Creating word of mouth and inspiring customer traffic are essential to a sale’s success. Traditional in-store sales and online sales have a lot of similarities. Both require marketing, social media and a prepared staff. However, there are a few things you can do to ensure your online sale goes smoothly and improve results.
Fall term is underway. As campuses settle into a new routine, many college stores have made it through the first rush with COVID-19 restrictions. In preparation for this term, stores made updates to help protect students and staff and provide faster, more convenient service. Today, let’s review some of the most popular college store updates for fall.
In today’s world, customer convenience is one of the most important services you can offer shoppers. Customers want a smooth shopping experience with options that go beyond product selection. By streamlining the online shopping experience, you can inspire more web sales and ensure customers will come back again.
Have you ever bought clothing online and it didn’t fit like you expected? There simply isn’t one body type that represents all students. Purchasing clothing online can often feel like rolling the dice because the images and models you most often see do not represent you or your body type. The importance of eCommerce sales has only grown due to recent events. This fall consider adding more body inclusivity to your website to inspire more sales.
Online sales are an essential part of retail. As customers depend on online ordering, it is important your college store’s marketing and sale events offer deals students can take advantage of online. This third installment of the Think, Plan, Do marketing plan focuses entirely on online marketing to engage students with your eCommerce site throughout the year.
Many college stores are in the process of reviewing their return policies for the fall term. Unprecedented conditions mean college stores have a lot of new considerations. We recently asked several college stores if they had updated their return policy and what their policy will be for fall.
Every college store faces challenges as they move to reopen. Taking into account local, state and federal restrictions, stores like the Hope College Bookstore have had to look for creative ways to solve unprecedented problems this term. For Hope College Bookstore the first major hurdle to overcome was how to handle course material distribution with limited occupancy restrictions.
Retail metrics help stores make a variety of decisions from staffing to merchandise ordering. As college stores reopen for fall under new restrictions, limited capacity and social distancing requirements, what bookstore analytic metrics will be most important?
For many of us, times are unpredictable. As college stores look toward the start of a new term, strengthening online sales, student convenience and in-store safety precautions are three areas that will have the biggest impact no matter what happens this fall. We recently spoke with Lincoln Land Community College’s Director of Campus Services Andrew Blaylock to discuss the college store’s web orders and how they are preparing for fall.
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