November and December might be the most important months of the year to grab the customer’s attention. Starting off with Black Friday and immediately after is when people start planning their Christmas decorating and more importantly – gift purchases. Below are our top eight tips for how to optimize Christmas sales, stand out from competitors, and keep customer's attention and loyalty through the holiday season and beyond.
According to the Voyado Index, men are more likely to make fewer, larger purchases. So, when optimizing Christmas sales, don’t inundate them with mass emails. Take advantage of when they do come to the store and try to sell add-ons or matching items. Women tend to buy often for smaller amounts, perhaps you might want to try an advent calendar with a new offer each day or week to keep their engagement levels high?
The time leading up to Christmas is not the time to send general emails. With the help of Voyado, you can target your customers with exactly what they’re looking for. Did they just buy a new house? How old are their children? What’s their purchasing power? Are they likely to buy many less expensive gifts or one big one? Create segments for each and include product recommendations that suit them best.
All the sales and discounts might encourage customers to also splurge a little bit on themselves. Take advantage of this in your marketing with some tempting “treat yourself” offers.
When do customers need to order their items for them to arrive before Christmas? Do you offer expedited shipping? Perhaps send an email a few days before Christmas to promote this and grab the last-minute shopper’s attention that would have normally gone into a physical store. Use countdowns for special offers or deadlines for ordering to receive items in time for Christmas.
Make sure your customers who shop often are seen. Give them early access to your post Christmas sale or give them the opportunity to buy a limited edition of a collection.
Think about your messaging and see what works best. Mentioning a discount (Everything 20% off!) or being more mysterious (An exclusive preview of our sale inside…) Other things to A/B test is content, send times, and offer types.
You already know the importance of standing out from your competitors and during no time is this more important than leading up to the holidays, and the following Christmas sales. Make sure you’re the place they choose for their shopping by offering incentives such as a free gift when you spend a certain amount, 3 for 2 or free shipping. Extended return policies are usually appreciated around Christmas. As there are so many holidays in the calendar, sending items back can take longer than usual and customers appreciate the extra time to think on whether they want to keep their gifts.
You will probably notice an increase in email signups over the holidays, especially if you run offers or competitions. Make sure you keep these new members engaged throughout the year and minimize drop-offs in January with a good onboarding. Take a step back after the holidays to minimize unsubscribes and make sure the content you do send out is personalized to prove that you’re valuable to the customers all year.
Gift exchanges and returns are inevitable after the holidays but they are expensive for your company and bad for the environment. Have a strategy in place before holidays on how to make sure your customers return as little as possible.
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