Online merchants to reach out to holiday shoppers with deals and through social media
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Online sellers will be pulling out all the stops to try to attract frugal shoppers this holiday season, including offering discounts earlier and turning to social media outlets to promote their merchandise.
According to a survey by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, one-third of retailers (34.3%) said they would offer holiday deals earlier this year.
Social media will also be a popular avenue to attract shoppers. According to the survey, 47.1% of retailers will be increasing their use of social media this holiday season. More than half of those retailers said they have added or improved their Facebook pages (60.3%) and Twitter pages (58.7%) this year, and 65.6% said they have added or enhanced blogs and RSS feeds.
‘Retailers know that times are tough so they have created promotions and incentives to help Americans save money this holiday season,’ said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org. ‘From free shipping to Facebook, online retailers are combining new initiatives with tried-and-true tactics to make their companies stand out.’
Like brick-and-mortar retailers, online sellers are also making operational changes to help protect profit margins. According to the survey, 41.4% have scaled back on inventory levels.
-- Andrea Chang
