Mince pies have hit the supermarket shelves, which means we are well and truly into the lead up to Christmas. For online retailers, holiday strategies are being implemented in preparation for what is usually the busiest shopping period of the year.
While there is a lot of talk about the ‘holiday period’, what does this timeline actually encompass? While once it was just the lead up to Christmas and a wild December, now we know that present buying starts as early as October and peaks in November during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Click Frenzy. Yet in the excitement of pre-Christmas shopping events, online retailers shouldn’t forget about the all-important post-Christmas frenzy of Boxing Day.
This is why as businesses begin to ramp up in time for the busiest retail season of the year, the post-Christmas period should not be overlooked.
As an Aussie tradition, Boxing Day has always been a huge event instore and online. Last year, Australia post recorded a 20% decline in foot traffic, but online purchases grew 24%.
Research from PayPal also found that a quarter of Aussie shoppers were planning on shopping online during the Boxing Day sales with 70% adding that shopping online was less stressful.
This is why it’s vital for those selling online to leverage this increase in online shopper buying behaviour and ensure your strategy matches the expectations of consumers.
But do not fear, ChannelAdvisor is here! Here are my four top tips for gaining traction and being able to make your mark this year:
1 – Decide on what kind of deal you are going to run. Buyers love (and expect) a bargain which means you need to participate to get noticed. You don’t want to disappoint. Whether it’s 50% off or 5% off, make sure your offer is enough to keep your customer happy and convince them to add to cart now. This means looking at the competition and ensuring your product and price offering is enough to entice.
2 – Promote, promote, promote! When it comes to big sales events, there is a lot of competing noise. Make sure customers are able to see what you have on offer. Whether that is running a Promoted Listing on eBay, a banner on Catch or Sponsored Listings on Amazon, get your products visible. You want shoppers to know that they can’t miss out on the opportunity.
3 – Stock up! Count your stock and check it twice, you don’t want to get caught short-handed on your most popular products during this time.
4 – Make sure your staffing situation is ramped up. With more orders comes more items to pick and pack. You don’t want late shipment notices simply because you can’t keep up with demand. This could impact your online seller rating. Be sure you are prepared to get those orders out on time. Also, consider staffing when it comes to customer service and IT to ensure smooth running over this period. Boxing Day sales are an excellent time to attract new customers and ensure loyalty with existing customers. Whether it’s not getting a response to a query on social media or receiving a product late, this will impact the experience a shopper has with your brand and could have lasting consequences.
It’s not too late to implement your holiday strategy and these four steps are a fantastic starting point.
Still unsure of what you could be doing to help get you those extra sales before 2019 comes to an end? ChannelAdvisor is here to help should you need a hand with your strategy coming into this exciting time of year.
