How to Prepare for the Christmas Ecommerce Period

How to Prepare for the Christmas Ecommerce Period

The weather outside may be frightful but in December the sales are simply delightful. The holiday season is the most important time of year for many a business – especially in the ecommerce world. After all, there are gifts to be bought and purchasing from the comfort of your home is a much more pleasant experience than braving the crowds.

It’s a month of consistent consumer spending, with customers not just shopping for themselves, but for every member of their family. Black Friday and Cyber Monday rightly command an increasing amount of attention for the sudden spike in sales they bring, but savvy entrepreneurs never lose sight of December’s potential. So, how do you ensure your ecommerce business makes it to Santa’s nice list this year? Here’s a number of tips to help your store prepare for the coming festive ecommerce rush.

Think Gift Cards

We’ve all been there. You take the time to carefully buy gifts for everyone important in your life but, to your horror, you discover you’ve forgotten one important gift. This usually kicks off a last-minute scramble to pick up something…anything that can fill the gap. For many, this usually involves the purchase of a gift card. According to the good people at Riskified, Christmas Eve is one of the biggest days of the year for digital purchases and gift cards. Is your business offering a full array of gift card options? If not, you’re missing out on some serious potential business.

Mobile is King on Christmas Day

Did you know – Christmas Day is the single biggest day of the year for mobile sales? Think about it, many people are sitting at a relative’s house, digesting dinner, while absentmindedly browsing on their phone. It’s a potential goldmine for businesses but it’s important to have your eye on the ball. While you’re kicking back with family and friends, enjoying a nice craft beer, customers are going to want to make some purchases with all those gift cards you just sold them. Is your site optimized for mobile? If not, why not? This rapidly growing market sector will once again be the largest gateway for purchases on Christmas Day. Now is the time to ensure your mobile ecommerce store is just as good, if not better, than your desktop offering.

Festive Cart Abandonment

Spare a thought for all those lonely digital shopping carts that get abandoned each and every December. According to SaleCycle, abandonment rates rise sharply in the run up to Christmas. The main explanation given for this phenomenon is that customers say ‘see ya later’ when they find out their chosen item won’t be shipped in time to make it on to Santa’s sleigh. However, that doesn’t mean you’ve lost the sale. What’s your abandoned cart strategy? How can you entice those customers to come back and complete the sale? The gold standard is to re-target those customers with an email enticing them back, often paired with a discount or some other token of appreciation.

Boxing Day Means Big Business

Christmas Day coming and going doesn’t mean this festive jambaroo is over. Boxing Day has now become a week to ten-day-long sales event, with many ecommerce stores even beginning their sales on Christmas Eve. Consumers have a lot of cash floating around during this time, so it’s worth getting your Boxing Day offering ready well in advance. Look back at what rival businesses have done in previous years and see how you can put your own unique spin on it. Build anticipation by teasing the sale through your social channels and stress test your servers to ensure they can handle the load. Customers won’t be shy about going elsewhere with their cash, so it’s vital you’re ready to tackle this busy period.

Find Out More

Need help making your ecommerce store “Christmas Ready?” At GD Commerce, we can help you achieve your goals with a full suite of ecommerce services. Contact us and we’ll be happy to help!

Thank you to our GD Commerce Partners:

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