Tips for Boosting Post-Holiday E-Commerce Sales
Deloitte estimated that online holiday spending will outpace in-store holiday spending in 2017—estimating that online holiday spending will account for 51 percent of the average shopper’s holiday shopping budget, exceeding average in-store shopping budgets for the first time. This is a huge step forward for e-commerce business owners, and they should take advantage of this positive trend long after the holiday rush. Here are tips for boosting your post-holiday e-commerce sales. Don't forget that finding further help can be done through SEO marketing companies, like BlueSwitch!
Target the Changes People Seek in the New Year
Once the new year hits, consumers are ready to cash in on their resolutions and will seek out opportunities and products that will help them meet their goals. And typically, New Year’s resolutions are all about self-improvement and taking steps toward a better and more fulfilling life. Here’s what consumers want to spend their money on at the beginning of the year:
Apps, platforms, and products that will help them stay organized and more productive (e.g., daily planners, to-do list apps, project management tools).
Health-enhancing services and products such as dietary supplements, gym memberships, and exercise equipment.
Cleaning products and household items that encourage cleanliness and organization in the household.
Any other item that facilitates safety or self-improvement such as self-help seminars, books, and alarm systems.
Start Another Sale Right Away
If you sold a lot of gift cards during the holiday rush, then you’ll want to get your customers to use them on your site as soon as possible. One of the best ways to do this is to offer a “winter sale” or a “New Year’s sale” to get new customers interested. Once they visit your site, they’re likely to spend more than the pre-determined value of their gift cards, leading to larger revenue gains for your e-commerce business and potentially a large new batch of customers.
Host a Fun Event or Contest
Hosting a fun online event or contest is a great way to keep your customers and prospects engaged after the holiday rush. For example, you can have participants submit photos related to the holidays (such as the best present they received or gifted) on social media and then offer a $100 gift card or e-commerce store credit to the winner, which would be the person whose photo submission receives the most likes and shares on social media. It’s a great way to engage your online audience, expand the reach of your brand, and get people to spend money in your online store.
Launch a New Product
The key to boosting post-holiday e-commerce sales is to stay relevant after the holiday rush dies down. Offering a new product during this time is the best way to remain front-and-center of your customers’ attention. While other e-commerce businesses are restocking their inventories, and recovering from the holiday rush, you can stay ahead of the competition by offering something new, interesting, valuable, and timely. If your new product or service is also something consumers are seeking in the new year (mentioned above), your efforts are even more likely to succeed and generate sales. As long as they're looking for your product, then using SEO to your advantage makes a difference. SEO marketing companies are going to make sure that you reach all potential customers searching online.
Offer More Competitive Discounts, Promotions, and Special Coupons
Reward those customers who purchased from you during the holidays by offering them exclusive offers and discounts on your e-commerce site. Email them promotional offers, and special pricing as soon as the new year hits. Offer coupons and incentives on new items, as well as featured items, to customers and prospects alike. Also, offer special promotions for accessories and complementary products for those items you sold the most of during the holiday rush. For instance, if you sold a lot of winter coats, you could offer coupons or special pricing for scarves, winter hats, and gloves. This might seem illogical, but it is a great way to increase profits in the new year when consumers are more conservative in their spending habits.
Follow Up with Customers
The best way to boost post-holiday e-commerce sales is to follow up with customers who abandoned their carts on your online store, as well as those customers who indicated they were buying gifts for others. Send them reminder emails about their carts, as well as exclusive discounts, and information about new items and special promotions. Sometimes during the chaos of the holidays, it’s easy to forget about an abandoned cart or to forget about something you found appealing for yourself. So, send reminders while providing prospects and customers with an offer they can’t refuse. Don’t let your sales drop after the holiday rush in 2018. Keep up the momentum and boost your post-holiday e-commerce sales with the tips listed above.
