We’re not going to suddenly start hanging Christmas lights or dusting off the menorah, but it is a good idea to start thinking about how to prep your store for the upcoming holiday season.
Major Holidays of the Shopping Year
People don’t shop in even bursts throughout the year, but rather in spurts centred around about a dozen holidays. Most of us can pick out the big ones, like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, but did you know that days like April Fools, Easter and national holidays are also big bonanzas for merchants? People may buy niche items like whoopee cushions and flags, but it still leads to a small spike in sales.
But those holidays have passed, and the big ones you want to get ready for include:
- Thanksgiving (US), 24 November 2016
- Black Friday, 25 November 2016
- Cyber Monday, 28 November 2016
- Christmas Day, 25 December 2016
- Boxing Day, 26 December 2016
- New Year’s Day, 1 January 2017
In between those are another couple, like Free Shipping Day (18 December this year when shipping is guaranteed for Christmas) and Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas). While these may seem minor, they’re actually of pretty major significance for merchants because of shoppers’ tendency to leave present-buying to the last minute. For you, this means extra opportunities in the last two months of the year to cash in on extra sales that you may not be able to take advantage of the rest of the year.
People Spend How Much on These Holidays??
Every merchant — and most shoppers — know that a whole ton of money is spent the year’s biggest holidays, but just how many dollars are tossed out there into merchants’ coffers? Well, let’s take a look…
| RANK | DATE | AMOUNT (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 November (Cyber Monday) | $1,465 |
| 2 | 4 December | $1,362 |
| 3 | 10 December (Green Monday) | $1,275 |
| 4 | 27 November | $1,263 |
| 5 | 11 December | $1,220 |
| 6 | 14 December | $1,219 |
| 7 | 13 December | $1,135 |
| 8 | 3 December | $1,117 |
| 9 | 28 November | $1,110 |
| 10 | 5 December | $1,051 |
Making the Most of the Holidays
Now that you’ve seen in black and white just how many millions and millions of dollars are being tossed around on just these 10 holidays, the next question is how to take a slice of the pie for yourself.
First, you have to do decide which of these holidays you actually want to be a part of. Big and super big businesses, like Walmart or Target, will key in on every holiday they can because they have the power and resources to do so. Smaller businesses, though, may not be able to compete on every single one and will have to choose which ones can have the biggest benefit. Plus, you just may be running a store that has no inventory that can serve some holidays adequately.
Hone in on the Finer Details
You’ve decided which holidays you’re going to target — great! The next step is to formulate a plan as to how you’re going to take advantage of them, so we’ve highlighted three key areas that really matter:
- Shipping policy: We sort of alluded to it before, but offering free shipping during the holidays is an awesome way to distinguish yourself from your competitors and make a bundle of extra customers.
- Return policy: Ah, returns. Nobody likes them except consumers, but it’s just about a guarantee that people won’t be happy with their purchases (probably because parents still do this) and will want to return an item.
- Payment options: Most payment options include credit cards and PayPal, but you may want to consider extra methods of payment (like gift cards or Bitcoin) so more people feel welcome to shop.
Get the Word Out
Now that you’ve done the work on your end, you’ve got to actually tell people that your online store is ready for the holiday season. Spend extra time on Facebook and Twitter communicating with shoppers, letting them know the kinds of sales you’ll be having; bulk up your advertising budget and expand it to more avenues; consider temporarily switching to pay-per-click advertising to cash in on the extra eyeballs surfing the net these holidays; and reconfigure your website (i.e. graphics, design copy, etc.) to reflect your holiday approach.
And it also goes without saying that you’ll want to pay extra attention to stats and analytics so you can see what’s work splendidly and what needs to be tinkered with.
Final Thoughts
The holiday season is a really big deal for any merchant, but we want to make your life easier by offering repricing that’s simple enough to use blindfolded, hands tied behind your back. And the only thing you have to do is sign up for your 15-day free trial.
