If you have an ecommerce site, it’s time to start getting serious about the Christmas season. We can help you update your products, plan sales and schedule advertising so you make the most of your ecommerce holiday sales.
October is here and that means it is time to start celebrating … Christmas? Okay, okay — we know it seems weird to talk about Christmas before we’ve even planned out our Halloween costumes. But hear us out — it’s time to start getting serious about Christmas, especially if you have an ecommerce site.
Retail store owners already know the holiday season is incredibly important for sales. But just like you need to get your brick-and-mortar store set up for the gift-giving season, it’s also important to get your website ready for the holidays. Yes, that means making Christmastime decisions in October, because if you wait until the holidays are already here, you’ve waited to late. Want to get your ecommerce site ready for Christmas? Check out our tips to get your website set for the holiday rush:
Update the Products in Your Online Store
Go through your catalog of products. You need to update all of the products to reflect any price changes, inventory changes, color changes, etc. If there are items you don’t sell anymore, remove them from the site. The last thing you need when the Christmas rush starts is to have to refund purchases because the items are no longer in stock. If you need help setting up a clearance section on your e-commerce site, contact the Infomedia Support Team and we will be happy to help you.
Plan Online Holiday Promotions NOW
You’ll probably want to run at least one promotion at the holidays, and many ecommerce shops will want to run several. We recommend you aim for two or three promotions during the fall and Christmas seasons. Looking for holiday promotion ideas? Here are a few sales your customers will be expecting:
- Cyber Monday
- Last Saturday before Christmas
- Last Shipping Day before Christmas
Advertise Your Ecommerce Sales
Even if you have a huge volume of traffic to your site, customers are unlikely to participate in your promotions if they don’t know about them. You’ll want to blanket your customers with messaging to make sure they’re aware of the sales on your website. Use your website, plus the advertising channels you already have, to reach out your customers. Here’s a breakdown of how to get the word out about your ecommerce site:
- Add banners to your website.
- Use your blog to drive ecommerce traffic.
- Update your email list on new sales and promotions.
- Remind people to check your website and blog through social media.
- Consider pay-per-click advertising and ad targeting.
Don’t forget about the details!
Now is the time to be sure you have the right team in place to handle lots of orders and traffic and to be sure you can keep your ecommerce customers happy. In addition to making sure your products are up-to-date, do a quick website audit to be sure information about your return policy, shipping policy and gift card procedures are clear and up-to-date. Update your payment systems if they’re out of date, and if you currently only accept credit cards, consider adding PayPal or even Bitcoin as payment options. Have questions? Don’t stress — our support staff knows the answers, and we’re happy to help you get your website up to snuff in time for the season.
Anyone who runs a retail store knows the holiday season can sneak up on you, and going into Christmas unprepared can mean lost sales and unhappy customers — and nobody wants that! Take a few hours to get your ecommerce website in line, and your work will pay off in new customers and increased sales over the holidays. We can’t think of a better gift than that!
Infomedia is a web design company, web development company and responsive web design agency in Birmingham, Alabama. We specialize in WordPress custom development and SEO marketing in Birmingham, and we provide web hosting services in Birmingham and beyond.
