The temperatures may be hot where you are right now – but Holiday Season 2015 is just around the corner!
As an ecommerce retailer, it’s never too early for you to prepare for the holiday season. By the time October rolls around, you’ll want to be ready to hit the ground running and leverage the hustle and bustle that’s coming your way. The National Retail Federation estimates that retailers can make between 20 and 40% of their annual sales during the critical holiday sales time, so if you want to maximize that percentage for your business, there are ways you can start to do that now.
Before the consumer spending begins, you can strengthen your eCommerce marketing and processes in order to keep customers happy and margins right. Are you doing all that you can to acquire customer data and leverage your existing customer list?
Here are some tips to help you make the most of holiday sales and maximize your eCommerce impact:
Update your forms.
Just like Santa builds a list, your organization should as well. If you’ve taken the time to install forms throughout your website, you better be sure that they are capturing data correctly. Do an audit of your website and your mobile presence and make sure that your capture points are working correctly. Are they all capturing the same standardized information? Do they have current logos? Current phone numbers? Use this time to audit the forms and edit them for clarity, user experience and any timely incentives. The money is in the list – so be sure your list is strong.
Make sure you’re mobile-friendly.
More than half of your online shoppers own a tablet, and 64% of them own a Smartphone. It’s 2015 – so you need to be mobile-friendly to maximize your sign-ups and sales. Keep in mind that mobile users tap in information via their phone’s keyboard, so keep your questions short and friendly. Make registration and purchases as streamlined as possible to avoid abandoned forms and shopping carts by your busy mobile users. Think about their experience on the smaller screen and optimize your form for their eyes.
Pop up for impact.
Growing your list during the busy holiday season – and introducing special deals – is easier with pop-ups. Even though pop-ups can be irritating (no one is arguing with that), they can be effective when they are used under a specific set of conditions. For example, they should only be used on first-time visitors and not for every visitor. In addition, your pop-up form should have no more than two to three fields. Don’t bog down your visitor. Make it easy for them to click an “X” or “no thanks” if they want to close it. These strategies will help you use pop-ups for impact without annoyance.
Building your list and making sales easier for your customers can make or break your end of year numbers. Plan now for holiday sales to make sure your eCommerce site is doing everything it can to pull in happy customers who have lots to purchase!
