This year, holiday sales are expected to grow to around $82 billion, almost a 15% increase from 2012. Many retailers out there may rely on the holiday season sales as it comprises 20-40% of annual sales.
Although it’s almost the end of November, there’s still plenty of time left to improve your holiday digital marketing campaigns. Here are 4 solid methods that will help you increase your holiday sales and retain those customers throughout the next year.
1. Offer and emphasize shipping deals
Your brand’s sales and shipping deals are essential to guaranteeing business with 63% of holiday shoppers planning to browse at stores and go online to find a better deal.
This is a great time to rotate real-time countdowns, two-day shipping and overnight shipping alerts on-site and in email campaigns to give a sense of urgency to consumers. The last thing your customers what to feel is the sense of missing out on a special deal or overlooking the perfect gift.
2. Make your products and wish lists shareable
66% of Black Friday purchases resulted from social media interactions. Word of mouth marketing for the holiday season is increasing exponentially: 62% of shoppers tweet about purchases they’ve made. 80% of those who interacted with a brand’s social channel ended up buying from that brand.
Lower cart abandonment rate by adding a “wish list” option to make sure your customers can email their wish lists to family and friends. This gives consumers links directly to your site, without the “middle-man” search.
3. Segment your traffic to give returning customers an advantage
Give your returning customers and frequent site visitors access to exclusive online deals, discounts or in-store events to make them feel like their patronage is appreciated. This will turn them into your best brand advocates. You can do this on your website or in your email campaigns to guarantee reach.
4. Post-holiday season send a “Thank You” email
Even though the rush is over for gift-giving, send a non-promotional email thanking your subscribers for their business. This doesn’t have to be long and intricate; a simple graphic acknowledging their brand loyalty is enough to show appreciation.
This is also a good time to request a review of your product because your customer may be willing to share about their experience.