With Christmas right around the corner, e-commerce businesses are working around the clock to get everyone’s parcels out in time and to maximise their sales during this busy festive period. Christmas time offers massive opportunities to e-commerce stores with more people online shopping especially since the pandemic, 40% of Christmas shopping was done online. Within this article we will discuss tips on how to make the most out of your site, start early and be prepared. You can keep it simple and do it yourself or really push yourself this year and work alongside a digital marketing agency such as MR SEO who offer a range digital marketing services in Essex.
Optimize the User Experience
Often many visitors who visit your site during this period are new customers hunting for their next Christmas purchase, we want to keep these customers on site as this could lead to repeat purchases and loyal customers in the future, the last thing we want to do is drive these customers away. First impressions are important, and we need to make sure your site is maximised ready for new customers in order for them to convert for example, keep the navigation and ordering process simple. Also, you must keep in mind the older generation who may be buying gifts for their loved ones, keeping the order process simple will generate more sales from that specific demographic.
When people order online the majority comes from a mobile device, so your online shop must be up to speed and to make sure that your pictures and text are not distorted from the desktop version, if not this could increase the bounce rate time and will quickly search for other optimised sites to purchase from. Alongside this, loading speeds are very important, the main reason people shop online is to avoid the Hussle and ques in shopping centres so you want to make sure your store is efficient as possible and is not delayed as this is another reason why users might shop elsewhere.
CTAs
Creativity season is among us. Creating effective CTAs which stand out and have a purpose on each page is important. Give your customers a reason to buy your products, within these CTAs you can promote an online discount or point out the unique selling points of each product while also creating a Christmas aesthetic on each page to make it a more enjoyable experience.
Detailed descriptions
A simple but effective tip is to make sure you make the most out of your product description and create detailed enticing descriptions so that customers have a good idea of what they are buying, if they do not they will loose interest and shop else where due to the risky nature of ordering something they don’t know much about. Providing the customers with images and even videos too will increase your conversion rate as this will give the customer reassurance as to what they are getting and will work even better if the gift is wrapped well. Gift wrapping takes the stress off the customer having to gift wrap when they receive the parcel and receiving a parcel gift wrapped contributes to a good first impression and will increase the chances of them sharing their gift with others and even on social media which leads to increased visibility and good reviews through word of mouth.
Email marketing
Building up your email list throughout the year and lead up to Christmas is essential, these are emails of people who are interested in your business or who have already purchased with you, if you are emailing them with the latest Christmas offers and products you are very likely going to have a high click through rate. Emails can be used in many ways for example building relationships with potential and already existing customers, building your brand, and updating members with important information such as the last Christmas posting dates and festive offers which can lead to a higher conversion rate.
A way to create engaging festive emails are to get creative and decorate the emails so that they are aesthetically pleasing and bring joy to the person receiving them. Also personalise your messages to each customer, so that they receive emails based upon their interests and maybe what they have brought in the past, this way customers will always be engaged with the emails they receive leading to a decrease in unsubscribed users.
Overall, its best to start early when preparing for Christmas when you have an e-commerce store as there are endless things you can be doing in order to maximise your sales during the festive period. With our few tips we have mentioned this is enough to get you started and on the way to having a successful, busy month.
