The holidays are coming up, and it proves to be a lucrative part of the year, especially for retail businesses. However, this seasonal rise in demand can be challenging for retailers unequipped with the staff and resources to handle such pressure. In fact, 87% of retailers in the U.S. cite talent shortages as a major hindrance to their operations and business growth in 2023. With the increase of more people shopping online, online retailers also face the same staffing and operational pressures that brick-and-mortar stores do. Luckily, businesses these days are turning to outsourcing e-commerce tasks to relieve such pressures. Whether your storefront is physical or digital, outsourcing e-commerce tasks provides the scalable support necessary to navigate peak season stress. 

Outsourcing e-commerce tasks can be beneficial to businesses that offer online shopping and delivery options, as many support tasks can be delegated to a dedicated offshore team. By outsourcing retail tasks, businesses are better equipped to tackle operational challenges that crop up during this time of year, such as:  

  • Limited Headcount: Increased holiday demand can overburden small teams. Hiring additional staff for just a short period can often be impractical in the long run as well. It may also compromise the quality of your service, with the time and expenses related to training temporary staff often going to waste.  
  • Lack of Oversight: When hiring temporary workers, the ratio between managers and staff often hits an imbalance, making it hard to manage. This can create delays and limit your store’s focus on customer service.  
  • Traffic Surges: High holiday traffic can often strain your e-commerce website and their social media channels, causing slow load times or outages. This leads to lost sales and frustrated customers. Ensuring a seamless experience can be difficult for smaller teams with too many platforms to manage.  
  • Inventory and Stock Management: Demand for popular items can skyrocket, making it harder to keep track of necessary inventory levels. Since stock orders need to be updated and monitored in real-time to avoid stockouts or overstocking, this can cause pressure for smaller teams. 
  • Shipping and Fulfillment Delays: Increased order volumes can not only overwhelm your own team, but manufacturers and shipping partners as well. That in mind, without proper forecasting, this could lead to delays that can impact customer satisfaction. 
  • Customer Support Overload: The influx of customer inquiries can also become overwhelming for support teams, leading to delayed response times and higher error rates This can even extend beyond the holiday season, when returns and refunds are at their peak.

To maintain a top-tier customer experience, many retailers partner with outsourcing providers for flexible, cost-effective solutions that enhance efficiency and reliability when they need it most. 

How Outsourcing E-Commerce Tasks Drives Success: 

Outsourcing enables online retailers to handle holiday peaks and ongoing demands efficiently for retail tasks. Here are distinct ways where outsourcing can set up your online retail business for success: 

1. Cost Efficiency 

Outsourcing e-commerce tasks can help reduce expenses related to hiring and training temporary employees for the holiday rush. By outsourcing a team specific to e-commerce tasks like inventory management, order processing, and customer service, you can save up to 70% on labor costs, which can be reinvested into other areas of your retail firm.   

2. Enhanced Customer Support and Responsiveness 

Outsourcing customer service provides immediate access to trained agents adept at managing high-volume periods. These teams can handle surges in online inquiries about product information, order status, and returns, ensuring quick and consistent responses. By having a dedicated team available for live chat, email, or phone support, you can ensure quicker response times and consistent support quality all around.  

3. Focus on Core Strategic Activities 

By outsourcing order processing and support functions like logistics, fulfillment, and customer service, you can refocus on high-impact areas like product innovation, marketing, and business strategy. This allows your team to put focus back on expanding product lines or refining user experiences, which are pivotal for long-term growth.  

4. Access to Specialized Expertise and Technology 

Outsourcing e-commerce through reliable partners allows you access to experts in retail tasks who can handle everything from inventory systems to customer support software. Plus, they often have access to tools and technology that might be too expensive to invest in on your own. This means you get the benefits of specialized skills and advanced tech without the hassle, helping your business run more smoothly and keep up with the latest trends. 

5. Improved Logistics and Inventory Management 

Ecommerce outsourced logistics can manage end-to-end logistics, from warehouse fulfillment to last-mile delivery, ensuring that customers receive their orders promptly and accurately. Additionally, a dedicated outsourced team can optimize inventory control, reducing the likelihood of stockouts and ensuring popular products are available specifically for the holiday rush.  

Conclusion 

By outsourcing e-commerce tasks, businesses can stay agile and manage peak seasons effectively, ensuring seamless operations, enhanced customer experience, and optimized costs — all of which are critical to achieving a competitive edge in today’s online market. 

Looking for a trusted provider for outsourcing e-commerce functions like customer service, order processing, and the like? Partner with FGC+ to outsource e-commerce tasks for a seamless, end-to-end experience. Learn more about our complete suite of services at www.fgcplus.com/solutions.