How can local online merchants compete with big players on Diwali

If you are a local merchant or a local entrepreneur looking to make more sales during the festive season, going online looks like a perfect solution.

You might have read and heard a lot about it already, but are you doing it?

If yes, the agenda here is how to do it in a way that makes you more money.

Diwali is that time of the year when everyone is on a shopping spree. While big platforms try to capture majority audiences, here’s how you can attract sales to your online stores.

In this write-up, we have conceptualised very practical and easy ways for local merchants to drive more sales through online channels.

Before stepping into the strategies and tips, let’s discuss why local merchants need to go online.

Why take your business online?

As per Big Commerce, E-commerce will make up 22% of global retail sales by 2023. And it is no brainer that the e-commerce sales increase rapidly during the festive season.

The number of customers who want to shop online are increasing by the day due to the advantages online shopping offers. It is easier, convenient and cost-friendly.

And not only for customers, but for local merchants too, it offers a lot of advantages.

Hit new audiences with new geographies

Your brick and mortar store is limited to a particular geography but online, you can expand your reach as much as you want to and cater to newer customers.

The online channel gives the privilege of letting your business reach maximum audiences.

**Stay visible 24*7**

Unlike your shop, you can stay active on your online channel at any time of the day.

This gives you an added advantage to capture more audiences and give them a chance to explore all your products without worrying about shop opening and closing timelines.

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Accommodate more customers with less manpower

When you choose to go online with your business, you are most likely to receive more customers and their orders or queries as compared to traditional set-up.

In such cases, you might not need to deploy extra manpower for the same. A brief knowledge about the online business / set-up as well as transactional knowledge will serve the purpose.

Work remotely

Lastly, you can do business online from anywhere at any time.

This will allow you to spend extra time with your family and loved ones, without compromising with your professional commitments.

Tips to boost your online sales during the festive season

Marketing your online store during and before Diwali is a must to get more sales.

You can read more on that over here- Marketing Strategy For Local Businesses.

Apart from marketing, here are a few tips that will give you an edge over others.

Widen your product range

During Diwali, a customer is looking for more than one purchase. It is always advised to widen your product range as per your niche to ensure your customer can find everything at one place.

For instance, if you are into the apparel business, you can add more categories to pitch products to all age groups.

Not only in the case of apparel business, the exact approach can be implemented to any of the businesses. All you have to do is keep on adding the new product range for your online store.

Offer discounts that matter

As we already discussed, people are interested in making valuable buys for themselves and their loved ones.

Big businesses offer hefty discounts and attract customers which ultimately impacts the sales of the local merchant.

You can beat this by offering discounts that matter the most to your audience.

It might not be hefty but should make sense to your customer. Based on your user behaviour, you can customise and choose a diwali offer and other discounts.

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Pitch for Upsell and Cross-sell

Upselling and cross-selling can bring a lot of advantages to your business. You can earn a higher revenue from your existing customers through strategizing the Diwali sales with them.

If not quick revenue, it will help you in establishing a long term relationship with your existing customers which will definitely boost your business in the long run.

Simplify payment experience for your customers

The user experience plays a crucial part. If you are able to provide your customers an easy and convenient experience while shopping with you, there are high chances that they will reach you again.

A smoother payment experience is what your customers are actually looking for. Your customers can easily go ahead with the purchase through a smoother digital payment experience.