Posted on 07/02/2023 in Business, Business in South Sfrica, Digital business

What Is Color Psychology? How To Use Color in Marketing

Do you find that certain colors make you feel a certain way? Blue may make you calm, or yellow might bring about feelings of happiness. This is color psychology in action. Marketers and designers have researched how color can directly impact emotions, mood, and spending habits, and found that it plays a significant role in shopping experiences.

Ahead, learn more about color psychology, explore the research that highlights color perception’s impact on decision-making, and get tips on how to choose the best colors for your brand.

What is color psychology?

Color psychology is the study and application of using the color wheel to influence decision making, often with commercial intent such as improving the conversion rate on an ecommerce store.Click here to start selling online now with Shopify

The colors you use on your website can have a significant impact on the mood of your customers. Getting the right mix of colors can mean the difference between a repeat customer and a fleeting one-time visitor.

Why color is important

Human feelings are fleeting. Our moods can fluctuate depending on the time of day, what’s going on in our lives, and even how nourished we are. Color is so prevalent in our daily lives that it can influence our moods and our attitudes toward certain products. For example, someone having a bad day might come across a bright red blazer that changes their entire frame of mind.

The power of color association makes it a very important element in your website design—and not just because it determines how customers feel when they browse your site. According to one piece of color research, people make up their minds within 90 seconds of interacting with a product, and 62% to 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.

The psychological effects of color

Color impacts our mood and decision-making because it incites emotion.

For example, when we see the color red, our heart rates increase and we feel a sense of urgency, which is why SALE signs in shops are almost always red. Similarly, when we see a graded test covered in red ink, we might start to panic. If given the option between a bank with pink branding or blue branding, we’ll probably choose the latter, because blue creates a sense of trust and security.

Color theory suggests that different colors can have different effects on us, from increasing our happiness to causing anxiety and fear.

One study found that people commonly associate certain colors with different emotions:

68% associated the color red with love
52% associated the color yellow with joy
51% associated the color black with sadness
50% associated the color pink with love
44% associated the color orange with joy
43% associated the color white with relief
39% associated the color green with contentment
36% associated the color brown with disgust
35% associated the color blue with feelings of relief
25% associated the color purple with pleasure

The psychology of color

Choosing the right color palette can help customers connect better with your products, increase trust, and boost overall sales. Here are some options to get you started:

Psychology of the color brown

In the previously cited study, 36% of participants associated the color brown with disgust, but 64% didn’t think that. Brown often can be used to signify nature and provide a calming feel to designs. Different neutral brown shades can work together to create a sophisticated natural look for sustainable brands, like the Handmade theme in the Shopify Theme Store. This is a paid option, but there are plenty of free theme templates to choose from.

Screenshot of the Handmade theme from Shopify, brown color palette, website header design — The Handmade theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Psychology of the color orange

Orange evokes optimism, joy, and confidence—it’s the epitome of summer. If you want to radiate a sense of warmth, happiness, and summery vibes, orange is the perfect color to weave into your color palette. It seamlessly combines the energetic feel of the color red with the joy and vitality of yellow. The Launch theme in the Shopify Theme Store uses splashes of orange against a white background to bring a sense of cheeriness.

Screenshot of the Launch theme from Shopify, red and orange color palette, website header design — The Launch theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Color psychology of yellow

Yellow represents fun, intellect, creativity, and fresh ideas—there’s a reason the original Post-it notes are yellow. It’s the lightest hue in the color spectrum and is often considered uplifting and joyful. Similarly to orange, yellow evokes happiness, hope, and playfulness. Shopify theme Loft uses lemon yellow to emphasize and draw attention to certain parts of a store.

Screenshot of the Loft theme from Shopify, yellow color palette, website header design template. — The Loft theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Green color psychology

Green is synonymous with nature and growth. It’s often used to create a sense of peace and harmony, but a darker version of the color can also signify wealth and prestige. Green is a great choice for brands that want to portray a healing and wholesome outlook or promote environmentally friendly products. The Impact Shopify theme boasts a beautiful green color scheme that can be customized to suit your brand’s needs.

Screenshot of the Impact theme from Shopify, green color palette, website header design template. — The Impact theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Psychology of the color pink

Pink can have universal appeal since it exudes kindheartedness, romance, and love. It also has a soothing effect, so can be used to offset more aggressive colors, like black, orange, and red. The Blockshop Premium Shopify theme uses a warm and welcoming pastel pink color palette.

Screenshot of the Blockshop theme from Shopify, pastel pink and purple color palette, website header design template. — The Blockshop theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Psychology of the color red

Red taps into the deepest, most primal emotions of shoppers. Since red is usually associated with love, life, and confidence, it can convert potential buyers into lifelong customers if used correctly. Red is often considered energizing and exciting, which can motivate shoppers to act—but it can also be a great way to give shy shoppers confidence. Reformation is a premium Shopify theme that cleverly uses red to highlight important information.

Screenshot of the Reformation theme from Shopify, bright red color palette, website header design template. — The Reformation theme in the Shopify Theme Store

White color psychology

White exudes purity, wholesomeness, and clarity, and is essential to most web pages. It provides a fresh, clean feel as well as a sophisticated contrast to bright colors on the page. Always include empty white space around your content so that customers don’t feel boxed in. The Story theme is a perfect example of using white to create a modern feel.

Screenshot of the Story theme from Shopify, minimalist white color palette, website header design template. — The Story theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Purple color psychology

Purple has long been associated with royalty, power, and affluence, but it can also represent imagination and spirituality. It’s often used to inspire introspection and deeper thoughts, which can lead to positive thinking around purchases. There’s also a sense of calm about the color purple—it can evoke peace and tranquility, and highlight a superior version of a product. Publisher is a free theme that features a pale purple backdrop.

Screenshot of the Publisher theme from Shopify, purple color palette, website header design template with fading background. — The Publisher theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Psychology of the color blue

Blue tones convey feelings of trust, peace, and productivity. They promote loyalty and integrity, which is why blue is often seen in branding for banks and legal firms. Using the color blue on your site can create a feeling of space and stability. However, too much navy can seem conservative—so, if you’re selling a fun range of products, stick to more pale, brighter shades. Motion is a premium Shopify theme that leverages a pale blue in its imagery.

Screenshot of the Motion theme from Shopify, blue color palette, website header design template. — The Motion theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Psychology of the color gray

Gray is usually connected with seriousness and is a firm favorite for people who don’t want to stand out with lurid colors. The right shades of gray can serve as a great backdrop for other more vibrant colors, such as orange, red, and royal blue. The free Craft theme successfully uses gray to create a sophisticated feel to the site.

Screenshot of the Craft theme from Shopify, gray color palette, website header design template with flat lay, neutral product photos. — The Craft theme in the Shopify Theme Store

Black color psychology

Black is associated with strength, power, and dominance. When used in ecommerce, it sends a confident message to potential customers and can represent mystery and luxury—hence why premium vehicles are often black. Excessive use, however, can give off a bland and gloomy feel, so it should be used in moderation alongside tranquil colors. Ride is a free Shopify theme that spotlights the color black against a vibrant color palette.

Screenshot of the Ride theme from Shopify, black color palette, website header design template with bright color accents — The Ride theme in the Shopify Theme Store

The Shopify Theme Store has thousands of free and premium templates to choose from, all of which spotlight different color palettes. Find your perfect color match here.

How to use psychology to influence purchases

Color, when used correctly, can be a powerful guide in purchasing decisions. Here are some key outcomes from a considered approach to using color:

Increase brand recognition: A study by the University of Loyola found that color increases brand recognition by up to 80%. This will help you and your products stand out against competitors.
Be memorable: Color helps consumers process and store images more efficiently, which means they can remember them better.
Improve ad performance: Ads in color are read up to 42% more often than the same ads in black and white—increase the chances of shoppers stopping mid-scroll to read your ad by using color.
Draw attention to key information: Color is a great way to emphasize important information about your products. Use it alongside bullet points and white space to guide shoppers on a journey.
Make a good first impression: People make snap judgments about products within 90 seconds of first seeing them—up to 90% of that assessment is based on color alone and could be the reason shoppers stick with you or jump ship.
Help customers choose a product: 84.7% of respondents in one study claimed that color accounts for more than 50% of the factors important in choosing a product.

How to find the right colors for your brand

There’s no systematic way to choose the right colors for your brand. Part of it will come down to personal preference (if you really don’t like the color purple, why would you want to look at it every day?), but you should consider the impact of color on consumer experiences and public perception of your brand.

1. Create your business persona

What type of products do you sell? If you’re selling a new take on a traditional product like Fishwife, consider how you want customers to feel when they land on your website.

Vibrant product packaging from Fishwife, product category page, yellow color palette, bright website header. — The colorful branding of Fishwife’s products

Here, it’s a good idea to list out some words that reflect your brand personality, such as “serious,” “fun,” “playful,” or “serene.” These will impact the color palette you choose—for example, if your business persona is playful, you want to steer clear of neutral tones like browns and grays.

2. Match the color psychology with your audience

Who is your target audience? Think about how the colors you choose align with the types of consumers you want to attract. For example, if you’re targeting spiritual shoppers, you might choose purples and greens instead of reds and oranges.

3. Analyze the color psychology of your competitors

Look at the colors your competitors are using. If you find that the majority of them incorporate blues and blacks into their branding, there could be a good reason for that. While it might be tempting to use oranges and yellows to stand out, you might quickly find these palettes don’t reflect the needs of the consumers you’re targeting.

4. Differentiate the colors of your brand

While you should take into account the colors your competitors use, you also want to differentiate yourself in some way. This might be through splashes of contrasting colors or by using a different shade of a common color. Remember to consider your audience and brand personality here. For example, Mint bank goes against the traditional blues associated with banking and uses a pale green palette instead.

Screenshot of Mint Bank homepage, green color palette, website header example. — The pale green Mint homepage

5. Keep track of changes and test different color schemes

Make a note of what brand elements you’ve changed, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different color preferences in the color wheel. It’s easy to assume you know what your customers want, but the best way to find out is to ask, test, and track. If you’re worried that bright oranges might put off shoppers but it aligns perfectly with your fun product line, give it a go and see what happens—you might be surprised at the results.

Examples of color psychology in marketing

Coca-Cola: Red for energy

Coca-Cola has one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The heavy use of red indicates energy—something that reflects the qualities of the drink itself.

The red Coca-Cola on a white background. — The red Coca-Cola logo

Apple: Gray for balance and elegance

Apple’s branding is sleek and sophisticated. Whites and grays come together to create a futuristic color palette that reflects the vision of the brand.

Screenshot of Apple’s website, neutral gray and black color palette, minimalist design, website header example. — The Apple website

IKEA: Yellow for optimism

IKEA’s bright yellow color combinations indicate a sense of fun and playfulness—something that it imbues with its simple, easy-to-construct furniture.

Screenshot of IKEA’s website header, orange and yellow color palette, bright website design example. — IKEA’s yellow website

Barbie: Pink for playfulness

Barbie’s famously pink color palette has made it a very memorable brand. The choice of color perfectly reflects the fun and playfulness of the brand and its products.

Screenshot of the Barbie homepage, pink color palette, bright colors, website header design example. — Barbie’s bright pink homepage

Color psychology: a final thought

Color psychology plays a major role in the shopping experience. Choosing the right color combinations can increase sales, create a positive brand perception, and boost customer loyalty—use the tips highlighted here to ensure your color preferences are doing your brand justice.

Wrapping up:

We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.

Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses! If you would like to know more details about us, please contact us: blog.shopshipshake.com. If you are interested in cooperating with us. Please register on: https://bit.ly/3Cfdu4w

This article partly refers to: https://www.shopify.com/za/blog/color-psychology

Posted on 09/01/202312/10/2023 in BackToSchool, Build your business, Business, Business in South Sfrica

Back-to-School Marketing Ideas for a Successful 2023 Seasonal Campaign

All over the South Africa, retailers have been bulking up their inventory for back-to-school sales.

After the New Year holiday, the new school term begins!

Your back-to-school marketing campaigns start here, with insightful methods and strategies to increase sales for your online store.

Like clockwork, parents, teachers, and students look for seasonal sales for deals, discounts, and personalized back-to-school goodies. As an eCommerce marketer, this is your opportunity to generate healthy revenue from January.

Class is in session.

Back-to-School Campaign – a MUST for Your Online Store

The global school and college supplies market is valued at $108.1 billion and is expected to increase by almost $15.12 billion by 2024, with a 3% compound annual growth rate over the forecast period.

2023 is still an uncertain year – the threats of inflation and a general recession are nudging households to look for more affordable options. Remote living has popularized eCommerce as an attractive, budget-friendly shopping alternative. Back-to-school marketing is expected to reach more online shoppers than ever this year.

While uncertain, the market is still growing with a post-pandemic intensity. Last year, the average household spent a record-breaking $849 on school-aged children and $1200 on college students. Currently, the average household is planning to spend most of its budget on back-to-school devices ($295.65) and clothing apparel ($253.46).

Before we list our back-to-school marketing ideas, use this year’s emerging trends to develop the foundation of your seasonal strategy – when you should promote your products, how you should price them, and how large of an audience you can expect to reach:

$100-500 is the most common budget for back-to-school supplies
24% of customers shop from a store’s website (30% use third-party apps or marketplaces)

By the start of January, your campaign should be in full swing to catch as broad an audience as possible, promoting budget-aware sales and curating back-to-school marketing across multiple channels.

Insightful Back-to-School Marketing Ideas and Tips

If you want to keep up with the back-to-school rush, attractive discounts and timely content is a must. This section will detail fourteen unique strategies to help you develop a successful seasonal campaign.

Launch Seasonal Products and Marketing Efforts on Time

Prepare quickly, and research when the back-to-school season starts in your market region. Even in the US, the first day of school differs from state to state.

Some essential products to sell during the back-to-school season are backpacks, notebooks, lunch boxes, and footwear. You can find inspiration and possible options in the SHOPSHIPSHAKE catalogs:

Custom unisex backpack
Ruled-line spiral notebook
Bento lunch box with utensils
Women’s high-topped sneakers
Men’s high-topped sneakers

Find your customers’ favorite on Shopshipshake: https://bit.ly/3QpCj2Y

After electronics, clothing is the second most purchased product during the back-to-school season, with footwear and essential supplies in 3rd and 4th place, respectively.

Personalized clothing and accessories should be a mainstay in your store. Still, school-specific products give your catalog more legitimacy with the flexibility to create back-to-school bundles and promos.

Create Back-to-School Bundles

Offer your customers an option to buy personalized back-to-school-themed bundles. You can tackle your audience directly with online surveys or by contacting local schools. Alternatively, research the top websites that offer lists of back-to-school essentials.

To better customize your back-to-school bundles, choose a specific customer base. Parents, teachers, and college students will respond to different marketing efforts. Design your content marketing strategy based on your existing customer demographics, their preferred media channels, and use of vocabulary.

Market your back-to-school bundles as a more affordable alternative to buying things separately. Take the opportunity to theme your products with matching designs and product imagery.

Update Your Storefront to Match the Seasonal Aesthetic

It’s ideal to give your customers a seasonal feel with a uniquely themed UX design. Match the back-to-school aesthetic by redesigning your storefront. Update your homepage with seasonal messages, and change visuals for your banner image, background, and theme.

Use this opportunity to change and update your catalog listings for the new traffic. Place promos, discounts, and appropriate products on the top of your catalog for accessibility and higher visibility.

Here are a few standard back-to-school themes you can use for inspiration:

Classroom designs – add images of blackboards, lecture podiums, and notebooks with chalk or cursive letter fonts and formats.
Grading systems – use thematic accessories like grades, corrections, and images of diplomas, exams, and countdowns for deadlines.
Seasonal images – fill your background with fall colors, landscapes, transitions in nature, and pictures of schools or a college campus.
Character profiles – use images of children with backpacks, campus students, and teachers from stock photos or product models.
Supplies and stationary – add collages of calculators, rulers, protractors, globes, chemistry sets, textbooks, etc.

By redesigning your interface, your store gains authenticity and builds loyalty for new visitors. An active and updated store page can encourage your customers to participate in user-generated content.

Organize a Sales Event Contest or Challenge

Back-to-school sales are an excellent opportunity to promote creativity and ideas. Take advantage of the seasonal shopping rush by creating an accessible medium for user-generated content.

Offer parents or students a unique way to highlight their customer journey. Create raffles and options to share posts, tag people, or jump on a catchy hashtag. Social media is an essential platform for this kind of engagement. People can freely participate and follow timely developments.

Set up a tangible reward that your customers can look forward to, like a special deal, a chance to customize their own product or a highlight on your store page or profile. Use these insights to generate more content and valuable resources for other users.

Create Valuable Resources

Creating seasonal content has the potential to increase your search engine rankings, which is a necessary part of managing good website SEO. Master your keyword research through valuable guides, lists, and how-to’s to increase the quality of your brand without having to make significant expenses.

Some valuable ideas for back-to-school marketing content include:

Shopping lists – provide a list of back-to-school picks for parents or students
Survival guides – determine the essential supplies every student needs
E-books and articles – delve into deeper topics surrounding education and back-to-school sales
Fashion lookbooks – discover the latest fashion trends for the new fall semester
Educational resources – list the do’s and don’ts of buying back-to-school supplies online

Your trove of original resources will encourage more traffic and sales and give you the authority to team up with educational institutions and organizations.

Team Up With an Organization That Supports Education

Provide support for education through fundraising initiatives and goal-oriented partnerships.

You can help local organizations or donate a part of the profits to a good cause – help foster education and make it more accessible for local communities.

When done with good intentions, corporate social responsibility can humanize your campaign and give your store an edge over competitors. Think about initiatives for diversity, academic freedom, better conditions for teachers, or workshops that involve and motivate students to learn.

As an award for participation, provide deals and discounts for the back-to-school shopping season or donate your proceeds to charity to increase your overall growth and customer loyalty.

Offer Special Deals

Back-to-School Marketing Ideas - Special Deals

A special discount is the lifeblood of good back-to-school marketing. Seasonal deals encourage users to do their own research and spend time exploring possible shopping avenues that wouldn’t otherwise be on their radar.

Finding a good deal is a rewarding experience – it encourages return purchases and fosters word-of-mouth advertising. We will briefly describe the types of offers that you can add to your catalog of back-to-school products:

Percentage-based or cash-off discounts – the most common offer you can provide is a percentage or cash discount for a limited time or season. You can discount specific products or offer bundle deals for a better price.
Free shipping and deliveries – high shipping costs are a common reason for abandoned shopping carts. Free shipping will give the customer a more transparent price estimate.
Promo codes – promo codes are great for affiliate marketing campaigns and limited offers. Add them to your newsletters, partnered organizations, or social media posts.
Student discounts – personalize your discounts for specific demographics. Student discounts are a tried-and-true tag that users openly search for.
Teacher discounts – show appreciation for the hardest workers of the back-to-school season. You can market teacher discounts as great gifts that parents and returning students can give to their favorite professors.

Dorm or roommate gift deals – college roommates will be ecstatic to find appropriate gifts for their own, often neglected demographic.
Returning customer discounts – offer loyalty discounts for return purchases for customers that subscribed to your newsletter or follow your media channels. Once customers develop a purchase pattern, next time they will likely go directly to your store.

Including an extra deal that feels unique to each customer is necessary to encourage smart shopping. A rewarding experience from a perceived gift can counteract the otherwise stressful season for many parents, teachers, and students, especially near the end of August.

Include a Gift With Each Purchase

Adding a small but free school-related gift with each order can be a nice touch. You may also consider customizing your packaging for a more personalized look and providing extra discounts with the product receipt.

Your gift doesn’t have to be too grandiose – extra stationery or a thoughtful booklet can significantly increase your brand’s quality without breaking the bank. When thinking about potential gifts, consider purchasing in bulk to keep your expenses lower.

Of course, free labor is hard to come by and even more challenging to sustain. Not everything in your marketing campaign needs to be done by you. Next up, we have influencer marketing.

Get in On Influencer Marketing

You might not know what younger school kids are into these days, what parents have to deal with, and the struggles of your average teacher. It’s untenable to perfectly capture the ins and outs of every demographic.

Move out of old-school advertising into marketing campaigns with a more authentic method of engagement. Save time and partner up with social media influencers, or sign a contract with an agency that offers to promote your products through a profile that your niche would naturally enjoy or be familiar with.

Influencers are incredibly relatable among younger audiences. The current k-12 aged generation is part of different pop-culture niches. YouTube creators, Twitch streamers, Instagram gurus, Twitter gimmick accounts, and even social media activists are all potential outlets for back-to-school marketing.

Influencers can frame your back-to-school marketing campaign in various ways:

Products with specialized features or manufacturing techniques
Latest clothing and accessory fashion trends
Affordable supplies for families with a tight budget
Ease-of-access online shopping opportunities
Home-learning vs in-person essentials
Customizable products and gifts for teachers

Influencer marketing is a specific term used for figures that have formed their business for dynamic marketing. Influencers create curated profiles that mix content and marketing based on trends, audience analytics, and overall growth.

Organize a Giveaway

Giveaways are one of the most straightforward marketing methods that provide high engagement without costing more than the prize for the lucky winner. The prize, however, must be substantial enough to entice potential participants.

Select a series of requirements to enter the giveaway. You can ask potential participants for:

Follows, shares, replies, and retweets
Testimonials for a product or service
Subscriptions to your newsletter
Specific hashtags in related posts
Challenges and user-generated content

Media sites like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, where your follower count can influence your brand standing, are a great medium to practice a variety of giveaway offers. Your giveaways can operate under one entry per person, or you can encourage more active users by offering multiple entry requirements for a higher chance of winning.

Offer Coupon Codes for Future Purchases

Your work doesn’t end with a successful sales campaign. Grow your business by encouraging return purchases with coupon codes. Back-to-school season shoppers make their purchases sporadically, returning for extra essentials and forgotten supplies for a new class or course.

Coupons, like discounts or promos, can offer a cash-off deal or free shipping for a limited time. Your coupons don’t necessarily need to be back-to-school themed, they can be a great way to keep new visitors around after the end of the seasonal period.

Create Fun, Interactive Quizzes With Shareable Results

If you’re likely to sell to internet-focused generations, we encourage more entertaining methods of back-to-school engagement. Formulate a results quiz for students to identify their clique, niche interests, or personality type related to some form of belonging, e.g., “what kind of back-to-school shopper are you?”

Quiz results should be easily shareable on social media and contain a call-to-action statement to inform the user of your products or special deals for the season.

Create a Back-to-School Campaign Newsletter

At this point, you’ve most likely noticed that all these back-to-school marketing ideas work well with one another, providing a diverse assortment of content that users can expect to receive throughout the season.

By design, your marketing should be curated across multiple channels, filling your advertising portfolio with timely and streamlined content. As part of your email marketing, newsletters are a great way to combine back-to-school campaigns into a single, digestible feed of content that users can check without effort.

In turn, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly newsletters are an excellent tool to maintain all year round, advertising seasonal sales and new content releases, while informing users in a personalized and entertaining manner.

Additional Things to Keep in Mind

Surveyed back-to-school shoppers showed a growing comfort in purchasing online this year, with 40% planning to buy curated supply kits and 50% looking to purchase apparel and fundamental school supplies.

Online shopping trends are varied and often hard to predict. Knowing where and how to present your back-to-school marketing for maximum visibility is just as important as creating original content in the first place.

The remaining points below will briefly discuss practical marketing methods to keep your back-to-school marketing successful.

Omnichannel Marketing

With omnichannel marketing, you create a seamless experience for your customers by using multiple marketing channels in a unified way.

Unlike multichannel marketing, where each platform is managed separately, omnichannel marketing is simply the process of distributing the same or similar content over multiple points of customer contact.

By using over three channels in a campaign, marketers earned a 494% higher order rate than single-channel counterparts.

Social Media

You should upload most of your back-to-school marketing efforts on social media channels. Social media usage is increasing, even among users aged 65 and up. Adults spend an average of 95 minutes per day on one of the leading social media apps.

Over 90% of businesses use social media in their marketing, and its process has shown results from surveyed customers. Pick your preferred media channels, be it social networks like Twitter, media sharing sites like Pinterest, or other community-oriented sites.

Benefit Even if You’re Not Selling School Supplies

You don’t need to plan a streamlined campaign or sell school supplies to take advantage of the back-to-school season. Get in on the fun simply by offering seasonally-themed products or student discounts.

Celebrate the new semester with fall-themed store designs, community posts, and gestures of support to keep your business actionable and authentic throughout the year.

Ready to start your store’s school year with an increased budget and growth? Start your back-to-school marketing campaign using marketing content, discounts, gifts, and events made for parents of school children, college students, and teachers.

Wrapping up

This article partly refers to: https://printify.com/blog/back-to-school-marketing/

Posted on 01/08/202213/10/2023 in Build your business, Business in South Sfrica, Digital business

Top consumer trends in SA and what they mean for your business

The customer of today has a number of concerns. Trust, values, and integrity issues are of the utmost significance in a world that is always evolving. But how does this affect the way they interact with your company?

The State of the Connected Customer report by Salesforce reveals what makes 650 South African respondents tick. So, let’s examine the five trends that matter most to South African customers.

A trust-based economy is moving to the forefront

It’s been a bumpy ride over the past few years. From the global pandemic to extreme weather caused by climate change, trust in the government is spiralling. But 94% of respondents in South Africa said trust becomes even more important in uncertain times. That means customers are increasingly looking to businesses to do the right thing and build great experiences based on trust.

With only 37% of respondents agreeing they generally trust, there’s work to be done. While most people reported they ‘completely’ or ‘mostly’ trust companies to act with integrity, the trust section of the survey indicates uncertainty for customers.

In other areas of the survey, a markedly larger proportion of customers provided a definitive yes or no response. When asked about trust, approximately 50% of customers were reluctant to commit to saying they completely trust companies.

So, what are the five top ways you can build trust?

84% want to see greater transparency and better communication.
76% want to be treated as a person, not a number.
76% want greater assurance that you’re using their data responsibly, and 85% think this is more important than ever.
76% expect issues to be resolved quickly and proactively with great communication throughout.
72% want a consistent experience across all touchpoints.

When it comes to building trust as an organisation, customers are more likely to engage with companies who actively demonstrate good values and prioritise health and safety.

Building brand loyalty matters more than ever

The world is now our oyster, thanks to digitisation. While this is great news for consumers, it also means that developing brand loyalty is more crucial than ever – and customer relationships can be influenced by unexpected factors.

While it’s not surprising that 84% of buyers think about how you treat customers:

70% want to know you treat employees well.
61% are looking at how you respond to racial injustice.
50% will be scrutinising your environmental practices.
47% consider action on economic injustice important.
41% rate you on how involved you are in the community.

To determine how you meet these requirements, 95 percent of respondents want you to clearly articulate your beliefs, and 79 percent have abandoned a business in favour of one that better fits with their values. However, South African consumers also switch brands for better deals, higher quality, and superior customer service.

Introducing a loyalty program is an effective model to reward existing customers and attract new ones. Customers like companies who make it simple to redeem, such as by applying rewards immediately, as well as those who provide personalised deals and enable customers to use loyalty points across numerous brands.

As always, knowing your customer is key.

Businesses must balance personalisation with privacy concerns

Today, personalisation goes well beyond communications. Customers expect that you will anticipate their expectations and desires at every touchpoint.

Digital channels continue to dominate customer engagement. They expect consistent, personalised experiences across multiple channels. In fact, 94% say customer experience is just as important as products or services – but only 63% agree that companies provide consistent, omnichannel experiences.

While two-thirds of customers are happy to swap personal information for a more tailored experience, an overwhelming majority feel more data is collected than needed, companies aren’t transparent about how they’re using it – and 67% don’t think they benefit from sharing their data.

To make customers feel more at ease, it’s important to communicate clearly about why you’re capturing personal data and how it will be used – remember, only 24% of consumers feel confident that companies will fully respect their privacy.

Going back to that 76% of customers who want to be treated as a person, not a number: the appetite for personalisation is there, but only 44% feel like companies treat them as an individual.

There’s a fine line between the promise of a better life and distrust in technology

Artificial intelligence has been a game-changer in terms of freeing people’s time, but although 75% of respondents in South Africa are receptive to the idea, 86% believe it has the potential to be a force for both good and bad.

Less than half of customers understand the role of artificial intelligence in business. To make them feel more at ease, respondents want:

Greater control over how it’s used and the opportunity to provide feedback.
Access to the research behind the tech.
Input from human rights and ethics experts.
Inclusion of more diverse data sets.

Happily, customers are more willing to trust technology when it comes to order tracking and contactless payments, and 60% expect augmented or virtual reality to be used more in the future.

Helping customers understand the role technology already plays in streamlining and automating their experience is key to reassuring them about its potential to make life better in the future.

Customers increasingly expect a joined-up experience

Giving customers a consistent experience across departments isn’t just a nice-to-have: 92% of respondents expect it, and it has a direct correlation to loyalty.

However, only 14% of customers feel like companies have a consistent voice across departments, with more than half reporting it doesn’t feel like sales, service, and marketing teams share information to give the customer a seamless experience.

Crucially, 84% of respondents revealed that a lack of consistency across touchpoints makes them lose trust in a company, and 58% lose faith when they receive irrelevant communications that don’t match their experience,

So, how is South Africa measuring up when it comes to demonstrating consistency across touchpoints?

25% of customers completely trust businesses.
58% of customers somewhat trust businesses.
15% of customers mostly distrust businesses.
2% of customers completely distrust businesses.

Your biggest takeaway here? Make sure you’re rewarding your customers with a great, joined-up experience in exchange for their data.

Uniting teams on Customer 360 creates enterprise-visibility not just across departments, but on all channels and every device. This isn’t just key to giving customers a seamless experience, but provides an opportunity to have better conversations and to collect comprehensive data to use for personalisation.

Wrapping up

We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliveryour orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow yourbusinesses.

If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za

If you are interested in cooperating with us. Please register on: https://bit.ly/3ks0m1M

Posted on 22/07/202213/10/2023 in Business in South Sfrica

How To Start A Dropshipping Business In South Africa

Dropshipping has proven to be one of the most efficient businesses strategies for starting a profitable venture. Over the last several years, more and more people have begun establishing e-commerce enterprises thanks to this accessible business model.

This type of business can be started anywhere and targeted at buyers of any demographic and location, South Africa included. And this shouldn’t come as a surprise, since with a population of almost 60 million as of 2020, South Africa is a rather large and growing market to target for a dropshipper. Furthermore, the e-commerce market revenue in this country is projected to reach $4,057m in 2021 with an annual growth rate of 10.1%.

So, in this article, we will uncover what is dropshipping and how to start a dropshipping business in South Africa.

1.What is dropshipping? Can it work in South Africa?

First, let’s make sure you understand what dropshipping is and what makes it an accessible and attractive business model.

Dropshipping is a type of e-commerce selling method where the business owner does not have to physically possess the products or even manage the stock. The dropshipping entrepreneur has several key responsibilities he is in charge of creating an online store, picking and promoting the goods, finding and cooperating with a reliable dropshipping supplier. In return, the dropshipping supplier handles other aspects of the business such as managing the stock, packing and sending the products in the name of the business owner and providing tracking information.

Essentially, the dropshipper simply manages the transaction process. When an order is placed on the online store, the dropshipper transfers the customer’s order details to the dropshipping supplier and pays the original product price. When the supplier receives the order details, he packages and ships the order directly to the customer, leaving the dropshipper only responsible for customer support. The difference between the supplier’s original product price and the marked up price paid by the end buyer is the dropshipper’s profit.

Sounds pretty appealing, doesn’t it? From this, you can see why dropshipping can be such an attractive and accessible business.

The dropshipper does not need to pay upfront for stock or storage of the goods. Neither does he have to be concerned about the delivery, as this is the responsibility of the supplier.

What’s more, a dropshipping business can be launched and maintained from absolutely anywhere in the world! The flexibility of this kind of business is one of its many beneficial aspects. And anyone can try their hand in it, from ever-busy moms to first-year college students, to regular everyday workers. That’s why it doesn’t really matter where you’re from, as long as you have access to the internet and a computer, you can sell to anywhere in the world! And South Africa is no exception!

With that said, let’s look at how to start a dropshipping business in South Africa.

2.How to start a dropshipping business in South Africa

Starting a dropshipping business in South Africa is similar to starting it anywhere else. Here is what you have to focus on:

Thoroughly research the niche you want to take
Find quality products and reliable suppliers
Establish an online store where you can sell your products
Attract potential customers to your website

Now, let’s look at each aspect in more detail.

（1）Research the niche

Regardless of your geographical location and whether you want to focus on the South African market or any other market, niche research is the most important step in creating a successful dropshipping store.

Knowing exactly what your potential customers want and what the trends are in a particular niche, you will help your business a long way. But the trick in niche choice that can help your store be successful is not trying to cater to all people at once. Instead, you should focus on a specific group of people and supply them with products that they have limited access to.

（2）Find trustworthy dropshipping suppliers and quality products

When you have found what it is you want to sell and who your target market is, it’s time to look for reliable suppliers who offer quality products.

Luckily, the Internet is full of supplier databases, both free and fee-based. You can try to find them or you can try to find suppliers on your own on various online marketplaces, like AliExpress.

The key to differentiating a reliable supplier is their store history and their reviews. Basically, the longer the store is operating, the more trustworthy it is. Furthermore, usually large online marketplaces have store rating systems that can help understand how the customers view and rate the store. And finally, the reviews left by the store’s customers will do wonders in terms of understanding how reliable the sellers are.

As for the quality products, since one can’t physically touch or feel the goods without ordering them, he will have to rely on other options. For example, the number of times the item was ordered will signal its demand level. Moreover, the review section will also help with quality evaluation, as customers tend to share their opinion on the purchased products. Some even share pictures of the product, which will help you determine how it actually looks in real life.

When it comes to selling products online, the constant challenge is to make sure the shipping times are as low as possible. Let’s face it, no one wants to wait 2 or 3 months for the goods to arrive. So to minimize this inconvenience you can look for suppliers near the location you are going to target.

In this case, if you wish to dropship to the South African market, you need to find suppliers near that country. One of the platforms that can help you with this is Dropstore. There you can find South African suppliers with lots of different products.

（3）Establish an online store to sell your products

Now, when you know your niche and what products you are going to sell, you need to create an online store.

There are several ways to get an online store. You can create one from scratch, purchase a ready solution, or turn to a store development service.

Thankfully, there are plenty of services where you can benefit from all these options. To build a website from scratch you can use WordPress. It is the most popular service for website building in the world. Additional plugins will help create a fully functional dropshipping store. Or, if you don’t have any technical experience, you can turn to such services as AliDropship, BigCommerce, Shopify, etc. There you can purchase a store based on your needs. Though each has different pricing plans, you should explore each option yourself to find what suits you best.

（4）Finding potential customers for your online store

For many dropshipping entrepreneurs, the real challenge lies in attracting potential customers to their store. Exactly for this reason it is important to research and choose the right niche. If you have found a niche with demanded products at a reasonable price, then you shouldn’t experience much of a challenge.

You have a few options to drive traffic to your store. The first is through paid advertising. With platforms like Facebook and Google, it is as easy as ever to reach your target audience. Another way is to use Search Engine Optimization strategies. Here you will need to adjust all of your website pages according to SEO to drive organic traffic when someone searches for your products. Another way to drive traffic is to create content such as writing blog posts, making YouTube videos, etc. The key here is to make content that will be valuable to your potential customers.

3.Notable aspects of dropshipping to consider

The regulations

When selling products to customers from a different country, it is important to understand the laws and restrictions within that country. Additionally, there are various rules when it comes to importing and exporting products. For example, import costs could amount to almost half of the item’s costs. And this is important to specify to your customers. So, you should do your best to research this topic.

We heavily recommend consulting local law advisers about certain aspects of your business. Thus, not only will you be able to protect yourself and your business, but lower the number of unhappy customers and customer complaints.

Payment gateways

To establish a proper dropshipping business, one has to be familiar with the most popular local payment gateways. Payment gateways are needed to process online payments. Here are the most popular International payment gateways and gateways within South Africa:

Payfast
PayGate
Payment Express PxPay
BitPay
GoCoin
PayPal
Stripe
2Checkout

4.Final takeaways on how to start a dropshipping business in South Africa

South Africa has a large and flourishing market that spends sufficient amounts of money in the e-commerce segment. And the numbers are set to grow even more in the coming years. This makes it a promising country to start a dropshipping business.

So, how to start a dropshipping business in South Africa? Dropshipping Is a low-cost and low-risk business model that provides a unique opportunity to absolutely everyone, regardless of your geographical location. Though, there are some common procedures that one needs to follow to create a successful business. These include finding a lucrative niche and finding a way to cater to its audience, and searching for a reliable dropshipping supplier who will ship the products without any inconveniences. And of course, an attractive website is also required to sell the products.

Taking everything into account, one can create an e-commerce business of their liking at a low cost.

Hopefully, this article was informative and insightful and now you have an understanding of what is dropshipping and how to start a dropshipping business in South Africa. Good luck to you in your future endeavours!

Wrapping up

We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliveryour orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow yourbusinesses.

If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za

If you are interested in cooperating with us. Please register on: https://bit.ly/3ks0m1M

Posted on 13/07/202213/07/2022 in Business in South Sfrica

Changing retail habits in South Africa with online shopping

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, omnichannel strategies have become essential for brick-and-mortar stores to meet consumers’ needs in South Africa. The NielsenIQ study “ Unlocking the Consumption Code” concluded that the consumer goods industry in the country is more open to digital shopping than ever before.

Massive disruption fed habit changes

The pandemic has completely changed day-to-day routines. According to our study, 30% of South African consumers indicated they have shifted their shopping habits from in-person grocery store visits to online in the previous 12 months.

Fast delivery and innovative platforms for a high-level shopping experience are seen as the key factors in this journey, with several popular apps accelerating this change in the market.

Adjusting to a new environment

The next steps in South African e-commerce shopping can be referred to as a period of continuity of growth, where retailers and brands need to understand and plan wisely on how to develop and create a unique experience for consumers. Above all, they should prioritize customer satisfaction, convenience (including fast delivery), and availability.

In a nutshell, more conscious consumers are here to stay for more reliable conditions, including physical risks. However, the constrained consumers phenomena is on the rise, as it lets consumers watch how and where they spend their money. At the end of this experience, they can better manage their household spending by making purchases more frequently online.

Retailers should also consider creating different omnichannel experiences, which offers a secure environment and supports reliability while creating price advantages and promotion opportunities.

As consumers rebase their home, work, and travel routines, they will increase their visits to physical stores. For strong competition, e-retailers should watch their service speed, structured on-time and safe delivery, and present a differentiated shopper experience.

Digital shopping allows for sophisticated practices and dynamic pricing. In a world where new players/brands come into the market every day, keywords or various promo strategies may not be enough to win the competition in the future.

Opportunities in South Africa

South African consumer habits have changed forever in the past few years. They feel more comfortable while they shop online. On the other hand, the main growth in this market comes from having omnichannel solutions (online and in-store shopping hybrid), so now is the right time to measure the correct potential in the market and expand possibilities for growth.

Wrapping up

We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, and more.
With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.

If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us:

www.shopshipshake.co.za

If you are interested in cooperating with us. Please register on: https://bit.ly/3ks0m1M