Wix Stores: Tips for Managing Your Business During COVID-19

Online stores face unique challenges during these difficult times. But challenges can sometimes lead us to new possibilities.

This article will offer some ideas on how to take care of the difficulties you may face. But we'll also try to show you how to take advantage of the opportunities - where possible. Let's dive in!

Keeping Your Inventory Stocked

If you make your own products, you may find that over time, it becomes more and more difficult to access raw materials. Let's look at a few ways merchants can deal with this situation:

Create items from the materials you have: Depending on the nature of your business, you may be able to vary your products to adapt to the new reality. Do you specialize in dresses with lace trim? Try using ribbons instead. It might not be as simple as that, but you get the general idea. Being flexible and working with what you've got might push you into creating new items that customers love.
Use dropshipping: Can't create your own items? Instead, you can source products with dropshipping suppliers, like Modalyst, to supplement your stock. Alternatively, you can use print on demand services like Printful or Printify to quickly create custom products.
Sell digital items: Wix Stores allows you to sell digital items, such as images, audio, and document files. If you normally sell a handicraft - macrame, for example - why not sell instructions on how to create a macrame wall-hanging that's delivered digitally. If you sell canvas paintings, try selling digital images. See if your business can translate to a digital product.
Teach a class: If selling products is temporarily not an option for you, why not use your expertise to teach what you know? Try any of the following:
- Sell access to content using the Pricing Plans app. Learn More
- Create a live stream with Wix Video. Learn More
- Use Facebook Live, Instagram TV or Periscope to broadcast your event on social media.
- Create a webinar. Learn More

Communicating with Customers

One of the most important things you can do in uncertain times is communicate clearly with your customers. Whether it's business as usual or not, build trust by letting customers know what's going on.

Check out these communication options:

Update your site: Keep your customers in the loop. Update your website with any changes to your products or shipping delays. Consider adding an FAQ section to your site to address customer concerns.
Chat: Live chat with customers using Wix Chat or on the Wix mobile app.
Send an email marketing campaign: Use email marketing to let customers know about changes to your business.
Blog: Write a blog article detailing what your business is doing.
Forum: Create a forum and actively respond to questions and concerns from your community.
Social Media posts: Update your followers on social media with any relevant information.
Update store policies: If you've changed store policies, make sure they're updated on your site.

Add a badge to your site:

Let your customers know that it's still business as usual, or communicate restrictions by adding a badge to your site. Learn more.

Canceling Orders and Providing Refunds

If you are unable to fulfill orders, make sure to cancel them. In addition, avoid chargebacks by handling refunds as quickly as possible. Make sure customers are updated so they know a refund is coming their way. Learn how to:

Updating Shipping Times

When you created your shipping rules, you may have entered an estimated shipping time. Since it's not possible to estimate shipping times right now, consider temporarily removing those times from your shipping rules.

Using Free Time Wisely

You may find that you have some free time on your hands. If you're like everyone else, you have a list of things you want to do but haven't gotten around to. Why not use this "enforced" free time - if you've got it - to do those store upgrades you've been thinking about. Your ecommerce business will be better than ever post-corona.

Here are a few features you may want to add to your online store:

Abandoned Cart Recovery: Send automated messages to customers who abandon their carts. Learn More
Analytics Dashboard: Optimize your business by using analytics data. Learn More
Tax Calculation with Avalara: Calculate tax automatically. Learn More
Multilingual Store: Let shoppers view your site and store in their own language. Learn More
Shipping Labels: Integrate one of our print label solutions. Learn More
Related Products: Encourage shoppers to browse more items by adding a related products gallery. Learn More

For more ideas, check out this list of Wix Stores advanced features.