Tips on Standing Out this Holiday Season
With the holiday upon us, many eCommerce businesses rely primarily on this time of year to make a large portion of their annual revenue. In 2021, online retail experienced a surge in growth bringing in over $1.2 trillion! This year is also expected to bring another increase in retail growth! According to BigCommerce, 57% of shoppers plan to do their shopping online, with only 43% heading in-store.
For online retailers, this equals increased pressure to stay ahead of the competition and draw consumers' heightened buying interest.
You may have focused heavily on Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect the time between now and Christmas!
Inside Tip: If your offers and ads were successful during BF & CM, extend the sale and campaign to keep it going a little longer!
In fact, there is a lot of opportunity to reach shoppers that may have visited your site, abandoned their cart, or viewed products during the last week. Now is the time to remind them about your brand, and the products they might have viewed. You can even sweeten the deal by offering an exclusive discount through email to encourage a purchase.
If you're ready to scale, even more, this guide will provide you with tips and insights on how to best set your eCommerce business up for success throughout the extent of this holiday shopping season with these tips!
Strategies & Offers that Stand Out
Simplify the Checkout Process
Delight Customers During the Holidays
Strategies & Offers That Stand Out
In the eCommerce landscape today there’s a lot of competition and noise that is vying for customer attention and ultimately a customer’s purchase.
Offering free shipping and holiday discounts tend to be the big incentives that drive more purchasing. However, in addition to these strategies, there are multiple other ways to drive conversions and stand out from the crowd.
Retarget & Upsell
Two of our top recommended ways to boost conversions and stand out are to upsell and retarget. It’s much easier to sell an existing customer an additional product or re-engage a recent browser than it is to drum up an entirely new customer.
When upselling, you are identifying what sells and what helps to sell. With this strategy, you must be careful not to overwhelm the shopper. Offering one or two upgrades or add-ons is more effective than offering a laundry list of options. Look at your most popular products and consider advertising another item that compliments or matches that item (this is especially great for apparel, jewelry, and home-good boutiques). You can also try upselling gift cards at check out, or smaller “stocking stuffer” items that consumers may add to their cart last minute.
Retargeting campaigns are great any time of year but especially effective during the holidays! With the increased site traffic from BF & CM, you can repurpose the analytics and use data to target customers that may have clicked on an ad or visited your site.
Retargeting helps you stand out from the crowd because you can use ads that display products that the customer may have previously viewed. This means they are more likely to pay attention and revisit your site to make a purchase rather than your ad getting lost in the sea of sales.
Go the Extra Mile
During the holiday season, do whatever it takes to go the extra mile for your customers. Offering exceptional customer service and experience is what is going to make you stand out from the other competitors.
One way to do this is by offering gift wrapping for a small additional fee or the option to include a holiday-themed greeting card. This is an excellent way to wow your customers, add value to your brand, and promote an upsell at checkout.
Simplify the Checkout Process
No customer wants a complicated shopping experience when they visit an online store. Simplify your customer journey from the first click to the completed purchase by condensing all your check-out-related forms to one page. According to one survey, 21% of online shoppers in the United States have abandoned their shopping carts due to a long, complicated checkout process.
Here are a few more tips to simplify the customer experience at checkout even further:
Add your discount codes to discount sites
Have a clear return policy
Enable guest checkout
Offer several payment options
By the time your customer reaches the checkout page, they have already made the decision that they want to make a purchase. By making the process as smooth as possible, you will increase the likelihood of a sale!
Delight Customers During the Holidays
Increasing sales during the holidays is great, but creating loyal customers should also be a goal this season. Focus on converting buyers into returning customers. A great way to do this while also building a great brand reputation is to surprise and delight customers during the holidays.
This can be accomplished in a variety of ways…
Returns and Exchanges
Ideally, the items you have returned following the holidays are minimal. However, undoubtedly there will be at least a few returns and exchanges. The important thing for you to do is build trust by making sure your return policy is fully transparent to shoppers. This is also an opportunity to show exceptional customer service and build your brand.
One survey found that 96% of consumers will go back to companies that made returns and exchanges as seamless as possible.
Create an Experience
You can level up your eCommerce game by creating an offline experience for your customers. One way to accomplish this is by ensuring a memorable packaging and unboxing experience. Create branded packaging slips, include a handwritten thank you note, and provide a QR code to a video related to the product or a thank you video! Strive to make an impression that will last long after the package has been opened.
That’s a Wrap
As consumers hunt for the perfect gift this holiday season, focus on creating an online shopping experience that entices them and provides a smooth path to purchase.
By creating offers that stand out, simplifying the checkout process, and delighting your customers, you will be on track to have a successful holiday season and retain customer loyalty into the new year!
