Believe it or not, the holiday season is approaching fast. Online businesses are frantically working behind the scenes to prepare for the upcoming shopping frenzy. Or at least they should be.
After all, there are going to be hundreds or thousands of holiday shoppers flocking to their favorite websites. And you don’t want to be among those caught off guard during the busy holiday shopping season, right?
So, how does one prepare for what is undoubtedly the most hectic and demanding time of the year?
Following are a few actionable eCommerce tips that will help you make a killing during the upcoming festivities!
Organize Your Inventory
A crucial part of running a business is knowing what inventory you have on hand. If you don’t have accurate info about your inventory levels, you run the risk of selling out before the holidays and missing out on a lot of potential revenue.
So how do you determine the number of products you need to keep in stock for the coming holiday season? Start by figuring out what your seasonal demand looks like.
By looking at the past holiday demand and analyzing your sales trends, you’ll be able to determine which items sold the most and which generated the most profits.
Also, make sure to check when sales shot up and whether you ran out of inventory during the previous seasons.
Test Your Site’s Holiday Readiness
Once you’ve determined your inventory needs for the holiday season, it’s time to start thinking about your website’s holiday readiness.
Is your site prepared for a holiday rush? Will it be able to handle the surge of traffic?
You don’t want to lose sales because your site is down or can’t process credit card payments.
There are several things you can do to prepare your site for the holiday season. First of all, you should contact your web host to ensure that the influx of traffic isn’t going to cause your website to crash. You should also make sure to:
- Upgrade the security software
- Test the checkout and payment processes
- Check your site’s search functions
- Optimize for mobile
Utilize eCommerce Email Marketing
eCommerce email marketing is a great way to boost traffic, increase conversions, and dramatically improve your ROI during the holiday season.
If you have an email list with warmed-up leads, it is your best bet to garner sales and build a loyal fan base.
To maximize the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns, I suggest using an email automation software that will not only allow you to create a targeted and personalized message for each subscriber but will also automate follow-ups to nurture those customers into making a purchase.
Furthermore, these platforms offer detailed analytics and conversion tracking capabilities, which allows you to measure important metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), open rates, unsubscribe rates, etc.
So, if you are like me and like working on your CTR calculation to see what works and what doesn’t, then email automation is the right choice for you.
Create Holiday-Specific Landing Pages
Creating holiday-themed landing pages and content is a sure-fire way to boost engagement and drive visitors to your site.
A special landing page filled with festive offers and discounts will allow you to introduce all your holiday-hot-sales items and delight customers.
By doing so, you will also capitalize on the SEO front when people start searching for trending keywords such as holiday shopping, Christmas discounts, etc.
When creating your landing page, make sure you carefully consider the themes and colors as they should reflect your brand and personality, in addition to capturing the holiday spirit.
You should also consider offering competitive delivery options and around-the-clock customer service (you can use chatbots if you don’t have the resources to hire extra people) to further incentivize your audience to buy from your website.
Final Thoughts
The holiday season for online businesses does not start in November. It starts much earlier, long before people even start thinking about gift shopping.
Ideally, you should start preparing for the holiday season months in advance. By the time November rolls around, you should have a list of promotions and deals, a fully stocked inventory, and a functional site ready to take the influx of traffic coming your way.
Once you have everything in place, you can start promoting your products and website via eCommerce email marketing, social media ads, and other outlets.
In the end, I hope you will at least consider implementing these tried and tested eCommerce tips when you plan your holiday marketing strategy this year.
Just be sure to start early and you’ll be reaping the benefits of your work soon enough.
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