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In This Issue:
Holiday Shipping Updates: Inform yourself; inform your customers.
Customer Service Spotlight: Last-minute shoppers need facts up front.
Holiday Shopping Snapshot: Hot products and seasonal trends.
New Feature: Yahoo! Shopping Gift Card works just like a credit card.
E-commerce on the Web: Links to sites, features, and stories.
Holiday Shipping Updates: Inform yourself; inform your customers.
Now that the holiday shopping crunch is truly upon us, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the schedules and guarantees of the top package carriers -- and then inform your customers!
As you well know, one big customer complaint during this frantic time is: "Where is my order? It was supposed to arrive yesterday!" If you manage expectations -- for example, by clearly posting a "Holiday Shipping Schedule" on your site -- you'll likely go a long way towards creating a frustation-free shopping experience.
To keep up with holiday shipping schedule guarantees, visit the following related sites:
Include pertinent information from these sources on your site, and check back over the next few weeks, to be sure your news is up to date. Your customers will thank you for it!
Customer Service Spotlight: Last-minute shoppers need facts up front.
Once you've verified your delivery schedule with the latest guidelines from your package carriers, be sure to post this shipping information clearly on your site. Don't forget to keep product availability information up to date as well.
Try using the Final-text field (on the Variables page) to put holiday shipping information on all your item pages, or use the "Shipping Info" section of the "Order Form" page to include it directly on your order form.
Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to holiday shipping. If you can no longer guarantee Christmas delivery - say so! People prefer an honest answer to a delivery promise that you can't keep.(And you won't have to deal with post-holiday complaints and disappointments.)
Holiday Shopping Snapshot: An overview of hot products and seasonal trends.
Are you wondering about online holiday sales and trends? Here are some facts about hot items and popular search categories from Yahoo! Shopping. Fast-selling products include Playstation 2 games, DVDs, Razor scooters, digital cameras, and Grinch merchandise. The most frequently searched categories for holiday gifts are:
- Computers
- Electronics
- Toys
- Gifts
- Books, Music & Videos
- Apparel
Around the Internet, business is booming. An article in "E-Commerce Times" earlier this week cited Monday, December 11, as a record-breaking day for online retail, with over US$200 million of sales. Total sales for the week are predicted to top $1 billion. The same articles suggests that much of this year's web shopping is being done at the workplace, where faster net connections result in quicker checkouts.
Read the whole story:
Record Day for E-Commerce
If you want an up-to-the minute sample of what customers are actually purchasing at Yahoo! Shopping visit "What's Selling Now:"
New Feature: Yahoo! Shopping Gift Card works just like a credit card.
We're pleased to announce that Yahoo! Shopping recently launched a new gift card service.
The Yahoo! Shopping Gift Card works just like a credit card with a preloaded dollar value. Shoppers can use it to make purchases at any store in Yahoo! Shopping, or anywhere that VISA is accepted online.
As a merchant, you do not need to do anything special to accept the Gift Card -- orders can be processed like any other credit card order. Yahoo! Shopping Gift Cards are guaranteed to arrive in time for Christmas if ordered by 4PM, EST, on December 20.
E-commerce on the Web: Links to sites, features, and stories.
This month, instead of our usual featured site we thought we'd share a fact. Did you know that you can find everything you need for the Twelve Days of Christmas on the Web, simply by using Yahoo! Stores? All product selections are offered by highly-rated Yahoo! Stores. Enjoy:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
Two Turtledoves
Three French Hens
Four Calling Birds
Five Golden Rings
Six Geese A-Laying
Seven Swans A-Swimming
Eight Maids A-Milking
Nine Ladies Dancing
Ten Lords A-Leaping
Eleven Pipers Piping
Twelve Drummers Drumming
We always welcome your feedback, questions, and suggestions at store-newsletter@yahoo-inc.com, and we wish you the very best this holiday season.
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