In early 2020, the world and life as we know it changed indefinitely. We closed our doors, locked ourselves down, sacrificed our livelihoods unlike most of us have ever experienced. Our businesses were challenged like never before and yet here we are in 2021, stronger than ever.
While the Internet and online sales have continued a steady growth over the years, in 2020, that changed almost overnight. Businesses which have been open for hundreds of years were forced to close their doors to customers. They were forced to adapt to a changing environment where they couldn't see customers in person. To a business that thrives on in person interaction, that can be a scary thing. Fortunately our retailers are some of the smartest and savviest people we know. And together, we were able to quickly adapt to the changing environment. We rolled out messaging and notices to keep customers better informed. We set up in store pick up and shipping options, allowing customers to safely shop even while stores were closed. From gift cards, to Zoom conferences, we were able to make the most out of our websites and connect with our customers even from home.
We've seen an unprecedented amount of growth this year, the demand for websites and connecting virtually is at an all-time high with no end in sight. Here is 2020 by the numbers:
Out of 552 sites running on our network, more than half of them are selling online. Our goal is to get that number even higher in 2021.
A few highlights from our top performing stores:
It was a banner year for online sales and everyone made huge leaps in 2020 but this is only scratching the surface. 2021 we will continue to push the boundaries of eCommerce, online sales, and making Thinkspace the best shopping platform on the Internet. We've made massive investments in our team and our products in 2020. A few key highlights and features we've rolled out in the past 12 months:
- Instagram and Facebook Shopping Feeds and API enhancements
- Advertisements and cross-promotions across the website and catalog
- Wish list sharing and public wish lists
- Easier control over item visibility
- A new and enhanced browsing experience previewing items while shopping
- Gift card support, both selling online and using them to purchase online
- Enhanced store hours
- Affirm financing over time
- PayPal Checkout
- Synchrony financing and luxury card support
- Bulk edit of items and categories
- Adjust item inventory levels
- Hide pricing and brands on custom listing pages
- Mobile vs desktop image widgets
- International support
- Now available in most countries across the world
- International currency support
- Advanced address, province and postal code support
- Advanced phone support with country codes
- Enhanced Shipping Rules and validation
- Order management and fulfillment
- Carts versus Orders
- Timeline
- Order details and admin
- Status and Approval options
This is only a small sampling of new features and enhancements we rolled in 2020 and we can't wait to roll out even more in 2021. A few things to look out for this year are:
- Advanced email support and HTML emails
- Avalara integration for auto calculating sales taxes
- Clearsale and other internal tools for combatting fraud
- More payment options:
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- Amazon
- Stripe
- Gift wrap options
- Advanced filtering and searching
- Currency conversions
- Product detail enhancements
- Related items
- Abandoned carts
- Advanced discount code options
- Appointment setting and customer management
- New ring designer options
- Advanced custom project support
- Cutting edge CAD/3D imagery and videos
This is another small sampling of new features and enhancements, we're moving quickly here and rolling out updates constantly across the system. We'll be sharing more as these things are released so you can take full advantage. Many of these will be included at no cost and you'll automatically have the choice whether to utilize or not.
Along with the system, our team has been growing and 2020 brought many new faces and talents to the team. We've added 7 new hires, from development to support, and we're excited to grow our team even more in 2021. If you know someone interested in joining please feel free to send their information our way or have them reach out.
We wanted to end by saying thank you, thank you to our customers and supporters. We couldn't do what we do here without your backing and support. We know it's been a challenging year, just know that we'll be working day and night with you to help ensure 2021 is the best year yet.
Happy New Year from the entire Thinkspace crew