purchase experience oriented towards the maintenance of the sneakers

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It's an example of an excellent post-purchase experience in e-commerce from a brand supporting its customers using its product. Veja provides precise advice on cleaning, restoring, and recycling their shoes, helping extend their lives and keep customers satisfied.

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4. Blime: using video the right way

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Blime goes above and beyond to make sure its customers get the most out of their paint cans. The made-in-France paint company shares video tutorials to show them how to paint their walls properly, making the experience fun and enjoyable. Talk about customer support done right!

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5. Unbottled: delivery tracking with branded e-mails

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Your customers eagerly await news of their package after they make a purchase. Unbottled takes the extra step to brand its delivery tracking emails with its image and even encourages customers to share their experience on Instagram. On average, emails and tracking pages are viewed 4 times per purchase. It's a smart way to reach new consumers and provide a great post-purchase experience.

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6. Dermalogica 

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Skincare brand Dermalogica knows how important order tracking is to their post-purchase experience. Instead of giving customers a vague estimate of when their package will arrive, they provide the exact date. Plus, they include samples of their flagship products to replicate the in-store experience and subtly encourage repeat purchases. It's a great example of a brand focusing on customer satisfaction.

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7. Amazon: reinventing the wheel of the post-purchase experience

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When it comes to e-commerce, merchants can learn a lot from Amazon - especially when it comes to post-purchase experiences. Amazon offers free returns, multiple delivery options, packaging choices, and even a scheduled purchase option for certain items. For example, businesses can have a pack of post-its sent to them every four months. This kind of attention to detail makes Amazon successful and builds customer loyalty!

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8. Merci Handy

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To make online shopping as exciting as in-store, brands can add a bit of drama. Merci Handy does this beautifully by focusing on unboxing. Not only do they send their products in a nicely designed package, but they encourage customers to share the moment on social media. It's a super effective way to create buzz and build brand loyalty.

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9. My Lubie 

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The intimate care brand My Lubie knows how powerful social media can be in their post-purchase experience. They're especially active on TikTok, which is popular with their young target audience. 

Their CEO, Pierre Lagache, doesn't hesitate to get personal by regularly writing FAQs about the product. It's a great way to create a connection, answer customer questions, and build loyalty.

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10. Nike and their community! 

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Nike knows the importance of a strong community - especially in fashion e-commerce, the sector with the highest returns rates. With a clear and easy-to-use returns policy, they can keep their customers happy and coming back for more. In France, clothing returns make up more than 18% of all returns, so having a solid policy is key to success.

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In the world of fashion e-commerce, Nike is making waves by giving customers 60 days to return their shoes. They also inspire their community to become brand ambassadors through their running app and branded races. Nike sets itself apart from the competition by motivating its customers to excel and creating a sense of belonging to the Nike Run Club.

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<sub>Bigblue’s tips

The 10 brands we highlighted show how important a great post-purchase experience is. Take inspiration from them to:
- Remove customer concerns about receiving their package
- Help them use their product
- Provide value even after they've made a purchase
- Encourage them to return to your store</sub>

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Why are post-purchase email sequences important?

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Because we are convinced that e-mails can play a major role (as well as logistics, unboxing, etc.) in the post-purchase experience of your customers, we have prepared an article that reviews best practices and tips.

We will go into more detail on the two types of e-mails (and e-mail sequences) that can occur after an order, and we will try to share with you as many tips as possible so that you can increase the satisfaction, and mechanically the lifetime value, of your customers.

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Post-purchase emails: transactional vs. promotional

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While both transactional and marketing emails can be sent in response to a customer action, it is important to differentiate them.

As a general rule, a trigger-based e-mail that aims to convey essential information to the customer rather than to generate sales can be considered a transactional e-mail.

Another important distinction between marketing and transactional e-mails is that the later don’t require that a person subscribed or opted-in to receive e-mails from you.

Even if a customer has unsubscribed from marketing emails, they expect to receive transactional emails concerning their purchases or account administration activities.

For this reason, emails marked as transactional in your CRM (Klaviyo, Sendinblue, etc.) will still be sent to the deleted recipients.

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Transactional emails: post-purchase experience, order tracking

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Good to know:

Bigblue's branded tracking emails have an open rate of 75%, 3 times more than traditional marketing emails (with a 25% open rate). They are also opened 4x on average. You have the opportunity to add 4 touch-points with your customers and consequently, 4 more opportunities to create brand love.

The main goals: to increase customer loyalty with branded tracking e-mails, to increase sales by adding marketing campaigns directly in your follow-up emails, and finally, to reduce your support requests by giving contextual and accurate information on orders.

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The 3 most popular order tracking emails

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1. Purchase confirmation e-mail :

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💡  Bigblue’s tips to craft the perfect order confirmation email:

• An obvious subject: [First name] your order [Brand] #[Order number] has been confirmed
• Thank your customer for their purchase.
• Add as much context information as possible:
• The order summary
• Give the ETA of the delivery
• Add the order tracking link
• How to contact you and what to do in case of problems or questions
• Add your branding for a better experience.
  

A nice branded post-purchase email helps show the customer that their buying experience is not over. The whole process doesn't stop at once.    

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2. Shipping confirmation:

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This is a lost opportunity for many brands to do reassurance, upsell, and cross-sell by leaving the sending of follow-up emails to their carrier partners. The probability of selling to a customer who has already purchased is 60 to 70%!

💡  Bigblue tips for the perfect shipping confirmation email:

• Brand your tracking e-mails
• Give context:
• Your order has been assigned to X shipping partner
• It will be delivered to the following address
• Summary of products in the package
• Add tracking link
• Add your marketing campaigns:
• Add links to your social networks
• Add coupons on their next order.

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3. Order delivery confirmation

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The delivery experience can make you retain a customer, or it can negatively impact your brand image. As many as 28% of online consumers who have experienced an unpleasant delivery experience tell others about it.

The order confirmation email is an excellent opportunity to measure buyer satisfaction. If it goes well, you have the opportunity to talk to your customers when they are satisfied. Brands that work with Bigblue have a 94.3% customer satisfaction rate.

On the other hand, it will allow you to be responsive and show that you are willing to go out of your way to resolve issues. This is an opportunity to turn a dissatisfied customer into an ambassador, 97% of consumers are sensitive to service recovery.

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💡  Bigblue tips for the perfect package delivery confirmation e-mail :

• Provide contextual information about the delivery: "the package was delivered to your building’s doorman".
• Ask how the delivery went?
• Summary of products in the package
• Give a way to contact you in case of problems
• Add your marketing campaigns:
• Offer complementary products.
• Ask your customers to post a picture on social media

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Promotional emails: post-purchase experience

In addition to maximizing the customer experience, post-purchase sequences are designed to increase the average basket, the re-purchase rate of your customers, as well as the lifetime value of those customers.

Lifetime Value = Total spent by a customer since the beginning of the relationship.

We distinguish two types of objectives on the transactional side: to push for an immediate repeat-purchase (in the days following the first order) and to push for a re-purchase over a longer period of time.

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1. Reorder immediately (under 15 jours)

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Regarding immediate repeat purchases, upsell and cross-sell sequences will aim to increase the order value of the customer in the days following the first order.

Some e-merchants using this type of sequence have an essential asset to drive their acquisition: if you are sure that 5% of customers place a second order thanks to these flows, you can increase your acquisition budget proportionally.

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Post-purchase upsell flow: 5 to 10% more orders

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This flow is not widely used, but it is an extraordinary margin lever, customers like it!

The concept is simple: it consists in asking customers to order again under 24/48h in with a discount (additional or not, where we just say take advantage of the current offer). Having no acquisition cost to bear, or even no delivery cost in some specific cases (if the 2 orders can be joined), we will then be able to propose an attractive (and reasonable) offer to our customer, while maintaining a very interesting margin.

From the consumer's point of view, it’s a great experience: she can add products at a lower cost. This allows you to convert a part of the customers who had hesitated to place a larger order.

From the e-merchant's point of view, it is interesting because you have already "paid" your customer.

The goal is to achieve a conversion rate of between 5 and 10%. At EmailClub, we see an average of around 8%, with a margin rate of around 50% (including discount).

Below is an example of a post-purchase upsell flow on which we A/B tested two sequences. 5% conversion on the first email! A little more than 7% in total!

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Another example below of a post purchase flow over 2 days, where the winning variation (left) converts at 7%. The proposed promotion is 10% higher, which translates into a much better conversion, from the first email.

If you decide to set up such a flow, we advise you to AB test different combinations until you find the promotion / branding / margin formula that suits you best.

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Cross-sell e-mail sequences

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As its name indicates, this flow aims to present complementary products, in order to make your acquisition costs profitable as soon as possible, but also to make your customers discover as many products as possible.

For example, a food supplements brand whose best-seller is protein powder will take advantage of this flow to highlight protein bars, etc... Whether or not the customer buys in this flow, you will benefit from presenting additional products.

Be careful not to send too many e-mails. If you set up 2 flows, make sure that they are as short as possible.

If you have to choose only one, we recommend the post-purchase upsell flow, which tends to give better performance (7-8% on average compared to 4-5% for a not too intrusive cross-sell).

If you already have an upsell in place, we advise you not to put in a cross-sell, or at least to shift it to come after the post-purchase upsell flow.

Because of the nature of this flow, it can be important to prepare different paths according to the products, for the most relevant recommendations.

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Below is an example of a flow to set-up:

The example of a purchase of a protein powder box:

• Trigger condition according to the products purchased, identify the 2-3 best-sellers and make a dedicated flow very relevant to them, then put the rest in a general flow.
• In the case of our protein seller, we will segment according to the presence or not of proteins, or complementary products to avoid redundancy.
• D+7: cross-sell 1: the most complementary product with the one purchased (protein bars)
• D+14 : cross-sell 2 : the "additional" product most appreciated by your customers (the protein spread)
• D +21 : cross-sell 3 : the technical product, to go further (vitamins x and y)

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2. Buy again in the long-term

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The classic repeat purchase flow

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Warning: this flow looks very different if you sell vacuum cleaners or solid shampoo.

In the case of a solid shampoo, we adopt a strategy of repeat business and therefore we find it abnormal that the customer does not come back. We will do everything we can to satisfy them and make them come back.

It is important to send emails at the right time: if a shampoo runs-out after 30 days, we advise you to send a repurchase email three weeks after the purchase and not the next day. The difficulty lies in finding harmony between the functioning of a sequence and its product.

The idea is to do everything possible to get it right, because we know that this will mechanically increase our chances of having a satisfied customer who will repurchase and/or talk about it around him.

Never underestimate the positive consequences of customer satisfaction.

This is the time to be creative, to take risks to create a memorable and positive experience.

Example of a simple, non-intrusive post-purchase flow (Thanks Ubac for letting us share this flow with you. Go check out their shoes they are amazing ❤️).

2 days (onboarding): why and how (if the product can be maintained, how to do it)

Example: how to maintain your shoes:    

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7 days: follow-up and invitation to join social networks.

Example: invitation to follow on Instagram

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21 days: cross sell with promo code

Example: thank you promo code following the order (one of the only ways to get a code for the first order)

28 days : Reminder of the promo code (valid for 7 days, so last day)

60 days: a backstage e-mail, a mission e-mail

Example : focus association

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90 days : Taking feedback

Example : invitation to google review following the late creation of the page (90d)

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The reactivation flow

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Concerning this flow, it is important to ask yourself a question regarding your product typology, and its natural recurrence: whether you sell televisions or a solid soap, you will have very different recurrence needs.

So build your strategy according to your product, so as not to disturb your customer, and bring him a maximum of value!

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Note: if you are using Klaviyo, using the "experts date of next order" trigger may be a good choice once you have accumulated enough data on your customers' recurrence behavior!

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To set up this flow, nothing could be simpler: this flow must start from a date when you consider it abnormal that the customer has not placed an order, and its purpose is to convert all the customers who were about to disappear from our active base.

This flow is particularly adapted to personalized promo codes: if your customer has not placed an order for X amount of time, you are ready to make a gesture to win him back.

Regarding its structure, you can make a single simple flow, which will be received by your customers each time they enter the scenario (hasn't ordered for X days). If you have more time to devote to it, we advise you to create several different versions, so that your customer does not receive the same email twice.

The number of emails will vary from several factors: if you send many weekly campaigns, 1 to 3 emails will be enough. If you don't do campaigns, you can increase this number.

Below is an example of a 5 email reactivation flow, where we alternate 5 paths:

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Bonus: the birthday purchase flow

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At EmailClub, we believe that contacting a customer for his birthday is a bit outdated... Indeed: not only does your customer not necessarily want to tell you his birthday, but you can agree that it is not very original. You will then find yourself between an e-mail from his bank, his insurance, and the loyalty card he doesn't use all year...

On the other hand, a birthday that we really like is the anniversary of their first order! Indeed, it is a unique moment, which links you both!

It's an opportunity to remind your customer of good memories, and all the pleasure he had with your products. As a bonus, it's the perfect time to offer a coupon code, to encourage him to order again! (see according to the life of the product).

Example of a first order anniversary email (Thanks Ubac).

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Installing an order anniversary sequence will allow you to stand out, but also to build an intimate relationship with your customer, showing them how important they are to you!

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Post-purchase e-mail sequences in summary

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As you can see, post-purchase emails have a considerable impact on your buying experience (and your recurrence).

When developing your strategy, take into account your product type, which will greatly influence it.

This article is part of a series of articles co-authored with EmailClub. Q4 has taken its toll on our weekly rhythm but here we are again.

See you next week for the last episode of this series of articles dedicated to e-mail marketing.

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We have the privilege to work with some of the nicest brands and help them deliver an extraordinary post-purchase experience to their customers at Bigblue and meet the founders behind them at the Digital Native Club. 

As we are getting ready to do our Christmas shopping this week, we decided to share our gift guide and our analysis of some of the most ingenious conversion-oriented e-commerce tips we have come across. 

Did you know that over 47% of French consumers wait until ten days before Christmas to buy their gifts? And that more than 89% of them have the intention of purchasing them online? Hence the demand for same-day shipping has more than doubled between 2020 and 2021.

At Bigblue, we have prepared to make sure that your gifts will arrive in time for when you need them. Nevertheless, we suggest shopping as early as possible and double-check the retailers’ websites for shipping information. 

Recap of our best tips to boost the end of year sales  on your e-commerce:

• Knowing that 44% of shopping carts are abandoned due to excessive delivery fees, offer free shipping.
• Consumers are extremely sensitive to delivery times, so we advise you always to have an express delivery option. And this year, requests for express delivery have increased 2X! 
• In the same logic, announce on your website your Christmas cut-offs, that is, the last date to order to be delivered in time for Christmas.
• Be flexible with returns, as 67% of buyers read your returns policy before ordering. Holiday shopping is often a gift, so give your customers' loved ones time to try the products and make returns and exchanges easy. It doesn't cost anything to share and try!
• Display the exact delivery date on your check-out page. This simple action can increase your conversions by 9%!  
• Offer your customers the opportunity to write a personalised note for their gifts.
• Offer gift wrapping options to enhance the gift unboxing experience. Over half of shoppers say branded packaging makes them more excited to receive/open the package.
• Adding samples to orders is a way to reward your customers for choosing you and invite them to test another product line that they might like and trigger a new purchase. 81% of French consumers want to receive samples in their packages. 
• Add flyers with a discount for their first purchase on your e-commerce. 

Unbottled

What if it was the time to convert your loved ones to solid beauty products (that melt like butter)? For a zero-waste Christmas, prepare your gift boxes and let them discover solid shampoos, facial cleansers, shower gels, and soaps for a spa day at home! 

💡Bigblue's tips:

We like the Christmas shopping experience at Unbottled! For starters, they offer a gamified and smart experience to increase their shopping cart value with:

• Free shipping with a minimum ticket of purchases. This allows them to sell one more complimentary product to get free shipping.
• Transparent shipping costs on the product page.
• Gift wrapping proposal, boxes, and bags, for a great unboxing experience! 
• The option to add a note with your gift. A great way to simplify your customers' lives.

Caval

Asymmetrical and original sneakers. Their production and materials are 100% European! 

💡Bigblue's tips:

The conversion-oriented elements of Caval's e-commerce experience that we love:

• A straightforward, seasonally appropriate returns and exchanges policy. They offer returns and exchanges throughout Europe until mid-January. 
• Precise delivery dates like Amazon does. "Order within 10h and 14min to be delivered on Thursday." 
• Caval offers free shipping.
• They offer additional products, including a cleaning kit to maintain your sneakers on the check-out page to increase their cart.

Dermalogica

Products that allow everyone to achieve healthy skin thanks to a high concentration of highly effective active ingredients for visible and lasting results. And all this without harmful or controversial ingredients (no lanolin, denatured alcohol, mineral oil, perfume, or artificial colorants...)

💡Bigblue's tips:

• Dermalogica offers free delivery at a minimum purchase.
• They offer 3 free samples chosen by the customer to discover new products.
• From a minimum purchase, they offer a gift, full-size product, to choose from! Great to make a gift for a loved one and a gift for yourself.
• They display the exact delivery date, ETA: "Estimated delivery on December 8"

Big Moustache

Beard and shaving products and even a beard kit with glitter, of course, biodegradable!

💡Bigblue's tips:

• Big Moustache offers a 15% discount on all gift boxes.
• Free delivery from a minimum purchase in France.
• And free delivery in a relay point with no minimum purchase.

From Future

100% cashmere sweaters and hats, with a range of colours that really stand out! 

💡Bigblue's tips:

• From Future offers a streamlined returns experience from their website. And flexible returns.
• The option to add free gift packaging at check-out.
• Multiple delivery methods to suit customer expectations.

Cabaïa

Customised backpacks and hats made of 100% recycled materials!  

💡Bigblue's tips:

• Free delivery in a relay point.
• Small gestures, each photo posted on Instagram with the hashtag #MartyChallenge represents a donation of 1€ to the SPA.
• Cabaïa offers free returns and a lifetime warranty on its products. There is no risk!
• A gift is offered for purchases of 85€ or more to push the basket up.
• They also offer a gift wrapping option for 1,50€.

Diego Alary

In the kitchen with Diego Alary, the signed edition! 40 recipes in less than 30 minutes.

💡Bigblue's tips:

• The little extra for Diego’s fans, the signed limited edition of his first book.
• Multiple delivery options are available.
• Precise information on delivery times.

La Petite Étoile

💡Bigblue's tips:

• Flexibility on returns, up to 28 days for purchases made in December
• Free shipping on orders over a minimum ticket.
• Precision on Christmas cutoffs: order before December 15th to be delivered before Christmas.

Omy Maison

Illustrations, artsy and playful items!

Soi Paris

💡Bigblue's tips:

• A gamified experience to win either a discount, free shipping, or a 150€ gift!
• Gift envelopes for €1.
• Delivery before Christmas is guaranteed for all standard colissimo orders placed before December 19th.
• Several delivery methods are available.
• Free delivery with a minimum purchase.

One of the biggest advantages of e-commerce is that we have the contact information of most of our customers and several prospects.

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Some filled out a form and consented to marketing messages before abandoning the shopping cart at check-out.

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Naturally, you will try to convert these prospects, making the shopping cart abandonment flow one of the most important flows for your e-commerce site.

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Anything is possible on this flow: from the least intrusive in 1 or 2 emails to the longest flow.

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As is often the case in e-mail marketing, what counts is above all what your customer thinks of it, given the context. To clarify this point, a customer will be more inclined to receive reminders of abandoned carts during sales periods / on a product available in limited quantities, than systematically throughout the year.

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Everything is possible depending on your brand and the relationship you want to establish with your customers. The idea is to maximise conversion without impacting your brand image to reconcile conversion and lifetime value (= customer lifetime value = average amount spent by a customer throughout his relationship with the brand.

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This article will first cover some general points to help you better understand the shopping cart abandonment flow. Then we will go into detail with 2 examples that oppose each other.

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General set-up of an abandoned shopping cart e-mail sequence

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Note: we work at EmailClub mostly with a Klaviyo-SMS Bump tandem, but be aware that most of the features are available on other tools, if they are well configured with your site.

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We will use the following setup:

• Trigger: Checkout started
• Filter #1: Prospect accepts marketing
• Filter #2: Has placed 2 orders in the last few days

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In terms of email preparation, a few essentials are worth mentioning again:

• Be careful not to send anything at night. Calculate your filters carefully or set up a basic sending time.
• Think business: how could I convert more today? What tests should I run?
• If possible, the product should be visible as soon as you open the e-mail, whose content should be clear and sober.
• If you use codes, think of links that send to the shopping cart and contain seals.

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Some ideas for you to implement:

What are the key attributes of your product?

• Reviews and social proof
• Reassurance elements
• Clear and concise message
• Real urgency
• Thank you very much for reading!

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Targeted performance: 15 to 20% recovery of abandoned shopping carts (attribution 2 days)

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Example 1. Goal: Branding

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Let's take a brand that is cautious about sending emails, that doesn't want to appear very commercial, and rarely offers discounts.

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We would advise them to set up a flow of 2 e-mails, at 1 hour and 1 day, and to work on the personalisation of the message as much as possible.

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In the absence of promotions to take action, we will build a flow architecture based on the product(s) in the basket to propose a personalised message.

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An idea that you can test in this perspective, 2 emails that answer two different questions:

• Email #1 (1h): why you should order from us (values, quality, etc). The customer has the product in mind and may be hesitant about the brand or the price. We try to reassure them and encourage them to take action during the day.
• Email #2 (1 day vs. 2 days): why you should order this product (nice images, product attributes, testimonials, etc.). You're doing distance selling, it's time to convince 😉

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For fear of being intrusive, many brands ignore sms. Well done, it is, however an excellent way to fight against spam, and to push the customer to come back to your site.

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Example 2. Goal: Performance 

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On the other side of the scope, we find e-commerce who aim to convert at all costs to make their advertising expenses profitable (and/or thanks to higher margins than the previous example).

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In a pure conversion objective (while minimising dissatisfaction and loss of brand image), we recommend a flow of 3 e-mails and 2 SMS.

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The principle of this flow is that the customer was about to convert but was distracted. Therefore, we will try to give them reasons to convert today rather than going into a product sales pitch.

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Imagine a salesperson who would call you at the store’s exit (15mn), send you an e-mail when you get home (1 to 2 hours), and call you back the next day to check up on you. The customer who was convinced but had other things on his mind will inevitably take action.

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On the other hand, some may find this sequence too insistent.

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Coupled with sms, you could set up the following sequence:

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Email #1 (15mn)

• #1 - Attention span, no discount, including, if possible, a notion of real urgency, as well as gifs or photos of products in action.
• SMS #1 (30mn)
• Short SMS with no promo that links to the cart

Email #2 (1h-2h)

• A reminder of benefits, missions, testimonials.
• Often the right time to introduce a 1st promo (5€, 10% to 30% depending on strategy, prices, and margins)
• SMS #2 (1 day)
• Short SMS with the same promo code (if existing) as Email #2

Email #3 (1 day)

• Last email (specify).
• Attractive discount, in the same format as the 1st, but better (% with %, € with )
• It might be interesting to AB test a text email, which often performs very well at this stage.

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