The Ecommerce Guide to Silly Season Sales

Christmas this year will look a little different. And so will its merry counterpart, Christmas shopping.

Australians are looking to reward themselves after a particularly challenging year. (It’s been a heck of a ride, hasn’t it?) According to a Roy Morgan survey conducted in September, Australian consumers are prepared to spend upwards of $11 billion on gifts this year.

Having a deep understanding of your customers’ interests, preferences and behaviour are vital if you want to get the edge over your competition and enjoy your piece of the holiday pie. Digital shopping experiences are here to stay. So you need to make sure your customer’s online shopping journey is enjoyable for them, or you risk being left behind.

Sales, sales and more sales

80% of customers typically buy before the month of December. And with widespread transport delays this year, that’s beginning even earlier. You can take advantage by having a strong call to action in the lead up to Christmas.

Everybody loves a sale. Maximise the marketing opportunities of Black Friday (26th of November) and Cyber Monday (29th of November). Offer a free gift with purchase or utilise flash sales across the weekend.

Are you a small or local business? You’re in luck.

The Covid-19 pandemic did significant damage to in-store retail as businesses were forced to close their doors. Happily, more people are shopping small as they show support for local businesses who have done it particularly tough during lockdowns.

In a 2020 survey by Facebook, they found that during the Australian 2020 holiday season, purchasing locally was a top priority (43%). Surprisingly, it was almost on par with affordability (45%). This sentiment has only grown with the increased impact of Covid-19.

Make it entertaining

Let’s talk some more about how to help your customers enjoy shopping with you. Try to make it entertaining.

Treat the online environment as you would in-store. What will catch their attention? (Like a window display would.)

Integrate advertising with current trends to get people excited and talking.

Include reels, carousels, static and stories in your social media strategy for an immersive online experience.

Involve your customers with user-generated content.

Showcase testimonials with videos and influencer reviews.

Make online shopping easy

There’s a strong trend towards shopping from social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, sometimes via live demos or influencer marketing. This also helps to bring people in and make them feel part of a community. Bringing some of that in-store connection online.

Making it easy and fun to shop online with you will keep your customers coming back for more. They get to skip the in-store queues and connect with people too.

According to Shopify, roughly 18% of customers abandon their shopping carts due to a lengthy check out process. A further 24% leave because of account creation requirements.

The answer? One-click checkouts. Make it easy. Avoid delayed processes and unnecessary steps and you’ll see your revenue rise.

Transparency inspires trust

Make sure you tell your customer everything they need to know in order to trust you. Use your product descriptions, refund policy, privacy policy, and even your 'About' page to make them feel safe spending their money with you.

Without sales assistants or in-store staff to guide your customers through each product, it can be difficult to choose. Providing full descriptions and great visuals will help them feel more secure about your product. It will help increase your sales, but it’ll also help reduce returns as a result of unmet customer expectations.

The past 2 years have been tough, not only on small and independent businesses but on the Australian community as a whole. As Aussies look forward to simple normality again, make sure your business is prepared and stocked up this holiday season.

As a dynamic digital marketing agency in Sydney, we are fully prepared to excel in optimising your ad campaigns early, giving you the competitive edge you need to outshine your competitors. Get in touch for a free digital strategy session at Soup today to ace your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns.