Ecommerce
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Pre-ordering is a shopping model that is gaining popularity worldwide. Customers are increasingly ordering goods that are only planned to be in stock instead of looking for a sale or ordering online with a return option. This allows customers to get their hands on unique items while for brands it’s a good way to promote future collections.
What is a pre-order? How to do pre-order business offers? How to organize pre-order sales? Our specialists answer these questions in the new article.
The pandemic has made it trendy to sell goods on pre-order. Pre-order means that your customers buy goods that are temporarily out of stock or just planned to arrive in stock. A big number of fashion brands used the pre-order purpose long before the pandemic to promote future collections and to increase sales, while selling not the physical items actually, but visual samples and photos of products in the catalogue.
How do pre orders work today and why do brands count on this model? The answer is simple. Before clicking the “pre-order” button, customers pay for the pre order at the same time (in most cases) and then just wait for the product to be delivered. The money made on pre-orders will then be used by brands to finance the production.
For customers, pre-order meaning is in the opportunity to be among the first to get rare and valuable items.
Total win-win.
But what is the meaning of pre-order for a web store owner?
Pre-ordering helps to:
In our article, we will review how to sell pre-orders and get profit. So, stay tuned!
Novice online store owners today are often thinking about the practice of selling which is based on the pre-orders chart. This looks basically as follows.
An online store receives an order through the website, then the ecommerce entrepreneur manufactures the goods or purchases them from the manufacturer and finally delivers the goods to the customer.
Let’s take a closer look at the pre-ordering advantages:
Pre-orders can help the ecommerce newbies to assess the demand for the goods. You can easily see if your target audience needs this or that item as well as assess the number of items necessary to satisfy the demand.
Pre-orders can strengthen your marketing campaign. By selling goods on a pre-ordering basis, you create hype for your products and make your web store popular.
Through pre-orders, you won’t have to worry that your items might remain unsold. By following your pre-orders chart, you can adjust your stock to always have the right number of goods which is enough to fulfil the demand. As a result, with the increased customer traffic to your web store and with the increased satisfaction rates, the sales rates will also go up.
Having worked on multiple ecommerce projects as an ecommerce website development provider, we talk to online sales entrepreneurs and salespeople a lot. They have been often sharing with us the following insight.
At some point, customers need to be nudged into buying. Pre-ordering is one of the effective ways to do this.
Despite the sales boost that pre ordering provides, this strategy has certain drawbacks.
For example:
Imagine, you promised to your customer to deliver their pre-ordered goods. But then the manufacturer says they are facing issues and the goods are not ready yet. The result is – your customer will be dissatisfied. In a worse scenario, your dissatisfied customer will publicly review your store as an unreliable seller.
It’s recommended to always make sure that all your partners are ready to fulfill the order and there aren’t any issues within the process chain.
If you wish to run a successful online store, you can’t rely on the pre-order marketing only. If you only sell a specified quantity of goods, it will remain unclear what to do to grow your business. Customers have the right to cancel the purchase. With the focus of pre orders, you might remain with the unsold goods.
In case you want your products to be sold through marketplaces like eBay or Amazon, you will need to replace the pre-ordering model with some other option. These giants require strict delivery terms and will not permit delays.
Pre-orders are a guarantee of a certain level of sales in your online store. In addition, pre-ordering allows you to save on warehouse costs and minimize the risks of accumulating undemanded goods.
However, the strategy requires proper agility and streamlined relationships with your suppliers.
How do pre orders work? Here’re a few tips to fine-tune your pre ordering strategy:
If you produce your goods on a regular basis (for example, pastry or floral arrangements) and you have an offline store, then the easiest way to collect pre-orders is through introducing the self-pick-up option. This can be a self-pickup from the store and a contactless pickup, as well as any other similar service that is available in your store.
In a web store, you can set the pickup time right on the moment that the product will be prepared. In addition, you can add a schedule for your store. Thus, the customer will know the nearest time when their product will be ready for pick up.
To accept payments, you can use both online and offline methods. The first option will allow your customers to pay right after clicking the “pre-order now” button. The second option will allow your customers to pay for the product later (for example, by credit card in the store or to the courier).
Choose the options that suit both you and your customers.
If you want to increase the sales rates with a pre-ordering strategy, involve social media in your marketing campaign as well. Create suspense by notifying your customers through the platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter that the new items will be available on pre-orders only. It will attract the attention of many to your web store.
First of all, it should be clear to the customers that they are currently pre-ordering a product and that that it will not be available immediately. To guide your customers and help form the right expectations, you can:
You may also run an additional email campaign and notify your regular customers about the new products available on a pre-order basis. Not will it only help to grab attention, but will also make your regular customers and subscribers feel cared.
The key to success with the pre-orders strategy is to try to fulfil the orders at a high level and provide beyond expected service. Pre-orders are to some extent a challenge, but at the same time, they can help you build your reputation. Keep those promises and deliver orders in time. This is the best way to make your customers trust you.
Oftentimes, pre-orders allow your customers to buy something unique. You can add a small gift or a discount coupon to the order to make the purchase even more enjoyable, and the buyers will have the desire to return to your web store.
If you’re in fact among those who think of or are about to start a pre-ordering campaign in their web stores but have doubt about the technical execution of this process, contact us through the contact page on the website. NEKLO specialists have got a solid expertise in custom software development for ecommerce. We will find the solution to make your business idea live.
US-based and operating globally, NEKLO spearheads digital transformation initiatives for businesses worldwide. We deliver software solutions complying with your market and legislation.
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