Use these 10 tactics to level-up your ecommerce site and sell more during the holidays.
1. Offer competitive shipping times and rates.
With free two-day delivery becoming the norm thanks to Amazon, competitive shipping is just as important as having a competitive product. We understand not all businesses can offer free and fast shipping, but give your most generous shipping offers this time of year when it matters most. Try to at least offer free shipping at a certain order threshold, and ship your orders within 24-48 hours after they’re placed.
Clearly communicate shipping times sitewide and on your product display pages. Consider a sitewide banner with verbiage like “order by Dec. 13 for Christmas delivery,” “free 2-day shipping for orders over $100,” “free ground shipping on every order,” etc. As Christmas nears, create urgency with special shipping offers like “upgrade to two-day shipping to guarantee Christmas delivery.”
Include the approximate shipping timelines on your product pages. For example, you may include a note near the add-to-cart button that states, “usually ships within 24 hours,” “ships within 5 business days,” or whatever the case may be.
In the cart, provide an estimated delivery date that’s populated after the customer enters their shipping address.
All of the above will help foster confidence to drive a conversion.
See howRyanKirby.comincludes a shipping feature in the header area to ensure visibility.
2. Offer free and easy returns.
Your return process is just as important as shipping timelines and rates. Ensure your policy is easy to locate by including elements in the navigation and footer. You may even consider a special icon to communicate “free returns,” “satisfaction guarantee,” or “30-day money back guarantee.”
Also include your return policy on your product display page. Incorporate an icon or quick sentence right near the add-to-cart button.
To go the extra mile and alleviate all customer hesitation, extend your return policy just for the holidays.
Burris honors their no-questions-asked "Forever Warranty," meaning they will repair or replace your Burris optic if it is damaged or defective with no repair or replacement fee and no receipt needed.
3. Leverage a holiday specials landing page.
Create a page with all the details on your holiday specials, including any holiday exclusive products, discounts, and shipping offers. Use this landing page for ads, social posts, email promotions, and SMS programs.
4. Add a sitewide callout for holiday specials.
With increased ad traffic around your holiday efforts, you can expect your direct and organic traffic to increase as brand awareness increases. Link to your holiday specials landing page in a sitewide callout, making it easy for customers to find holiday promos no matter where they enter the site.
5. Promote your best gifts with holiday blogs.
Create blogs catered to each buyer type. Consider gift guides segmented by recipient, with gifts by age, gifts by price, and more.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- By price: gifts under $100 / gifts under $50 / gifts under $25
- By recipient: gifts for him / gifts for her / gifts for teens / gifts for toddlers / gifts for in-laws
- By interest: gifts for waterfowl hunters / gifts for turkey hunters / gifts for duck hunters / gifts for the grill master / gifts for home improvement
The sky’s the limit on blog topics! Think about your main buyer personas and cater your content to each one and the products that best suit their needs and interests.
6. Leverage search ads.
There’s no doubt that search traffic increases around the holidays as consumers search for the perfect gift for everyone on their list. Increase visibility on your holiday specials by adding site promos and site link extensions to your Google Ads.
7. Use social ads to remarket to potential customers.
The Meta Pixel makes it even easier to reach people who are most likely to convert. Set up retargeting ads to promote holiday specials to previous purchasers, your email subscribers, and people who have engaged with you on social media.
You can even retarget traffic from your holiday landing page with a custom offer. Leverage this opportunity for upsells, special offers, and messaging that communicates urgency - “order now for Christmas delivery” - to landing page visitors who have not yet converted.
8. Make the most of your promotions.
This is the time of year when customers hold out for an offer. However, you don’t want to come off as gimmicky. Use smart timing and make each offer truly special.
Consider offering a pre- Black Friday sale, a Black Friday push, and then one final offer before Christmas. Make each offer unique with a different value proposition for the customer.
For example, you may consider the following:
- Pre- Black Friday: Before offering your big discounts, consider value adds like “upgrade to the premium model at no extra cost” or “buy X and we will throw in Y for free.” You may even consider offering email subscribers early access to Black Friday deals, giving existing customers incentive to shop.
- Black Friday: Make this your best deal, but make it short and sweet to create urgency. You may extend your offer through Cyber Monday, but that’s it.
- Post- Black Friday: With your best deal behind you, help solve late shoppers’ problems. Offer expedited shipping at no extra cost, free gift wrapping, and bundle deals that allow shoppers to check off multiple names on their list at once.
9. Leverage email as the highest converting medium.
Email marketing is the highest converting medium. In fact, nearly 40% of people check their email up to five times a day, giving you multiple times to communicate.
Send an eblast as each holiday promotion launches, along with “final chance” emails before promos close. Also consider emails communicating your holidays shipping timelines and rates, promoting the last chance for Christmas delivery, and linking to blogs.
As always, be sure to segment your list and only send to those showing interest to protect your email health.
10. Offer virtual gift cards for last-minute shoppers
We’ve all been there - Christmas Eve rolls around and we realize we left someone off of our list. A virtual gift card can go a long way in a pinch. Offer an email-triggered gift card, or instant download.
Your customer will be glad you came through in a pinch, and you’ll have the opportunity to serve a new customer when the gift card is redeemed.
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