Capitalizing Holiday Offers To Drive E-Commerce Sales

The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year for online stores.

The good news is that despite inflation, just over 50% of consumers plan to spend the same or more this holiday season as they did last year, according to NPD. Now is the time to optimize your website and think about holiday-specific offers to get those customers in the door — and to convert.

Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD, noted that holiday promotions from major retailers will start in earnest in October this year, which will start the countdown to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. Now is the time to best leverage the holiday season and drive sales.

This year, it’s about more than just relying on stale, “go-to” tactics. Thanks to TikTok and Instagram Reels, customers’ attention spans are at an all-time low. If you can’t get a customer to interact with your store, you’ll lose them — potentially for good.

To engage customers and encourage repeat visits and purchases, you can use the following strategies to increase conversion rates during the holiday season.

1)      Create a Customized Holiday Shopping Experience

Just like brick-and-mortar department stores invest in holiday-ready window displays, online retailer institutions should revitalize their virtual stores. A charming scene on your website may help customers tune in gift-giving and fun. If you create a purchasing experience that exceeds your customers’ high expectations, especially in the era of TikTok and Reels, it will resonate with them.

48% of consumers are likely to purchase a product directly from TikTok. 65 percent have purchased from a streaming platform, like Hulu or Netflix, according to Jungle Scout’s findings from its Q3 2022 Consumer Trends Report.

2)     Leverage Time-Limited Offers

Providing limited-time offers, such as 20% off everything or perhaps 30% off of a specific category of gift-friendly products, such as under $50, beauty products, home decor, or candles, is a great way to introduce new visitors to your website.

The increase in working from home, and being homebound in general from 2020 to 2021, has led to significant investment in the spaces where we spend the most time, making gifts for the home or home office always welcome no matter the recipient.

3)     Offer Holiday Bundle Discounts

Providing special, holiday-only kits or gift sets at discounted prices is a major draw for holiday shoppers. The ability to purchase the jumbo size of a best seller or a mini grouping of “greatest hits” for presents is an easy win.

Use social media to broaden the reach of unique holiday offerings, and make the campaign offers specific to your retail store, keeping prices reasonable for best results.

4)     Implement a User-Friendly Checkout Process

Now is the time to offer easy checkout solutions. From Apple Pay to Amazon Pay to PayPal to Venmo, the options are seemingly endless as more consumers checkout online and on their mobile devices.

Armed with these suggestions on how to make the most of the busy holiday season, you’re sure to prepare your business for more online visitors and, in turn, more sales.