4 ways to maximise online sales this Christmas

This year, food and grocery is expected to be the fastest-growing sector in the run up to Christmas. The latest research from GlobalData suggests that shoppers will spend big on food and drink this year, with £2.8bn more expected to be spent during the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to last year. This was said to reflect the impact of price increases over the last 12 months outweighing any recent month-on-month declines.

With spending growing and consumers still facing a cost-of-living crisis, many shoppers are turning to online orders early, with the Telegraph reporting in October that Marks & Spencer had seen a 22% rise in Christmas food orders compared with this time last year, and online retailer Ocado’s Christmas delivery slots were said to be filling up quickly in the run-up to the festive season.

October data from Kantar also said total online trips increased year-on-year for the first time this month since December 2021 by 3.1%.

For fine food retailers, e-commerce saw a big boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, but many have put online plans on the back burner over the past year. Is it still worth investing in digital? Michael Freedman, head of economic and consumer insight at IGD, shared his insight into the potential of e-commerce for fine food businesses.

He says smaller brands and retailers should consider these four tips:
• Make sure you perfect the basics. With unique and differentiated ranges, smaller businesses should ensure they’ve got the ‘brilliant basics’ to stand out online, including product descriptions, imagery and icons.

• Spread the word about your shop to new customers. Driving visibility should be a key focus, so investing in email and social campaigns to provide seamless information and ‘adds to basket’.

• Don’t skimp on customer service. Focus on ensuring availability, on-time delivery and quality, and use content to communicate this to shoppers.

• Can you offer faster delivery? Consider partnering with quick commerce operators to cater for more last-minute Christmas celebrations. Quick commerce companies deliver groceries to customers in less than one hour, often targeting the sub-30-minute fulfilment.