Labor Day is over, and you know what that means – it’s time
to get ready for the holiday season. While your customers may not be thinking
about shopping just yet, they will be in the next month. That means you only
have one month to get your website ready for the busy season.
Back in July we discussed the shipping
steps you should be taking for the holiday rush, but this time we’re going
to focus on your website.
Let’s get started.
Figure Out Peak
Shopping Periods
Before you start working on anything else, you need to dive
into your website data to figure out when your busy season really begins. Look
at data from the past few years and make notes on patterns. When do your sales
usually spike? When does your website traffic usually spike? What was it that
brought customers to your website during those specific times? Look at the
browsing and buying patterns so you can make adjustments to your inventory as
well as featured products, banner advertisements, and more.
Plan Sales
Strategically
Now that you know the peak trends on your website, it’s time
to use that information to create a sales and promotions schedule. Experiment
with offering sales on historically busy days as well as slow ones. Sales can
entice people to buy more, or just to buy when previously they were on the
fence. You may also experiment with offering extra perks during certain peak
times, such as free gift wrapping.
Start Marketing Early
You know that you have to increase your marketing during the
holidays, but get an early start instead of waiting for Thanksgiving to roll
around. Preview holiday promotions to your loyal customers. Create some free
content, such as blog posts or how-to videos, to get customers coming to your
website more often. Make sure you’re sharing product news and information
relevant to the holiday shipping season. You want your customers to be thinking
about shopping with you before the
holidays get underway.
Upgrade Your Systems
What can you do now to make the busy holiday season easier?
Now is the time to make upgrades to your systems for a smoother workflow during
the holidays, and moving forward. What parts of your shipping process can be
automated? Do you need to update product photos and descriptions? Maybe you want
to have social media automation so you can focus on other things. Start working
on these upgrades immediately so they’re ready in time for the holidays.
Test Mobile
Performance
Is your website optimized for mobile? It needs to be. Not
only are more and more people shopping using a mobile device, but Google is
starting to prioritize mobile when it comes to search engines. If someone looks
up your website while on their phone but the site is clunky on mobile, they may
not bother to look again. There’s still time to make changes before the
holidays.
Make it Easy For Your
Customers
The holidays are a busy, hectic time for people. By making
your website as easy to navigate as possible, you’re reducing stress and
confusion for your customers. Make sure shop policies such as your return
policy is crystal clear and easy to find. All shipping information should be
readily available to customers before the checkout process. Your goal is to get
your customer on your website and checked out as quickly as possible, and the
easier you make your website to navigate, the more often that will happen.
Optimize Checkout
Reduce customer headaches by testing your checkout process
and optimizing it. Test all of your coupon codes to make sure they ring up
correctly. Analyze how many steps your customers must go through to actually
make a purchase. Remember, the goal is for this to be as easy as possible for
your customers, with as few website errors as possible.
Don’t Forget About
Shipping Supplies!
Head to ShippingSupply.com
to stock up on shipping supplies for the holiday season so all your orders get
shipped out on time!
