E-commerce sales in the COVID era have surpassed any predictions or expectations made by market experts. Buffalo’s Digital Directors Ivan Rincon and Caitlin Wesenberg provide a state of the industry.
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has had a deep impact on brick-and-mortar stores. Large and established chain stores like JCPenney and Nordstrom have encountered significant financial hardship during the current pandemic, and many more have filed for bankruptcy. As our world changes we are relying more on e-commerce for not only entertainment, but to also fulfill our most basic needs. Though e-commerce sales have been steadily increasing over the past decade, dot com sales in the COVID era have surpassed any predictions or expectations made by market experts. According to Commerce Insight (https://ccinsight.org/):
- E-commerce sales in the US are up 68% YoY.
- E-commerce sales in the US and Canada have grown 129% YoY since April
- Online Conversion rates increased 8.8% during February reflecting shopping patterns typically seen during Cyber Monday (source: https://www.quantummetric.com/)
It is certain that e-commerce is, and might remain, the preferred way to shop post-COVID. It will be at the front and center of the resurgence of the economy. In this environment, a strong digital strategy is key for any brand, and must be top of mind for any future planning.
The digital team at Buffalo customizes integrated marketing strategies for brands in the golf industry. Each client is unique. We use a data driven approach and our industry insights to optimize every campaign. That said, we stand by these universal truths:
1- Tell a COMPELLING STORY via all digital channels
2- Use a CONSISTENT VOICE that relates to your consumer
3- AMPLIFY your message via paid strategies
4- Own your space and BE BOLD
5- Measure RESULTS. Optimize and adjust based on DATA.
Recent Success Stories
GOAL: Develop and execute a content marketing strategy to provide GlobalGolf.com’s consumers with all the information they need to learn about, buy and trade-in new and preowned golf equipment, research the latest in golf tech and accessories and discover everything else they need to look and play their best.
ACTION: Our ‘Pro-Tips’ campaign includes unique graphic and video content published on GlobalGolf.com’s On the Range blog and amplified via social channels.
RESULT: The campaign has been extremely successful helping significantly increase organic and paid traffic to the site and help GlobalGolf achieve one of its most successful months in the company’s history.
GOAL: Like many companies in golf retail, Imperial was hit hard in March. Furthermore, the U.S. Open was moved to the Fall, meaning headwear revenue normally anticipated in June would fall short of the forecast.
ACTION: In response, we capitalized on people spending more time online browsing and shopping to grow the organic social following by planning and executing product giveaways and social media quizzes. Additionally, we focused on collaborations with other brands outside of the golf industry. We then leveraged all of these organic social campaigns against paid channels.
RESULT: In the last 30 days, revenue is up 8.9% and ROAS is up 300% year-over-year despite the U.S. Open being moved to the Fall. We’ve also had jumps in engagement and following on social, making it one of the best months we’ve had since beginning our relationship.
GOAL: Activate the website flightscopemevo.com and implement an integrated marketing plan in order to improve site revenue and product awareness.
ACTION: By starting with a deep dive into the web data, we built a paid search campaign that drove traffic and conversions while focusing on return.
RESULT: flightscopemevo.com now has steady traffic, and has experienced exponential growth in revenue.
In summary, e-commerce will continue to evolve despite the many new challenges which lie ahead. Building a strong digital presence and brand is more critical than ever, and the ability to pivot and be nimble is vital to growing and sustaining an active customer base. Take the time to tell your story and be relatable to your customers, and try to amplify this content to paid channels. Don’t be afraid to be bold and take chances, but measure all efforts in order to learn for the future. We look forward to the continued partnership with our clients and growing their brands and business through times of great uncertainty. The last few months have been met with opportunities to build loyalty and advocacy for when things do improve, which will create long term growth opportunities.
