As the year comes to a close, ecommerce businesses need to be ready to take advantage of the extra online traffic for Black Friday and the Holiday Season.
The Ecommerce Landscape Around The Holidays
Keeping up with ecommerce trends is like following a moving target, driven by technology and consumer behavior. As we look ahead, businesses can stay ahead by understanding the current state of ecommerce shopping and what’s coming next.
Online marketplaces are where most of the online purchases are happening globally, with Amazon being one of the big players. Mobile commerce is becoming more and more dominant, with mobile devices now accounting for over 50% of ecommerce sales. This means optimizing your online store for mobile is no longer a ‘should do’ but a ‘must do’.
Social media is also part of the ecommerce mix, the rise of the TikTok shop is a great example. 71% of consumers use social media to discover new products, making it a key channel for driving traffic and sales. Using social commerce features on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook can help you ride this trend.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are also shaking up the ecommerce world. These technologies can be used to personalize the shopping experience, improve customer service, and optimize inventory management.
You need to be aware of these trends and incorporate them into your strategy for the holiday season.
Holiday Sales & Shopper Habits
Holiday sales are part of the ecommerce calendar, with big holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday (an ecommerce ‘holiday’) being big opportunities for businesses to drive sales. To prepare for these peak periods ecommerce businesses should focus on optimizing their business model, identifying peak shopping days, and streamlining their promotion plans.
Ecommerce Business Model Optimization
When it comes to optimizing your ecommerce business model for the holiday season, there are several key areas to focus on:
Promotions and Pricing
Start planning your holiday promotions, discounts, and product bundles early. Consider offering special deals and sales to appeal to holiday shoppers looking for savings. This could include flash sales, buy-one-get-one offers, or percentage-based discounts. Analyze your historical data to determine which types of promotions were most effective in the past.
Website Performance
Ensure your website is optimized to handle the influx of traffic during the holiday season. This means fast load times, a mobile-friendly design, and a smooth user experience. Test your website thoroughly to identify and address any bottlenecks or issues that could impact the customer journey.
Inventory Management
Make sure your inventory management system is up-to-date and able to meet the expected demand. Monitor stock levels closely and replenish popular items as needed to avoid stockouts. Consider increasing your safety stock or buffer inventory for high-demand products.
By focusing on these areas, you can optimize your ecommerce business model to capitalize on the holiday shopping surge and provide a positive customer experience.
Holiday Shopping Habits
Holiday shopping habits vary by region but some are universal. In the US the week before Christmas is the busiest shopping week of the year, 60% of consumers complete their holiday shopping during this period. This is the time for retailers to capture last-minute shoppers and maximize sales.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still the two biggest shopping days of the year, many retailers offer big discounts and promotions. These days are not just about sales but also about getting new customers and brand visibility.
Despite the rise of online shopping in-store shopping is still popular during the holiday season. 70% of consumers prefer to shop in store, they love the tactile experience and instant gratification of in-store purchases. But online shopping is catching up, 50% of consumers do some or all of their holiday shopping online. This trend shows how important it is to have an online presence and a seamless online shopping experience.
Now you know the holiday shopping patterns, plan your promotions and inventory to meet consumer demand and maximise your holiday sales.
Best Days to Shop Around The Holidays
Identifying peak shopping days is key for retail ecommerce businesses to drive sales. Analyze your sales data and consumer behavior to find out when sales will peak. This can include big holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day and other big shopping events. Plan your marketing around these dates, offer special promotions, and increase your ad spend to attract more customers.
Make sure your website is optimized to handle the extra traffic and provide a smooth shopping experience.
Here are the best shopping days based on historical sales data and consumer trends:
Memorial Day Sales: Look for discounts on outdoor gear, patio furniture, and summer clothing. Stock up on items for the warmer months.
Labor Day Sales: Expect discounts on back-to-school supplies, summer clothing, and home decor. Retailers clear out summer inventory and make way for fall products.
Black Friday Sales: One of the biggest shopping days of the year, big discounts on electronics, toys, and clothing. Get a head start on holiday shopping.
Cyber Monday Sales: A great day to shop online, many retailers offer discounts on electronics, clothing, and home goods. Avoid the Black Friday crowds.
Green Monday Sales: The second Monday in December is often the best sales day in December. Last chance to get deals before the holiday shipping deadlines.
Shop around these dates to get the best deals and get the most value for your money.
Don’t Forget About ‘Shoulder Days’
In the context of holiday shopping, “shoulder days” refer to the days immediately surrounding holidays.
Across these shoulder days, retailers also see increased online and in-store shopping. Depending on your audience extending promotions and discounts to capture sales before and after the holiday itself.
The key shoulder days are:
Thanksgiving Day (Thursday before Black Friday): Many stores start their sales early, particularly online. This pre-Black Friday shopping rush lets shoppers get deals without waiting until the next day.
Saturday and Sunday after Black Friday: Called the “Black Friday Weekend,” these days are popular for shoppers who missed Black Friday but still want to take advantage of deals. Many retailers keep their Black Friday discounts active over the weekend.
Cyber Monday Eve (Sunday evening): Some online retailers start rolling out Cyber Monday deals early, giving shoppers a head start on the digital discounts.
Cyber Monday and Cyber Week: Starting the Monday after Black Friday, Cyber Monday focuses on online deals and often extends into “Cyber Week,” offering continued discounts throughout the following week.
By targeting these shoulder days, retailers can maximize revenue and provide shoppers with multiple opportunities to purchase at discounted prices. Now let’s dive into our 13 tips to max out your holiday sales this year!
Tips for Getting the Most From Holiday Sales
1. Optimize Your Product Feeds for Ecommerce
Product feeds are a huge part of your ecommerce strategy. You should consider several different things when ensuring your feeds are optimized.
Make sure your feed is complete with all the information for each product.
Optimize product titles to match common search queries to increase visibility and CTR.
Use all the fields, including the optional ones, to give platforms as much data as possible to match.
Update your feed more frequently to stay accurate, especially during peak traffic periods like Black Friday and Christmas time.
Use the availability field to manage stock levels without removing products from your feed.
The shift from physical stores to online shopping has changed how companies prioritize spend. The business-to-consumer (B2C) model —along with the addition of D2C (direct-to-consumer) businesses has pushed companies to think more about mobile and app shopping than ever before.
2. Use Advanced Call Tracking and Analytics
With omnichannel marketing customer journeys, multiple touchpoints matter more than ever. By 2027 ecommerce will be nearly a quarter of total global retail sales, that’s the growth of online shopping.
Tracking phone calls coming from your advertising is critical to understanding your customer interactions and measuring the actual performance of your marketing.
Tools like CallTrackingMetrics and CallRail can give you huge benefits by assigning unique phone numbers to different marketing channels or campaigns so you can track each call back to its source.
This granular data allows you to see which ads, keywords, and landing pages are driving phone conversions so you can calculate ROI more accurately and make better optimization decisions.
Many platforms integrate directly with Google Ads so that you can attribute offline conversions more accurately. This means more effective bid adjustments, better ad targeting, and ultimately higher conversion rates so you get the most out of your ad spend.
3. Utilize Performance Max Campaigns
The key concept behind Performance Max campaigns is to allow Google’s algorithms to determine the most effective combinations of ad elements for various platforms, based on metrics such as click-through rate and conversion rate. This approach enables advertisers to capture a wider range of potential customers across the Google ecosystem, simplifying campaign management while potentially improving overall performance.
As you prepare for the 2024 holiday season, there are several strategies to consider when utilizing Performance Max campaigns:
Taper Target ROAS
During peak shopping periods, consider lowering your target Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) to capture more traffic and sales opportunities. While you may see a temporary dip in ROAS, the increased volume can lead to higher overall profitability.
*This will not be the case for all verticals or campaign types so tread carefully and get in touch if you want to know more about your specific industry.
Automate Budget Allocation
Leverage the automated features of Performance Max to dynamically allocate your budget across channels based on their real-time performance. This can help you maximize the impact of your ad spend during the busiest times of the year.
Leverage First-Party Data
Integrate your first-party customer data, such as purchase history and browsing behavior, to enhance the targeting and personalization capabilities of your Performance Max campaigns. This can lead to more relevant ads and a better shopping experience for your customers.
Also, make sure you are tracking all the stages of the checkout process via GA4 or enhanced conversions to provide more signals to the Google algorithm.
4. AI-Driven Customer Service for Online Marketplaces
When it comes to servicing customers on online marketplaces, AI-powered solutions can offer several key benefits:
AI Chatbots for FAQs and 24/7 Support: Deploy AI-powered chatbots to handle frequently asked questions and provide around-the-clock customer support. These chatbots can quickly respond to customer inquiries, freeing up your human customer service team to focus on more complex or specialized issues.
AI-Powered Product Recommendations: Utilize AI and predictive analytics to analyze customer interactions and browsing behavior, enabling you to provide personalized product recommendations that enhance the shopping experience and drive additional sales.
Inventory Optimization with AI: Leverage AI and machine learning to forecast demand, optimize inventory levels, and streamline supply chain management. This can help you avoid stockouts and ensure you have the right products available to meet customer needs, especially during peak holiday shopping periods.
By embracing AI-driven customer service solutions, ecommerce businesses can improve efficiency, enhance the customer experience, and ultimately drive more sales and revenue.
5. Go Sustainable and Ethical
As consumer awareness and expectations around sustainability and ethical business practices continue to grow, ecommerce companies have an opportunity to differentiate themselves and appeal to environmentally and socially conscious shoppers.
With consumers focusing more on sustainability try the following:
Promote Eco-Friendly Products and Packaging
Highlight your selection of sustainable, organic, or eco-friendly products in your marketing and on your website. Additionally, consider offering more environmentally friendly packaging options, such as biodegradable or recycled materials, to reduce your environmental impact.
Offer Carbon-Neutral Shipping
Provide carbon-neutral shipping options, where the carbon emissions associated with the delivery of products are offset through verified carbon reduction projects. This demonstrates your dedication to reducing your carbon footprint.
Transparency Around Supply Chain and Ethics
Be transparent about your supply chain, manufacturing processes, and labor practices. Share information about your efforts to ensure ethical sourcing, fair wages, and safe working conditions for your suppliers and partners.
6. Mobile and Voice Commerce
You can’t ignore the growth of mobile and voice commerce as you head into the 2024 holiday season.
First, optimize for mobile. Make sure your ecommerce site is mobile-friendly with a responsive design, fast load times, and a smooth user experience on smartphones and tablets. This is key as mobile now accounts for over 50% of global ecommerce sales.
Next, optimize for voice search. Review your product info including titles, descriptions, and metadata to be voice search friendly. This will help your products be found by consumers using voice-enabled devices like smart speakers to research and buy.
Customers expect a seamless checkout experience so consider enabling mobile payment options. Offer digital wallets (e.g. Apple Pay, Google Pay) and buy now pay later options. This will make the checkout process easier and more accessible for mobile shoppers and increase conversions.
7. Social Commerce
Social media has become an integral part of ecommerce. Utilizing shoppable posts and live shopping features on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook can drive direct sales, while platform-specific content helps to engage audiences more effectively.
Additionally, running user-generated content (UGC) campaigns can build authenticity and trust, encouraging customers to connect with your brand and purchase through social channels.
8. Personalize the Shopping Experience
Enhance the shopping experience by leveraging AI and machine learning for tailored product recommendations that adapt to user behavior.
Craft personalized email campaigns that reflect browsing and purchase history, and offer flexible payment options at checkout to meet the needs of an increasingly digital consumer base.
We also recommend you perform an ecommerce checklist to ensure the best practices are being followed for the checkout and sale process.
Free tools like: https://ecommerce-checklist.com/ can help you give you an idea of what to check.
9. The Right Ecommerce Tools
Ecommerce businesses need a range of tools to function. These tools can help to streamline, customer experience and sales. Here are the essentials:
Ecommerce Platforms: Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce provide the foundation to manage sales, inventory, and customer relationships. Choose one that suits your business size and technical expertise.
Payment Gateways: Secure and reliable payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Square are essential for online transactions. Make sure your chosen gateway supports multiple payment methods to cater to many customers. Consider integrating Google and Apple Pay for a better user experience.
Shipping and Fulfillment Systems: ShipStation, ShipBob, and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) help you manage orders, track shipments, and deliver on time.
Data and Analytics Tools: Google Analytics, Hotjar, and Kissmetrics provide valuable insights into customer behavior so you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your ecommerce strategy.
Inventory Management Systems: TradeGecko, Cin7, and Zoho Inventory help you track stock levels, manage orders, and avoid stockouts. These are critical to a smooth supply chain and meeting customer demand.
By using these ecommerce tools you can streamline, customer experience and sales.
10. Streamline for Retail Ecommerce Sales
Streamlining is key for retail ecommerce businesses looking to maximize sales and customer experience. By optimizing your business models, knowing your peak shopping days, and using ecommerce tools you can be more efficient, reduce costs and increase revenue.
Start by reviewing your current processes and identify areas to improve. Automate where you can to save time and reduce manual errors. Make sure your inventory management system is robust and can handle increased demand during peak periods. Use data and analytics to gain insights into customer behavior and make informed decisions.
And don’t forget to provide great customer service. Use AI-powered customer service tools to handle the mundane and 24/7 support. Offer multiple payment options and make checkout smooth and secure.
By streamlining you can create a more efficient ecommerce business and ultimately more sales and customer satisfaction.
11. Make Sure You Are Using The Right Ecommerce Platforms
Choosing the right ecommerce platform is key to your online store. These platforms provide the tools and infrastructure to manage sales, inventory, and customer relationships. Here are some of the most popular platforms:
Shopify: For small and medium-sized businesses, Shopify has a user-friendly interface and many integrations. Easy to use and robust support makes it a popular choice for new and growing businesses.
Magento: For large and complex ecommerce operations, Magento has high customization and flexibility. Suitable for businesses with specific needs and technical expertise to manage a more complex system.
WooCommerce: For WordPress users, WooCommerce has many extensions and integrations. A cost-effective solution to turn your WordPress site into a fully functional ecommerce store.
BigCommerce: A scalable platform for growing businesses, BigCommerce has many features and integrations. Designed to support businesses as they grow, it has the tools to manage increased sales and inventory.
Choose the right platform for your business size, technical expertise, and specific needs. By choosing the right ecommerce platform you can streamline and customer experience for your customers.
12. Extend Your Holiday Marketing Calendar for Holiday Shopping
The holiday shopping season is getting longer:
Start your holiday promotions earlier, potentially as soon as October.
Plan for extended sales periods beyond just Black Friday and Cyber Monday, including major holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day which have big financial benefits.
Create a marketing calendar for key shopping days throughout the season.
13. Retention and Loyalty to Boost Retail Ecommerce Sales
While getting new customers is important don’t forget about retention:
Implement or enhance your loyalty program with holiday exclusives.
Use retargeting campaigns to re-engage past customers.
Offer special promotions or early access to loyal customers, especially on key shopping days like Black Friday where consumer electronics, fashion and other popular categories are heavily discounted.
By doing this ecommerce businesses can be set up for success in the holiday season. Remember to monitor your performance, be agile and adjust as needed throughout the holidays.
If you need any help with your holiday campaigns please don’t hesitate to get in touch!