More and more beauty brands are embracing tech to keep track of their online activities – from measuring the quality of product page content, to analysing stock levels. It’s easy to see why; such tools are turning once time-consuming duties into speedy tasks, giving marketers more resource to spend on developing their growth strategies.
Add in a reduction in human error and the ability to make more fact-based decisions, and the value of etail tracking platforms increases exponentially. But, for companies who are just embracing such technology, there’s a need to link new platforms to a tangible return on investment (ROI) in order to prove their worth. mmi data finds that, by optimising your digital shelf with the below checklist, you can enjoy an uplift in sales of 10% or more. Here are the activities to explore…
Higher presence is inextricably linked with higher revenue, so use your tool to ensure your brand is gaining a strong level of reach on etail sites. One of the ways this can be done is by taking steps to boost your on-site SEO, so you appear at the top of results pages for search terms that are relevant to your brand. All etailers have their own algorithms, so speak with your ecommerce partners to gain insight on how they determine rankings. Is it down to the quality of content, keyword placement, stock levels? Or perhaps it’s a mix of all three. Then, use your etail tool to track the crucial areas they outline, and optimise your product pages to steadily climb the ranks.
When a product goes out of stock, you don’t simply lose out on a sale; you also risk customers seeking a similar item from another brand and switching loyalty. With the right tool, you can track your stock levels across all etailers in real-time, so you can see if levels are starting to get too low for a particular SKU. This allows you to quickly and easily remedy any stock issues, while also gathering data to inform your stock forecasting at different times throughout the year.
In the absence of in-store testers to swatch, sample and smell, the digital shelf needs to bring beauty products to life for consumers with compelling content. This is where images come in; 60% of shoppers say that, before making a purchase, they need to see at least 3-4 images of the relevant SKU. Include packaging details, such as applicators, any stills that show the texture and, where necessary, shade ranges for colour cosmetics.
Video content also serves to educate consumers about your products, whether it’s a makeup tutorial, a fragrance advert or a quick clip showing texture swatches for your new face serum. mmi data shows that 87% of brands are missing videos on the digital shelf, despite product videos reportedly increasing conversion rates by 80%. Gain competitive advantage by adding such content to your product pages, then track the performance with your etail tool and see the impact it has on sales.
Ratings and reviews are the ultimate trust cue for your consumers, but having at least 20 on a product page is crucial to ensuring they can make confident purchasing decisions. To improve your revenue and, in turn, the ROI of your etail tracking tool, track how many reviews are appearing on each product page and, if needed, seek ways of boosting the number. It may be useful for etailers to incorporate the reviews feed from your direct-to-consumer site if, in fact, you have more engagement there.
Depending on where your brand is in its marketing journey, mmi believes these optimisations should make it possible to achieve at least a 10% increase in sales. If product pages haven’t previously been optimised, the uplift could be higher, having a bigger impact on your revenue. Try tracking your shelf with an etail monitoring tool, such as shelfVIEW.
Up next: Discover the 6 key KPIs to measure when you’re launching a new beauty product.