Sometimes it can be so easy to fit in, when all you want to do is stand out.
Nowhere is this more true than on e-commerce marketplaces. Your product listings sit nestled among hundreds of others, with competitors a quick tap or swipe away. Even on Walmart Canada’s relatively young marketplace, there are 750 sellers (and counting).
It certainly can be easy to blend in.
Unless, of course, you know how to increase visibility. That’s where advanced selling strategies come in.
In looking at the best practices of successful sellers using the Rithum platform, we’ve identified three proven ways to get your listings in front of the right customers at the right times — all while maximizing profits.
1. Automated pricing
As every experienced seller knows, getting the price of a product right is critical. Even the difference of a few pennies can be enough to drive someone to choose your competitor’s listing over yours.
However, this can be a tricky balance: Price too high, and you’ll quickly be outmatched. Dip too low, and you risk losing out on a mountain of revenue potential.
While there’s no such thing as a simple calculation for pricing products on Walmart Canada, there are strategies you can use to automate the process and ensure your prices are always just right.
First, if you’re not already using algorithmic repricing, this technology offers a great starting point. An algorithmic repricing tool will use real-time analytics to automatically evaluate and adjust prices based on your desired SKU-level maxes and minimums. It’s an easy, effective way to secure more sales at the highest margins possible.
If you want to take this a step further, many sellers use an additional strategy called velocity repricing to further increase business on Walmart Canada and other marketplaces.
Velocity repricing can be used to automatically adjust product prices based on the latest sales trends. If sales dip, so will the price. When orders occur with more frequency, you can set your account to once again raise the cost of that item.
This tool eliminates the need to manually monitor inventory levels. You simply create your desired business rules to have pricing automatically adjusted so you not only sell more, but earn more for each top-performing SKU, as well.
2. Demand forecasting
Whether it’s taking up space at your own warehouse or sitting at a third-party order fulfillment center, having inventory at the correct levels is critical.
However, without reliable forecasts, there’s always the risk of miscalculating the exact amount of stock needed to meet upcoming demand. This can lead to a vicious cycle of overstocking, understocking, holding fees and inflated delivery costs.
If this sounds familiar, you’re going to love demand forecasting.
This strategy uses machine learning to analyze your historical sales data and accurately forecast future product demand. Many sellers use it to see what inventory levels will be needed in 60 or 90 days, and to avoid the need for closeout pricing on undersold SKUs.
3. Optimize your listings
Did you know that 36% of Canadian online shoppers want more product details and better pictures? In other words…
They often find product listings to be less than compelling. So while this last tip may sound like the simplest, it’s arguably the most important.
Optimize your product data.
If you really want to stand out on Walmart Canada and other e-commerce channels, create listings that capture attention and compel people to buy. That means taking time to optimize your keywords, titles and product details. It means providing crisp, clear images and videos. And it means resolving any listing errors as quickly and accurately as possible.
You may be surprised at how big an impact this one basic step can have on revenue and repeat purchases.
In conclusion
While these certainly aren’t the only techniques you can use to help your products stand out on Walmart Canada, they’re three of the most impactful. And once you get good at adjusting prices, forecasting demand and optimizing listings, you can move on to even bigger strategies — like using your data to create more meaningful, memorable consumer experiences.
We go over this topic in detail in our free white paper, From Data to Personalization: Mapping the Empowered Consumer Experience. Our e-commerce experts have packed this resource full of industry insights based on Rithum’s experiences with more than 2,800 sellers around the world.
And if you’d like to learn more about the strategies and tools described above, you can find more details here.
