Last weekend saw the start of the summer sales online and in physical shops, one of the hottest and most intense sales periods of the year.
In recent years, online summer sales have become a global phenomenon, offering consumers the opportunity to purchase discounted products from the comfort of their homes. However, with the rise of online shopping, the need has also emerged to consider the environmental impact of this phenomenon and to find effective solutions to mitigate its negative effects.
In this article, we will therefore explore three effective strategies to make your online sales more sustainable. First, however, let’s look at some useful data to understand the scale of the phenomenon.
How much the 2024 summer sales will be worth
According to a survey conducted by Ipsos for Fismo – the association of Confesercenti fashion shops – the turnover of the 2024 summer sales will be around EUR 3.5 billion, with an estimated average spend of around EUR 100 per person.
How much the 2024 online summer sales will be worth
Once again, eCommerce will play a major role this year: of the estimated 9 million consumers who will shop during the summer sales period, 36% said they intend to shop online on multi-brand eCommerce platforms, plus a further 18% of consumers who say they intend to buy directly from their favourite brands’ sites.
More than half of consumers, therefore, are ready to shop online during the summer sales period. But what will they buy?
The most sought-after products during the 2024 summer sales
According to the Ipsos-Fismo survey, the product most sought after by consumers in the fashion category for the 2024 summer sales is footwear, indicated by 61% of respondents.
T-shirts and tops, in particular polo shirts and sports shirts for men, followed with 57% of the preferences; while for women there is a trend towards sweaters, blouses and tops in summer fabrics.
3 tips to make online summer sales more sustainable thanks to shipping
As anticipated, a good percentage of Italian consumers are willing to buy their favourite products online at discounted prices during the summer sales period. The question of how to make online shopping more sustainable is therefore more topical than ever.
For 90% of Italian consumers, in fact, the sustainability of a product or eCommerce is an element that largely influences their purchasing decisions.
Here, then, is a list of 3 practical and useful tips that you can put into practice right away to make your shipments, and thus the summer sales of your online store, greener, thus winning over those consumers who are more environmentally conscious.
1. Use sustainable packaging
Packaging, or so-called wrapping, is certainly one of the most visible and impactful aspects of online shopping.
It is indeed evident that the use of non-recyclable and oversized materials contributes significantly to the environmental pollution of eCommerce.
But how then to make your packaging more eco-friendly? Here are some practical tips:
Use packaging made of recyclable and/or biodegradable materials.
Opting for recyclable materials such as paper and cardboard, or for biodegradable materials that reduce plastic waste, is the first thing to do if you want to make your shipping and your online store more sustainable, and thus win new customers. Keep in mind that 28% of Italian eShoppers say they choose a product based on the sustainability of its packaging (Nomisma 2022 data).
There are several companies that allow you to create sustainable packaging for your shipments, one of them, for example, is Packhelp, which allows you to choose from several options and customise them according to your needs.
Minimises packaging.
Minimising the use of packaging, avoiding over-packaging and using only what is necessary to adequately protect your products is certainly another solution to put into practice.
Suffice it to say that even Amazon (which we know is a trend forecaster) has reduced the weight of packaging per shipment by 38% since 2015, thus eliminating over 1.5 million tonnes of packaging materials.
Create Sustainable Design.
When it is not possible for you to use easily recyclable materials, you can make the entire packaging into a product that is easy for your consumers to recycle. In other words, a product that they do not want to throw away, but can keep and reuse for other purposes, thus encouraging a longer life cycle for the materials used.
One example above all? The iconic Nutella glass, which instead of being thrown away has become part of the glass collections of thousands of households. Don’t deny it, you too have a Nutella glass in your cupboard, we know.
Use eco-labels.
When we talk about packaging, we always think about the packaging of products, almost never about the essential labels that must go on the packaging itself, an essential ingredient for proper shipping and delivery to the final recipient. To make your labels greener, you can use soy-based inks and eco-friendly adhesives, thus further reducing your environmental impact.
2. Optimise your returns management
Every merchant knows that the risk of returns lurks at any time of the year, even more so during the summer sales when consumers often make impulsive purchases or incited by the advantageous price, only to realise later that what they have purchased does not fit, is not needed or does not meet expectations.
Returns, however, not only represent a logistical challenge for merchants, but also have a considerable environmental impact. Return shipments, in fact, lead to increased carbon emissions and increased waste generation.
The first trick to optimise returns, therefore, is to reduce the risk of returns themselves. Here’s how:
Provide accurate and detailed descriptions of your products.
Providing detailed and accurate product descriptions, including materials, dimensions and features, helps your customers make more informed and informed choices, thereby reducing the likelihood that they will choose to return a product that does not meet their expectations.
Offer a size guide.
One of the most frequent causes of returns when it comes to fashion products is that the customer has bought the wrong size. For this reason, any self-respecting eCommerce should implement precise size guides for its products and information on the fit of the garments, so that the margin for error on the part of the customer can be minimised.
Let your customers do the talking.
A good strategy to encourage new potential customers to complete a purchase is to have them read the reviews of customers who have already bought the same product, so as to help them understand whether or not it is right for them and thus make better choices.
We also had the opportunity to talk to Andrea Carboni, CEO of eShoppingAdvisor, about the importance of reviews, read our interview.
To opter for a sustainable return policy.
In addition to having a clear and transparent return policy, it is good to offer your customers a return policy that incentivises greener choices, such as returning to Locker and Collection Points, for example by offering them more favourable economic conditions.
We will talk about Locker and Return Points shortly, but in the meantime, if you are looking for some practical tips to optimise your Return Policy, you can read our in-depth article.
3. Ship at Lockers and Pick-up Points
Direct home deliveries may be practical for customers, but they obviously have a high environmental impact. A sustainable alternative – and just as practical, if not more so – is therefore the so-called Out Of Home deliveries, i.e. at Locker and Collection Points (also for returns, as we saw earlier).
Here are some advantages, for you and your customers, of Out Of Home shipping, which will make your online summer sales more sustainable:
Reducing carbon emissions.
Consolidating several orders at a single delivery/pick-up point reduces the number of kilometres travelled by delivery vehicles, which would otherwise have to reach dozens if not hundreds of different addresses, thus significantly reducing carbon emissions.
Increased logistical efficiency.
By not having to serve end customers house to house, couriers can make fewer stops, thus improving efficiency, ensuring 100% success on the first delivery attempt, and also reducing delivery time and costs.
Greater convenience and flexibility for your customers.
Pick-up Points, and especially 24/7 Lockers, offer more flexible pick-up times than home deliveries, allowing your customers to collect their parcels where and when it is most convenient for them, without having to wait for the courier on their doorstep. As a result, you reduce the abandonment rate at checkout and increase your turnover.
What if we told you that integrating over 200,000 already active Pick-up Points and Lockers into your online store is so quick and easy that you would be in time to do it before the end of the 2024 online summer sales?
Connect with our Pick-up Points now for free, or contact us for more information on our shipping and return services.
