Are you Prepared for the Holiday Shopping Season?

Are you Prepared for the Holiday Shopping Season?

The holiday season is quickly approaching. There are only 82 days left until Christmas! Some shoppers have already begun making their holiday purchase. Do you have your Holiday Marketing Strategy in Place?

Every year, millions of Americans are standing by, ready to swipe their credit cards and it’s vital that you’re well prepared in advance. In 2017, $108.18 billion dollars were spent online.

PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON!

During November, there are (3) days dedicated to holiday spending. Purchase peak dramatically from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. This period alone will make up approximately 40% of the sales total.

Thanksgiving Eve – November 22^nd
Black Friday – November 23^rd
Small Business Saturday – November 24^th
Cyber Monday – December 1^st

Mobile Sales are expected to be 50% of the Total

Mobile commerce is growing continuously. Just about every procrastinator is banking on it’s continued success. Shoppers are growing tired of the long Black Friday retail lines and many are opting to spend more quality holiday time with family and friends. So, many will sneak in a few moments to make online purchases, right from their phones and tablets.

Preparation Tips

Make sure you can be easily found online! Last year, ecommerce sales made up 60% of sales, with 23% of the sales coming from mobile devices, while brick and mortar stores fell by approximately 14%. The brick and mortar shopping decline is evident with places like ToysRUs. The spike in online shopping should be an incentive for you to get your website up and running, to ensure you’re prepared for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

If you haven’t already, the time is NOW to create your online presence! Ecommerce sales jumped 18% in 2017, marking a great retail comeback.

If you’re already online, give your site the once-over to ensure it’s ready for the busy holiday shopping season to come. Is the design functional? Are you using effective landing pages?

Once your site is ready, be sure to keep these in mind:

Make sure your mobile site loads quickly.
Make sure your mobile site is secure.
Request reviews before the season starts.
Offer free shipping
Offer gift cards.

(Gift cards are the second most popular gift, next to clothing. More than $720 billion is spent on gift cards annually. It’s a no brainer these should be in your arsenal!)

Boost Sales w/ paid search & email campaigns. 2017’s biggest revenue drivers for the holiday shopping season were paid search & email campaigns. According to Adobe, organic and paid search were responsible for bringing in the most revenue, with searching driving in 44.8% of all line holiday sales visits – (paid search at 23.5%, organic search at 21.3%)

With these statistics, it would be crazy to miss this vital opportunity to connect with your customers.

Email is also a great diver for holiday revenue, making up 20% of online holiday site visits.

Print ads and direct mail are still viable options too. True enough, the digital age has caused a decline in print advertising. However, Print Marketing is still an effective way of establishing your brand authority and communicating with your target audience. Though circulations are down, in most cases this means those reached are more engaged, which is most desirable. The biggest challenge here is ensuring your content is engaging and effective, inspiring readers to reflect longer.

Finally, believe it or not, there are those that still enjoy receiving mail in their mailboxes. Astonishing, right?! Holiday cards are a great way to peek interest and direct potential or returning customers back to your company for more shopping.

Time to Reflect:

What product or service do I have that puts my business in demand?
What makes me unique?
Will customers want to spend their dollars with me?

Answer these questions and build a marketing campaign around them. Maybe you have the best designs in town. Perhaps your sweet treats are desired year-round. Or, maybe your customer service is amazing, and you resolve customer issues quickly. Build your campaign around whatever draws them into your business and makes you the stand out!

With proper preparation, new sales & repeat customers are just around the corner.

Download here in PDF format.

We’d love your feedback. Please let us know about your current holiday marketing plans, what has worked for you in the past or if this post has provided you any insight.