CHARLESTON, SC. — October 2, 2024 — While SMBs competing with marketplaces like Amazon isn’t new, the rapid rise of Chinese marketplaces like Temu will likely disrupt holiday sales for ecommerce brands this year. Omnisend’s research has revealed that 39% of Canadian online shoppers have shopped at Temu in the past year, and with Amazon planning to launch a Temu-like discount store on their site, the appeal for less expensive products may be too much for consumers to pass up, especially early in the season.
Below, Greg Zakowicz, Senior Ecommerce Expert at Omnisend dives deep into three things brands should do now to successfully compete with industry giants this holiday season.
Exploit your Brand’s Competitive Differentiator
Omnisend’s research shows that over a quarter of Temu shoppers are dissatisfied with their product quality, offering brands the chance to highlight their superior quality through star ratings and testimonials, which can boost holiday sales — no one wants to gift low-quality items.
Positioning yourself as a domestic business is another advantage. Some buyers prefer Canada-based companies or those with Canada-based customer service. Going one step further, brands can profile their Canadian employees by highlighting things like staff-picked favorite products in their messages.
Lean Into Delivery Times
Shoppers purchasing from Temu typically receive their orders anywhere from six to twenty two days, depending on whether they’re shipped from the United States or China. This is a challenge for them, as 25% of Temu shoppers cite long delivery times as the reason why they dislike the store.
Brands can take advantage of their competitors’ slower shipping speeds by reinforcing messaging around their own quicker delivery times. As we move deeper into the shopping season, the longer delivery windows will be less appealing to shoppers.
Use Email & SMS to Build Customer Relationships
Competing with Temu on shipping times may win some sales, but it’s not a strategy that will beat Amazon. However, SMBs can do one thing Amazon and other marketplaces have trouble doing: building customer relationships.
Brands can use high-ROI marketing channels like email and SMS to create campaigns that use conversational language, highlight top-rated products and customer testimonials, and run exclusive promotions, especially around key dates like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Communicating directly with shoppers can provide a more personal feel to the shopping experience and build brand trust.
About Omnisend
Omnisend is an email & SMS marketing platform with a suite of features made specifically to help ecommerce stores grow their online businesses faster. One-click integration with major ecommerce platforms, pre-made automation & email templates, and award-winning 24/7/365 live customer support make it easy for brands of any size to sell more—all without the exaggerated cost.
“Great marketing needs to be expensive” is a myth that 125,000+ Omnisend customers are busting every day by growing their businesses with email and SMS marketing.
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I don’t even try to beat discount brands because it’s a losing battle. There are other ways to compete as you said. Good luck!
Your writing always leaves me feeling uplifted and empowered. Thank you for being such a positive influence.
The Amazon version has me a little worried but folks here are pretty loyal to local shopping even if it’s online. I hope so anyway 😉 Good post!