5 Strategies to Boost ECommerce Sales This Holiday Season

As a retailer, you must place a heightened emphasis on preparing for the holiday season—the survival of your enterprise may depend on it.

Even consumers know that retailers make most of their money on the holidays—although they’re more interested in the deep discounts that arrive in November and December.

Continuing its upward trend, analysts forecast that holiday sales will expand by nearly 5%, according to a Deloitte study. Small business owners must make the most of this critical time of the year to help their enterprises grow.

The following are five strategies for boosting e-commerce sales during the holiday season.

1. Cross-Selling Is Your Friend

Amazon’s cross-selling algorithm generates 35% of the retail giant’s revenue, according to McKinsey & Company business consulting. Cross-selling is an essential tactic for boosting your revenue.

It’s essential, however, that you program your shopping cart to make relevant suggestions. You don’t want your shopping cart to make random suggestions and promote unrelated goods. The suggestions should relate to the original purchase and solve a problem for the customer.

2. Everybody Loves a Party!

You can boost the effectiveness of your holiday marketing by tying your advertising to the season with an online event. If possible, partner with a noncompeting business that strengthens the value of your promotion. This way, you can create more value for your customers, and both you and your partner can build your customer bases.

You can increase the impact of your online event by encouraging consumers to share hashtags about their experience. Hashtag promotion is an especially effective tactic for engaging millennial consumers, who love sharing them with photos on social media.

3. ‘Tis the Season

Use your social media assets wisely during the holidays by sharing holiday-inspired images with your audience. In some instances, you’ll have to get creative to find ways to tie your offerings into the holiday season.

This tactic isn’t limited to Christmas. You can use it year-round. To find more opportunities to help your customers celebrate, think about the holidays that are relevant to your ideal customer. Also, pay attention to what they’re talking about on social media.

You can also get creative by hosting seasonal promotions that are relevant exclusively to your industry. If you sell artisan baked goods, for instance, you can host a special promotion for your confectionery loving customers on October 14 during National Dessert Day.

4. Get Ready to Rumble

Over 50% of consumers research and plan their Christmas shopping in October, according to the National Retail Federation. Today, consumers buy from whoever makes it the most convenient. Use this knowledge to your advantage by making sure you always have inventory on hand and offering easy returns and exchanges.

You should also stay informed about the latest trends to make sure you always stock goods that your customers want. By staying ahead of consumer trends, you’ll stand out as a retail leader.

5. Shore Up Your Backend

Today, there’s a tech tool for every budget. Services such as PayPal and Shopify, for example, offer easy ways for you to integrate your e-commerce presence into nearly any digital asset. Using e-commerce tools boosts your revenue, especially during increasingly popular Cyber Monday.

Cyber Monday is especially crucial for retailers since the increase in online shopping has made it equally as popular as its brick-and-mortar counterpart Black Friday.

Finally, make sure your website functions correctly. Nothing costs you sales faster than a poorly performing website. Check your shopping cart on every device possible, including smartphones, tablets and laptops.

For many small online retailers, the holidays are the most crucial season of the year. Accordingly, it’s essential to build your reputation and know your potential buyers well before the holiday season kicks off.

For instance, over 50% of surveyed Generation Z consumers express that they make buying decisions based on a brand’s social media reputation. Accordingly, you’ll want to build your online reputation well before the holiday season if your offering caters to Generation Z buyers.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money to generate revenue. Instead, develop an effective marketing plan that will leverage holidays to compel your ideal consumer to make a purchase.

Throughout the year, you should do everything possible to build your digital brand. Furthermore, make sure that you sell exceptional merchandise and provide equally impeccable customer service.

In today’s highly competitive business environment, customers expect nothing less than near perfection. It’s difficult to compete with the world’s big-box retailers, but you can carve out your online niche by offering the best value-added service possible.