Handle post-holiday eCommerce challenges with our guide. Learn to manage returns, inventory, and optimize marketing for success in the new year.

Post-Holiday Ecommerce Strategy Guide

The holidays will be over, but your eCommerce business doesn’t have to be. Don’t lose sleep over the post-holiday season. Here’s a guide!

The holiday season has so much promise, with customers in a frenzy to smash and grab the best available deals.

Afterward comes the post-holiday season with a swing in revenue charts. Sales could go from the heights of Mount Everest to the lows of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Without a shock-proof plan, your business can feel the ripple effects well into the New Year.

So, how do you keep your brand sailing in the post-holiday deep in sales? Consider this blog post as your survival guide in the turbulent sea.

We’ll explore the twists and turns of returns, inventory management, and optimizing your marketing processes and data for the coming year.

Let’s start with the most obvious elephant in the room.

Like Thanos, returns are inevitable and more so during post-festive seasons. eCommerce brands average an 18.1% return rate, while for brick-and-mortar stores, it’s between 8-10% (Soocial).

And while you do your absolute best to present returns, customers often return items for various reasons. It could be unwanted, wrong-sized, damaged, or perhaps the “why did I buy this” blues.

There are effective ways to manage returns and limit incurring revenue loss.

Encourage product exchanges over product returns

Consider offering incentives such as discounts, free shipping, or loyalty points to encourage customers to exchange items rather than return them.

Work on simplifying the exchange process by providing prepaid labels, online forms, or chat support to make it more convenient for your customers.

Providing in-depth and accurate product descriptions

Providing detailed and accurate product descriptions and images is crucial to minimizing the disparity between customer expectations and the actual product. This is one of the main reasons for the social media trend “What I Order vs What I Got.”

You should provide comprehensive information such as product dimensions, materials, features, benefits, and other instructions as it applies to your brand.

Additionally, it is helpful to include multiple high-quality product photos that offer a clear context, such as displaying the product from various angles, on a model, or in a real-life setting.

Check out: Using Technology to Simplify Reverse Logistics for Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

You can use AR to create a virtual fitting room or give customers an in-use experience. For example, IKEA’s Place app uses augmented reality (AR) technology to help customers visualize how IKEA furniture would look and fit in their homes.

A Deloitte study from 2020 found that implementing AR technology in home goods companies reduced returns by up to 30%, resulting in savings of both time and money in reverse logistics.

Learn about OPLOG’s Furniture & Home Decor Fulfillment Services

AR isn't only effective in the home goods industry; brands like Warby Parker, Sephora, and L'Oréal use AR to reduce returns.

Clear and Customer-Friendly Return Policy

It's crucial to have a transparent and customer-friendly return policy that is easy to understand and locate. Cumbersome return policies can leave customers feeling rickrolled and cheated.

Have a good return policy that clearly states the time frame for returning or exchanging items (e.g., 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days) and the condition of the items that are eligible for return or exchange (e.g., unworn, unused, unopened, or with original tags and packaging).

You should also mention the method of return or exchange and the cost where applied.

Post-holiday often means adjusting your inventory to match the changing customer demand and preferences. Conduct a thorough inventory analysis, categorizing products into those that require clearance, those that need restocking, and those suitable for promotion.

This categorization lays the groundwork for informed decision-making.

A proven way to analyze accurately is by tracking your stock levels with real-time inventory management systems.

Having real-time tracking in place enables you to receive immediate updates regarding the status of your inventory and the movement of your items. These updates are seamlessly integrated with your preferred software or platform, such as OPLOG One, to ensure that you remain informed about items that are selling fast and may require clear-out sales.

This level of visibility helps you avoid overstock or stockouts and ensures that your inventory is well-balanced for the upcoming year.

Suppose your warehouse has excess inventory because of an inaccurate sales forecast for some products. Now, you must determine the best way to proceed. Offering special promotions or bundle deals to manage excess inventory is a smart and effective strategy.

You could offer discounts or incentives encouraging customers to buy more or sooner, such as free shipping, percentage-based sales, rewards points, contests, or flash sales.

Another effective strategy is by offering bundle deals or cross-selling. You can group complementary products or services and offer them at a discounted price compared to purchasing them separately.

While implementing this tactic, be careful not to overuse or misuse special promotions or bundle deals, as they can have some drawbacks, such as eroding profit margins and brand value by lowering the perceived quality or worth of the products or services.

Amid economic challenges and war outbreaks disrupting the supply chain, customers increasingly demand prompt and reliable delivery of their orders.

The pressure on logistics gets even higher post-holiday season.

To deal with these challenges, it’s best to diversify your supply chain, maintain close relationships with suppliers, and invest in inventory management technologies that help you keep track of items on the move.

Experiencing shipping delays after the holiday season is typical, and customers appreciate receiving clear communication about it. To avoid confusion or frustration, it is essential to proactively inform customers about possible delays and set realistic delivery time expectations.

Transparent communication is significant in building trust and addressing potential dissatisfaction from shipping delays. Updating customers on the status of their orders creates transparency and demonstrates a commitment to their satisfaction.

Using AI-enabled chatbots for automated communication can provide quick and precise responses to customer inquiries, ensuring a smooth and efficient flow of information such as status updates and order tracking.

This level of transparency enhances the overall customer experience and builds loyalty.

Handling logistics in-house during and post-peak sales periods can be challenging for your team.

This is where you need a 3PL logistics partner that gives you access to the expertise, resources, and infrastructure required to manage the surge in orders, returns, and inventory that typically occurs after the holiday rush.

OPLOG simplifies how you run your brand with 3PL and 4PL services, ensuring you have no concerns over balancing smooth operations and customer satisfaction.

3PLs offer a range of benefits, including scalability, expertise, technology, cost-effectiveness, and risk mitigation.

So, when it comes to managing the ability to swiftly expand your operations to meet demand, enhancing fulfillment processes, or leveraging advanced technology for monitoring and tracking orders, you have no concerns regarding these.

The post-holiday season is characterized by a significant influx of data that can provide valuable insights for the growth and development of your business in the upcoming year.

Whether it's sales figures, customer feedback, or market trends, this abundance of information can help you make informed decisions and optimize your strategies for tremendous success.

By effectively analyzing and leveraging this data, you can gain a competitive edge and position your business for long-term growth.

Let’s look at some ways to take advantage of data.

During the holiday season, running promotions through various channels such as Ad display, email, and social media can substantially increase consumer engagement.

This heightened level of interaction can manifest in various forms, such as increased website traffic, a surge in sales, a spike in social media interactions, or a higher level of engagement through email.

While most of these consumers won’t take any action, you can always legally retarget them using various Ad marketing platforms.

Retargeted ads will promote products or services to consumers based on their interests. It keeps popping up, reminding them of a product they interacted with but didn’t purchase.

You can also send personalized emails to your customers based on their purchase history, preferences, and behavior. Several helpful tools, such as Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or ActiveCampaign, can help you segment your email list, create effective email campaigns, and automate your email marketing.

The email can be an appreciation message with an invitation for them to check out more items they might like.

Leveraging the power of analytics tools offers a clear view of customer behavior and market trends by analyzing data from past holiday seasons.

By identifying patterns, popular products, and emerging trends, these insights become essential guideposts for making informed decisions for the upcoming year.

As the festive season comes to an end, it's time to focus on the year ahead and plan to maintain stable sales.

This guide will help you navigate the ever-changing retail space, turning challenges into opportunities for growth.

Your businesses can thrive beyond the holiday rush by leveraging data-driven insights and building excellent connections with customers.

If you need help managing your post-holiday season operations, reach out to our team of experienced hands. Let’s talk.

Navigating the Post-Holiday Season | A Strategic Guide for Ecommerce Success in the Coming Year

In this blog, we will explore online gift-shopping habits and how you can leverage them to boost your sales and loyalty. 

How Gen Z is Reshaping Online Gift Shopping

Navigating the world of gift shopping in the digital age brings a set of expectations from discerning customers searching for that perfect gift of appreciation for friends, family, bosses, or partners. 

However, for Gen Z, the online shopping experience doesn’t get any better than having the convenience of accessing your brand’s platform from any device and having the luxury to pick and choose from various options. 

Gen Z stands at the peak of online shopping, with 98% having smartphones and 97% utilizing social media as a source of shopping inspiration. The statistics speak volumes—63% of Gen Z individuals report shopping online at least once a week. 

As this generation reshapes the landscape of online commerce, the pressure mounts on brands to swiftly adapt to evolving shopping habits and fulfill the ever-growing demands of this dynamic demographic.  

Let's discuss how your brand can effectively and efficiently cater to Gen Z's demands. We will explore online gift-shopping habits and how you can leverage them to boost your sales and loyalty. 

Seamless and intuitive Smartphone shopping experience 

A 2023 report by SimplicityDX stated that 55% of Gen Z shoppers purchase via mobile devices. This means that more than half of all Gen Z shoppers (96%) use their smartphones to shop online as it’s convenient and always accessible. 

Additionally, smartphones offer a more personalized shopping experience than websites, as the customer’s shopping history data can help to recommend relevant products. 

Investing in developing a mobile-optimized platform can create more immersive shopping experiences for your Gen Z consumers. 

For example, brands like Zara, H&M, and Beymen have mobile-optimized apps that help shoppers streamline their search. 

Searching for gift items is already tasking; a mobile-optimized app optimally categorized into sections provides a seamless and intuitive shopping experience. Users can browse, search, and purchase products and collections easily. 

Gen Z shoppers value unique and personalized experiences. They want to express their individuality and creativity through the products they buy and the gifts they give.  

Online gift shopping platforms that allow customization, whether through personalized messages, custom designs, or unique product configurations, are more likely to attract and retain Gen Z customers.  

For example, some online shopping platforms offer services such as: 

Creating custom photo books, calendars, mugs, or shoes like Heron Preston’s Partnership with Zellerfeld 

Engraving or embroidering names, initials, or messages on products such as jewelry, watches, wallets, or clothing. 

Designing personalized greeting cards, invitations, or thank-you notes with templates, fonts, colors, or images. 

Choosing from different product options, such as sizes, colors, styles, or materials. 

Adding gift wrapping, ribbons, tags, or cards to the products. 

Customization options allow Gen Z customers to create meaningful and memorable gifts that resonate with their or recipients’ tastes and interests. They also enhance the online gift shopping experience, shifting from conventional, one-size-fits-all gifting to a more meaningful and tailored approach. 

Gen Z shoppers are known to be quite picky and make a purchase that reflects their mood or feelings that they want to pass across to gift recipients. 

Interestingly, over 90 percent of Generation Z shoppers left a store at least once during holiday shopping because it didn’t have what they wanted to buy. On average, Gen Z shoppers did this four times, more than any other age group. 

Gen Zs want to build their gift boxes, creating something unique. 

From picking a combination of clothing items to Christmas baskets and cosmetics boxes, shoppers want to be able to build customized sets of gifts. 

Although pre-determined sets of gift items are still in use, there is a steady shift towards customized sets that provide better personalized digital shopping experiences. 

 
It is more cost-effective to allow shoppers to create gift boxes or baskets instead of pre-grouping them. Pre-grouped items often incur more labor costs and may not be bought out by consumers, resulting in no returns on investment.  

Allowing customers to choose their own set of items increases customer satisfaction and ensures that every item has a higher chance of being sold. 

Climate change, pollution, and ethical labor practices are significant concerns of Gen Zs. Hence, sustainability influences their decisions when choosing a retail brand for online gift shopping. 

According to a 2023 survey by IBM, 73% of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products. They want to know where products are sourced, how they are manufactured, and what the brand does to reduce its environmental impact. 

This suggests that Gen Zs are willing to support brands that are committed to environmental and social responsibility and are more likely to boycott brands that are not sustainable. 

As a result of these factors, sustainability is a significant competitive advantage for your brand. 

From product sourcing to manufacturing processes, packaging, and shipping, your brand should demonstrate eco-friendliness and commitment to social responsibility. 

You should work towards equipping shoppers with multiple choices regarding how their gifts are packaged. Gen Z gift shoppers will likely skip fancy, non-recyclable boxes for eco-friendly standard packaging.  

Demonstrating commitment to sustainability is more likely to attract and retain Gen Z shoppers for your brand.  

Understanding these Gen Z consumers' preferences, OPLOG has tailored its value-added services to meet these needs. We meticulously package your products in a manner that not only reflects your brand's identity but also resonates with your customers' values. With OPLOG, expect a packaging experience that's not just appealing but is steeped in environmental responsibility. A unique unboxing experience awaits your customers, one that aligns perfectly with your brand's commitment to sustainability. 

Learn more about our value-added services

Gen Zs seek online shopping experiences that mirror walking into a physical store. When gift shopping, they want to examine an item, try it on, and weigh their options all from the comfort of their homes. 

Hence, online shops are leveraging virtual and augmented reality technologies to provide a more engaging and realistic shopping experience,  

For example, Farfetch, a luxury fashion platform, uses VR/AR on its app that allows customers to see how different accessories look on them using their phone’s camera.  

The app uses face mapping technology to create a realistic and accurate representation of the products on the customer’s face.  

Sephora is another retail brand that has created an immersive experience for Gen Z shoppers using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). 

The company has a VR app that allows consumers to explore the aisles of their stores and try on makeup using a virtual avatar. Sephora has also launched an AR app allowing consumers to preview how makeup products look on their faces. 

These are just a few examples of the many brands using interactive and immersive shopping experiences to attract and retain Gen Z shoppers.  

Employing these technologies for your brand will put you on the path to meeting online shoppers' expectations, providing a more immersive and engaging shopping experience that will likely reduce returns and incorrect orders. 

Social media is an essential source of information for Gen Z shoppers. They use platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to discover, research, and buy products. They also trust online influencers more than traditional celebrities and often buy products based on their recommendations.  

Social media influence 80% of Gen Z’s shopping. 

Did you know?

As a result, social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube have incorporated online shops into their platforms to enable retailers to maximize social engagement with sales. 

Shoppers can buy items directly from the platforms without leaving the app. Instagram allows brands to tag and sell their items on their posts, so users can easily click and buy them, reducing the friction of going to a separate platform and finding the item.  

Incorporating your online store into social media can boost brand awareness and appeal to Gen Z shoppers. 

Gen Z's preferences extend beyond the selection of products to the very method of transaction.  

The surge in digital innovation has given rise to a generation that values convenience and demands seamless and secure payment options.  

Digital payment methods, such as digital wallets and contactless payments, resonate with the inclination of Gen Z toward technological efficiency. Carrying physical wallets or dealing with cash is increasingly becoming old school for this generation, characterized by its deep immersion in the digital landscape.  

Some of the common and popular digital payment methods for brands are: 
 

Digital wallets: Some examples are PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay.  

Digital currency: Some examples are cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, USDT, etc. 

Online shops that recognize and cater to this shift are poised to enhance the overall shopping experience for Gen Z consumers. 

Your brand should be able to provide various online payment options that don’t limit the shopper’s options. The emphasis is not merely on the transactional aspect but on creating a frictionless and enjoyable shopping journey.  

Gen Zs place a premium on convenience and efficiency, with 45% considering it a crucial aspect of their online shopping journey. As such, it becomes imperative to uphold swift and efficient delivery choices, facilitate hassle-free returns, and provide a seamless customer service experience. 

Having combined an immersive shopping experience with custom gift boxes and eco-friendly packaging, consumers still expect nothing less than on-time delivery of purchased items.  

The truth is that consumers find it almost unforgivable when brands mess up their orders either through delays or delivery of the wrong items. 

So, if a consumer is sending a gift, it's crucial that it arrives as informed, as a late arrival can significantly break the consumer’s trust in the brand. 

This is where you must up your game on making timely deliveries, factoring in seasonal demand spikes. 

However, achieving this isn’t always easy, as logistics can be tricky. Hence, partnering with a 3PL fulfillment company eases the pressure. 

A 3PL service provider can assist in reducing delivery times while maintaining customer satisfaction, ensuring that packages arrive at recipients’ doorsteps on schedule. 

Meeting up with the ever-changing demands of Gen Z can be daunting and requires constant iteration of your supply chain processes. 

However, creating desirable shopping experiences for consumers is essential, as the rewards outweigh the efforts put in. 

OPLOG offers 4PL services that harmonize your supply chain processes, elevating your customer experience and allowing you to focus on increasing your customer base.  

We help you streamline your logistics operations from your customer’s first order to customization, packaging, and timely delivery across regions at scale. 
 

Dive into selling to German consumers and discover target market insights, ideal distribution channels, and 5 top reasons to venture in Germany.

Selling in Germany: Starter-pack

Selling in Germany as a retail brand can be rewarding but challenging. You need to compete with well-established and influential players and meet German customers' lofty standards and preferences.
 

While Germany is often associated with beers and cars, there’s much more. It is one of Europe's most lucrative retail markets.  


With a population of over 83 million consumers and a retail sales revenue of 644.5 billion euros, Germany is one of Europe's largest and most attractive retail markets. It ranks as the fourth-largest retail market in the world, after the United States, China, and Japan. 


But how can you sell your products to discerning and demanding German consumers? 


In this blog post, we will give you a starter pack for how to sell to Germany and succeed in the German market.

In this blog post, we will cover the following highlights:

Understand the competitive landscape and your unique value proposition

Adapt to the local culture and regulations

Germany's market is diverse and heterogeneous, with notable regional, cultural, and socio-economic differences. 


Defining your target market and segment clearly and tailoring your product offering, pricing, positioning, and marketing strategy is crucial.  


For example, consumers in Eastern Germany tend to be more price-sensitive and loyal to local brands than those in Western Germany. Similarly, younger consumers are more likely to shop online and use digital payment methods than older ones. 


Some of the factors that you should consider when segmenting your target market are:

Demographics: age, gender, income, education, occupation, family size, etc. 

Psychographics: lifestyle, values, attitudes, interests, opinions, etc. 

Behavior: shopping frequency, channel preference, brand loyalty, payment method, etc. 

Geography: region, city, urban/rural area, climate, etc.

When it comes to distribution, a lot is involved ranging from marketplaces, fulfillment, delivery, and shipping. 

Although you could decide to limit your marketplaces to global platforms, it would also be advantageous to your business to consider local platforms. 

The choice of which local eCommerce platforms to consider is subjective and relies on the products or services being sold. However, numerous German retail sales channels, such as Real.de, Zalando, OTTO, Yatego, and DaWanda, are available nationwide. 

Irrespective of the platform, an advanced order management platform like OPLOG-ONE centralizes all operations on one dashboard, helping you keep track of everything, everywhere, all at once.

eCommerce in Germany is experiencing significant growth, primarily due to the increasing popularity of shopping on mobile devices. Mobile sales account for 38% of all retail e-commerce sales in the country.  


You should prioritize ensuring proper mobile optimization and providing your customers with a great mobile buying experience.


When selling online, you must remember that Germany has a highly precise customs process compared to other countries. 

Hence, if an item is being held for further investigation, the result will be extra delays.  

Partnering with an experienced and trusted fulfillment company can remove compliance's bureaucratic challenges while ensuring customer satisfaction with timely deliveries. 

An excellent fulfillment process affects several factors, including customer satisfaction, brand reputation, sales, cost, and compliance.

By partnering with an omnichannel fulfillment provider like OPLOG, you can significantly improve your fulfillment process and enhance customer satisfaction.

It is important to mention that in Germany, home delivery is the most widely used delivery method, preferred by 87% of the population. However, German buyers are increasingly open to alternative delivery options like delivery to pick up points, such as parcel lockers. These options can save buyers from having to pay extra for rush orders.

German buyers tend to favor credit/debit cards (29%), invoices (26%), and digital payments (22%) as their preferred methods of payment. However, there are some Germans who are cautious about financial risks and prefer to avoid credit cards and debt altogether. 

To ensure German buyers' confidence, offering a secure payment system is crucial. In online product ordering, many German consumers prefer paying after receiving the product, thus opting for invoice payment instead of upfront payment.  

It is recommended to be open to various payment methods to accommodate their preferences. 

Germany is a country with diverse culture, as well as a strict and complex regulatory framework. Therefore, adapting your product, pricing, promotion, and placement strategies to German retail consumer behavior is essential.  

Some of the aspects that you should consider are: 

While many Germans may be proficient in English, they prefer conducting their shopping activities in their native language, German. Therefore, ensuring that your products, marketing materials, and customer support services are all offered in accurate and fluent German, explicitly tailored to the local market, is essential. 

When targeting German customers, ensuring that your product meets or exceeds the local quality requirements and certifications is essential. It is vital to communicate your quality clearly and transparently. 

It is important to remember that German customers are sensitive to prices and always look for the best value. This means that it is crucial to develop a pricing strategy that is competitive and fair and consider offering discounts or loyalty programs to attract and keep customers. It is wise to keep an eye on prices across different channels and competitors to ensure your pricing remains competitive. 

Here are five reasons with examples for retail businesses to sell to Germany: 

With over 83 million consumers (about twice the population of California) and a retail sales revenue of 644.5 billion euros in 2023, Germany is Europe's biggest and most sought-after retail market. Otto is a well-known German mail-order firm that offers a diverse range of products, such as clothing, electronics, and home goods. With a customer base of over 100 million in Germany, it stands as one of the biggest retailers in the nation. 

Germany is a leader in e-commerce, which generated 99.1 billion euros in B2C turnover in 2021, growing by 19 percent compared to 2020. E-commerce offers retail businesses lower entry barriers, wider reach, and higher customer convenience. 

Germany presents a diverse and heterogeneous market with significant regional, cultural, and socio-economic differences. This gives excellent opportunities for your retail business to cater to different segments and niches by offering tailored products and marketing strategies. 

In Germany, quality and innovation are highly valued in the market, and there is a great demand for premium, organic, fair trade, and eco-friendly products. Retail businesses that can provide top-notch products that meet or surpass local standards and certifications have an advantage in competition and can establish customer confidence and loyalty. 

Germany provides a gateway to the European Union, offering access to a vast single market of more than 450 million consumers. Retail businesses selling their products to the German market can further benefit from the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people within the EU, expanding their presence and reach in other European countries. 

Successfully selling your brand in Germany's retail market can be rewarding and challenging. To excel in this market, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of your target audience, competition, unique selling points, distribution channels, local culture, and regulations.  

By implementing these insights and tips, you can establish a robust and long-term retail presence in Germany and tap into its vast potential. 

If you're targeting Germany as your next market, OPLOG's Global Fulfillment Network is the answer you need. With over 10 years of experience in e-commerce logistics, OPLOG can help you expand your brand globally while bringing your products to new buyers in new markets. Discover more about our fulfillment center in Germany and let us help you grow your business.

Selling in Germany: Starter-pack for Retail Brands...With 5 Reasons

Essential tips for entering a new eCommerce market: boost revenue, expand customer base. Learn key questions for success amid challenges.

8 Questions You Need to Ask Before Opening to a New Market

Expanding to a new market in the ever-evolving world of eCommerce can be a game-changer for businesses seeking growth and sustainability. It opens doors to new opportunities, a broader customer base, and increased revenue potential. However, this strategic move also comes with its fair share of challenges that demand careful planning and evaluation.  

Let's talk about these benefits and challenges first and then talk about 8 questions you should ask yourself when entering a new market to take advantage of these benefits and overcome the challenges. 

In this article, we will be covering the following topics.  

Potential Benefits of Entering a New Market

Potential Challenges of Entering a New Market

Expanding into fresh markets can increase sales and revenue by providing access to a wider customer pool.  

It enables you to reduce your dependence on a single market. 

It can boost the visibility and credibility of a brand on a global scale, leading to greater recognition and trust. 

An advantage over competitors can be achieved by being an early mover in a new market.  

Expanding into new markets provides you with access to previously untapped customer segments. 

It can provide significant growth and scaling opportunities for eCommerce businesses. 

When your business operates in various markets, you get to experience different consumer behaviors.


Cultural differences and language barriers can impact marketing effectiveness and customer communication. 

Complying with each market's unique legal and regulatory requirements is critical to avoid potential penalties. 

In the industry, you may face challenges from established local competitors.  

E-commerce Tips