Boost your holiday ecommerce sales in 3 steps

Photo credit: marrakeshh / 123RF Stock Photo.

The holiday season is full of micro-moments which ecommerce websites can capitalize on to drive more sales. However, from my observation, many Asian stores are not ready or do not know how to best prepare themselves for this time of year.

I won’t bother you with a lot of statistics, but it’s important to realize the potential of this season. Last year, Facebook found that 50 percent of holiday buyers also bought gifts for themselves and that two in seven shoppers have no idea of what they’ll buy for their loved ones before December 1st.

The gift catalog

Because many shoppers still have no idea what they want to buy, it’s a good idea to present gift ideas clearly on your website. Think about it as virtual window-shopping. If products and gift ideas are not presented clearly, then visitors will go to the next shop in the hopes of finding the perfect gift.

Many of you will say “Yeah, but we’ve already got a nice product catalog on our website,” however, that’s not the point. Think about it this way, big ecommerce websites like Amazon, Lazada, Zalora, or Alibaba are going to use big data, A/B testing, and a lot of marketing techniques to recommend the best gifts to shoppers. So even if you don’t have the same marketing budget, do try to present good gifts ideas on your website.

One other trick that you can try is to “seasonalize” your product pictures. Try to show a holiday context around them by adding CNY or Christmas accessories or background.

Your website needs to stay relevant and have an up to date feel.

Make your online ads relevant

With most holiday shoppers using search engines to find holiday gifts, it’s important to have a prominent place on paid search channels. One way to increase your click-through rate this holiday season is to update your ad copy.

Shoppers will be looking for products and stores related to CNY, Christmas, Cyber-Monday, Black Friday, etc., So it’s a good idea to directly mention those in your ad copy. You can even think about creating new ads especially targeting shoppers looking for gift ideas with a nice matching landing page to increase the conversion rate.

An example of a Christmas ad. Photo credit: igorvkv / 123RF Stock Photo.

As usual, don’t forget to mention your differentiators, especially if they’re linked to shipping. Being the last one to ship before the holidays will pay. You can, for instance, try creating a sense of urgency with copy like “Order today to get your order before December 24th.”

The power of the coupon

The holiday season is the right time to boost your sales with a strong urgent feeling. Many shoppers will be looking for gifts and promotions until the last minute so if you have those two features, you’ll win over the competition.

Coupons are super useful as a last-minute boost, especially a few days before the major holiday events. Make sure that the coupon is always relevant to the buyer.

Conclusion