Let’s start with some cool statistics to set the stage for customer engagement. The numbers are hard hitting. Online sales clearly exceeded offline sales as nicely explained here. 25% more people did not stand in early morning lines.  Obviously the availability of blockbuster deals is not an issue anymore. Good in a way but kind of takes some fun and thrill out of Black Friday.

More interestingly, 40% of online sales were dominated by Amazon. Wal-Mart and others are catching up slowly of course. The prediction is that the big retailers will outperform small and smaller retailers which is a bummer. And lastly all of this pales in comparison to what happens in China. The US thanksgiving TOTAL 4 day online sales are only about 10-15% of online sales on Singles Day!!

Here are some lessons I took away for creating deeper customer engagement:

Ecosystem is important

As we are learning from Amazon, eCommerce is not just transactions and volume, Its about stickiness. With Prime, affiliate marketing, and more products by more marketplace vendors, the ecosystem dwarfs that of other retailers. Consider the added advantages such as eBooks, Amazon video and so on. The question every retailer needs to start asking is very simple. What’s our ecosystem game? And how do we get started?

Mobile is beyond transactions

The steep rise in online sales means that more customers are transacting via mobile phones and tablets. Merely optimizing your mobile site or app does not help. Features such as re-targeting to remind shoppers of products they’ve looked at before, searching local inventory, and allowing social validation and interaction are crucial. In addition, the broad catalog sales approach must give way to more personalized shopping. For this, customer engagement on wishlists or social causes are good methods.

Customers need help planning

A few customers know exactly what they want and go for it. But many are impulsive shoppers. While we know that returns are expensive, online returns are even more expensive. Helping customers set goals, analyze their needs, figure out their gifting etc. is commercially smart. On the one hand, such customer engagement efforts will reduce buyer’s remorse. Even better, customers will avoid the feeling that they somehow lost out on the deals party. It will also help tie your efforts to a noble cause.

Digital commerce is truly here and gaining fast. What we need now is to reinvent our channels for true customer engagement.