Christmas is just a few weeks away and the Christmas bells have already started ringing. So now it is the most important time for you to think about what to do in these upcoming weeks. Christmas is one of the busiest and most profitable times for ecommerce retail businesses. From Halloween to New Year’s Eve is when most ecommerce stores make half or more of their annual revenue.
We all know that after the Coronavirus pandemic the competition for ecommerce sales is steeper than ever this year. ecommerce has become the first priority for buyers instead of physical stores for holiday gifting. There are so many brands competing to bring in more Christmas sales along with a higher volume of customers ordering online impacting factors such as bounce rate, shipping times, and returns. It becomes imperative for brands to deliver standout experiences that keep customers onsite, offer unforgettable buying experiences and result in huge conversions.
Thus, if you don’t want to sweat on these shivering days during the Christmas season, then continue reading this article. In this article, we will go through 12 ways to make your store ready for Christmas.
- Gift Personalization
- Special Offers For Christmas
- Category Pages
- Product Bundles
- Shipping & Returns
- Overlay Pop-Up
- Christmas Calendar
- Social Proof & Urgency
- Coupon Codes
- Pop-Up Banners
- Top 100 Gift List
- Shoppable Content
We, Will, Discuss Each Of These Points In Detail.
1. Personalization Of Gifts Based On Gift Recipient
During Christmas, generally, the customers browse gifts for their kith and kin, so the Product Recommendation Strategy in your store shouldn’t be necessarily be personalized at this time. Christmas is an occasion in which the customers are wandering for something special, exquisite products which make them feel delighted. You can showcase your new range of products suitable for gifting or can display what other customers have viewed or purchased during the holiday season. It can create a sense of social validation and also increase FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
You can use filters based on categories, product tagging, prices, or whatever filter is suitable for your store. Show as many recommendations as possible but in a good UI way.
For e.g. you can create one recommendation slot that caters to the gift recipient i.e. if the user is looking for a gift for parents it makes sense to exclude gift ideas geared towards spouses/friends/life partners.
By filtering recommendations based on the gift recipient you are not just saving shoppers’ time browsing irrelevant products but also guiding them to the right section for your store. It reduces the chances of bouncing to another website.
2. Showcase Your Christmas Offers On HomePage
While wandering on the web for a Christmas, we always an irresistible offer to inspire a great idea. Similarly, at Christmas time, retailers roll out the red carpet while promoting their products to the buyers.
The homepage is the most obvious and best page to display the best Christmas offers. It will make sure that the visitors see them while reaching your site.
3. Increase Category Pages Space With In-Stock Products
If you want to use Category pages effectively don’t waste any space. There is limited space on this page and you must use it wisely.
We suggest that don’t display “out-of-stock” products or move them to the end of the page. This is very important for a better UX as a customer will get demotivated seeing pages of out-of-stock products.
The worse case is when a customer lands on the Category page through an ad and whatever product(s) was promoted in the ad are now out of stock. It is obvious that traffic will bounce. Another use of the Category page is promoting those products which are more likely to convert and can increase conversion rate, and shifting your most purchased or reviewed products to the top of the page. In this way, you are not just promoting products by which customers attract most but also increasing social proof by showing prospective buyers have tried and tested your products.
If you have a special category for gifts highlight that as well. They can offer these benefits:
- Most Popular Products: Give trust and social validation
- Most Relevant Products: Saves time for fast-buying or last-minute buyers
- High Margin Products: Offers the most bang for your buck
- High-Quality Products: Results in happier shoppers and gift receivers
4. Utilize Product Bundles For Package Deals
A quick “add to cart” button can even drive the latest of last-minute buyers. This is not just useful to attract last-minute shoppers but also makes it easier for any customer to increase order value while they browse the products.
For. e.g. Suppose you are an online fashion retailer selling handbags and if you display a bundle of “complete the look” products (e.g. a keychain and a wallet) on a PDP then the customer will be able to immediately add it by clicking on a button and without having to visit each individual PDP. That way you are removing an additional barrier to purchase while adding a new opportunity to drive higher AOV.
As a bonus perk, you can even offer a discount for purchasing the entire bundle of products.
5. Shipping & Returns
There are some things which are essential for your customers to know while browsing your store – for e.g. the last possible date to order and receive the products before Christmas.
Make it impossible for your customers to miss their last chance to order from your store. You can display these messages on multiple pages of your site, as a popup, you can also create an announcement bar with this message located above the header.
Delivering a product before Christmas can be a persuasion for your last-minute buyers who will buy from your store instead of competitors.
6. Use Overlay Pop-up For Communicating Shipping Delays
As we mentioned above, an alternative way to remain transparent with your customers is using an overlay pop-up to let customers know any current shipping timelines or delays.
If the customer has missed the timeline to receive the order before Christmas or shipping time is prolonged, then you must display this information in an overlay-pop-up. It will ensure that customers see this information and the expectations are set before they make an order.
OR Display a Homepage Banner with a Shipping Message
You can also create a Banner in which you don’t need to show the exact shipping last date before but will create a timer and encourage customers to order ASAP. This can create FOMO among customers.
7. Use Fun Virtual Christmas Calendar To Increase Product Discovery
Nothing attracts more customers during Christmas than an engaging advent calendar that offers them a new gift every day. Brands can even use them onsite to add a bit of fun to site navigation and increase product discovery.
You can motivate your customers to browse and shop for new products by launching a virtual advent calendar. The customers will interact with a new item every day by this calendar. It adds a touch of gamification to their site experience and also helps you drive more conversion and sales in the process.
8. Create Urgency And Social Proof In Messaging To Drive Christmas Sales
Customers always trust the decisions and opinions of other customers than their own. You can use this tactic by displaying a message along with your products showing how many other customers have bought that product within a time frame (like the same day or within the last hour).
You can also display a live feed of what other users are viewing and communicating and how many products are left in the stock. This will create urgently and invoke interest in customers which results in faster routes to checkout.
9. Display Coupon Codes On Homepage To Increase Saving & Sales
There are many retailers who prefer to allow only a certain segment of customers to avail of coupon codes such as with affinities to discounts, or loyal customers).
If you are promoting a Christmas offer by a coupon code to all of your shoppers and consider them displaying on the homepage banner so that will be the first thing a visitor will see on your site.
10. Display A Pop-up Banner For Enticing Holiday Discounts
Discount is another attractive point to do shopping in the Christmas season. Normally, all retailers offer some form of a discount during Christmas.
What matters is how you are displaying this discount which can let you stand out from other brands. One way to do this is by using a variation of the traditional pop-up.
Instead of traditional pop-ups, pop-up banners are a great way to promote holiday discounts in the online store. You can place time either at the top of the page or move with the customers as they navigate the page.
11. Suggestions Through Top 100 Gift List Inspire Indecisive Gift Rivers
Many times the customer comes to the shop to store but doesn’t have any clue what should they buy as a gift for themselves or for their loved ones. You can guide them towards the perfect gift, display a round-up of your most popular/most reviewed products to give customers a vast choice of gift ideas to choose from. Obviously, you can also curate the number of items you show.
12. Feature Authentic Content Of Your Products
As per a study, 80% of customers say that they are more likely to purchase a product from an ecommerce store if the website serves user-generated content in the form of photos and videos. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of the buyers say they are more likely to buy from an online store if the brand makes it easy to “click-to-buy” from an inspirational image.
The content generated by your own customers is not just authentic but also encourages people to buy. Adding a shoppable element to freely available content can make it even more impactful on your ecommerce sales.
Wrapping Up
The Christmas season is the most competitive time of the year in the whole retail industry along with ecommerce. You must keep your store ready for your customers to make the most out of it. At this time, you have more competition with yourself than your competitors. Follow the above points to make your store ready. At Emizentech, the best ecommerce development company, which can develop next-level ecommerce stores from scratch, provide maintenance services, make your store ready for holidays & festivals, and do much more. Let us know your requirements.
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