In the face of the continuing coronavirus pandemic and the approaching Christmas, many people are wondering how to organise gifts for their loved ones. Internet shopping, which has been very popular, especially recently, is helping. There are more and more exciting offers on the web, and online shops even outdo each other in promotions to attract the attention of new customers. What will this year’s Christmas shopping look like? You will read about it in our article.
The shopping during Christmas time – internet or a stationary shop?
Pre-Christmas time is a real gold vein in e-commerce. Every year, the profits made by online shops during this period reach up to 40% of the whole annual turnover. Customers, in search of presents they dream of for their loved ones, full of Christmas optimism, are willing to open their wallets. This results in much higher expenses and numerous orders.
Emotions influence this situation. The mind often loses out with a subtle approach to budget estimation, and the cost of purchases falls down in the hierarchy of influence on consumers’ purchasing decisions. A well-conducted promotional campaign, with a guarantee of delivery before Christmas, increases the chances of purchasing, as owners of online shops know, of course. The sales potential that opens up during this period cannot be overestimated. This year will also be intensified by the ongoing pandemic which will keep many people in their homes. Internet shopping will therefore be the only way to meet Christmas needs.
Prepare your e-commerce for Christmas time!
If you want to attract as many customers as possible to your e-shop during the Christmas period, plan all the activities early enough. Here is a list of necessary actions:
1. First of all, increase your stocks
During the Christmas season, goods from warehouses disappear at a fast pace. So check market trends and data from previous years. Select a list of products that you think will be most popular with e-consumers. Remember also that you need to ensure that your shop is adequately stocked in advance. Your business partners may also face downtime, and courier delivery times are usually longer during the holidays.
2. Secondly, take care of the logistics
Customers who buy Christmas gifts on the Internet want to make sure they get them before the first star shines in the sky. You, as Santa’s assistant, must ensure that all orders leave your e-shop on time. So if you are expecting much traffic, try to get new contracts with couriers or renegotiate existing conditions. Also, make sure that your staff is available.
3. Thirdly, prepare your e-shop for heavy traffic
Anyone who takes the subject of turning up sales results at the end of the year seriously has to remember about the appropriate technical setup of the platform on which the online shop operates. Increased traffic on a site that runs on a low-quality server can cause the pages to load for an exceptionally long time, and in the worst case, the whole website will stop working. Then, instead of enjoying your next order, you will spend hours talking to the technical department trying to save your business.
4. Fourthly, prepare a promotion strategy
A well-prepared promotion strategy often determines the success of Christmas sales campaigns. Create dedicated gift categories in your e-shop for this occasion. Take gender, age, interests or price level as a determinant. In this way, visitors to your e-commerce will quickly filter the goods available in the promotion and choose those that best meet their expectations. Shopping time will be reduced to a minimum, and this is what e-consumers expect.
Don’t forget about efficient communication in all your channels – on your blog, in social media or through mailings. Take care of the Christmas atmosphere by preparing appropriate graphics – a Christmas banner with a Christmas tree, a pop-up with gifts or a logo adorned with a Santa Claus hat will surely put visitors of your e-shop in a happy mood. And as we already know, positive emotions make shopping decisions more straightforward.
5. Fifthly, monitor the effects
During the Christmas season, we should continuously monitor the sale. Customers may feel very frustrated if the shop continues to offer products that are no longer physically in stock. The same is true of the promotions directed to products that do not exist in the shop. So keep your proverbial “hand on the pulse” at all times and verify what is happening in your online shop. Tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Ads or Ecometrixo will help you.
Remember that e-shopping during a pandemic is the only opportunity for many people to buy necessary products and gifts for their loved ones. If the quality of your e-commerce services satisfies your customers during this period, they are likely to take advantage of your offer later on.