McVan Blog

Cart abandonment is one of the most frustrating conversion issues for online retailers. According to a Baymard Institute study, at least two-thirds of shoppers abandon their shopping carts prior to purchase.

Unfortunately, this is as much of an issue for online religious retailers as it is for sellers in other industries. Luckily, there are some simple ways to combat abandoned cart and increase completed ecommerce sales.

The state of the religious gift shop industry is ever changing. As with all retailers, it depends on the current market climate, consumer’s discretionary spending, and external competition. The outlook for gift shop retailers is generally bright, though many will have to continue to be diligent and develop a keen understanding of both internal and external factors that will shape the industry today and in the future.

As the season of gift giving ramps up, displaying your strongest sellers is a wise move and can mean higher sales. For people of faith, Easter is a celebration on par with Christmas, and many appreciate tokens of their faith as gifts. A child’s First Communion and Confirmation are other important days that are often celebrated with gifts. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, two days that often stump the gift giver, are perfect opportunities to give religious jewelry.

Any retail establishment will eventually encounter dissatisfied customers, but religious jewelry retailers have several extra considerations since they’re dealing in high-value commodities. As a relgious jewelry retailer, it’s highly likely you sell several different brands, meaning you’re juggling long-term business relationships with different distributors. This is only half the battle when it comes to unhappy customers.

While we here at McVan pride ourselves on being the best supplier of wholesale religious products, such as gifts, jewelry and memorabilia. We do understand that there are other manufacturers out there that do quality work as well. We’re never shy about telling our customers – or potential customers – about these other makers of religious goods when we’re asked, because like we said, we’re all in this business together. And certainly if our customers or potential customers can’t find the product that they’re looking for from us, we want them to be able to find it from someone else – it’s only right.

Whether you're an established religious retailer or you're just getting your start in this rewarding industry, you probably understand the importance of using Facebook and other social media channels to point prospective customers toward your shop. But simply maintaining a Facebook page isn't going to reel in the leads you seek. You need to take advantage of another powerful piece of the Facebook puzzle -- namely, its advertising platform.

In retail, promoting seasonal religious gift deals can make a huge difference in your company’s profit over the course of the year. It’s important to think about seasonal promotions that pertain to holidays like Easter and Christmas, but it’s equally important to include revolving hallmarks in peoples’ lives like baptisms, first communions and confirmations.