Five Last Minute Tips for Increasing Holiday Sales Online

Five Last Minute Tips for Increasing Holiday Sales Online (0)

Benjamin Christie | 5/12/2008

December is here and the holiday shopping season is in full swing. If your site sells products online then the remaining days for users to order and receive their gifts in time are dwindling. Hopefully you read our post on online marketing for Christmas, devised a strategy months ago and are simply trying to fulfill the orders in a timely fashion. If you weren’t able to implement all your plans or if sales need a little boost here are some last minute tips for capitalizing on holiday spending, especially in this difficult economy.

1. Provide a Countdown for Shipping
   Don’t just tell users there is still time shop. Instead, show them how many days they have left to purchase. You can break it down further by listing cutoffs for each shipping method. If possible, show the price differences for each shipping method. The high cost of most expedited shipping methods may convince your shoppers to act now rather than paying more later.
   
2. Guarantee Arrival
   Let your visitors know that their order is guaranteed to arrive in time when ordered by a certain date. Although this may seem similar to a countdown clock it has a stronger connotation to your shoppers. Of course, ensure that you can reasonably meet that date after factoring in possible shipping delays. Don’t forget to define the repercussions should the gift miss the delivery date.
   
3. Promote Electronic Gift Cards
   As your countdown clock moves towards zero focus your promotions on electronic gift cards. Highlight the fact that these will be sent immediately. As an incentive you could offer to add to the value such as 10% extra. This can be especially effective in the final days when visitors are desperately trying to finish their shopping. Setup a separate checkout process for gift card only purchases that can be completed in as few steps as possible.
   
4. Provide Instant E-Cards
   Another great approach for last minute shoppers is to allow them to instantly send an e-card showing the item that has been purchased but will not arrive before Christmas. As with electronic gift cards, this feature should become more prominent on your site as the shipping deadlines pass.
   
5. Offer Returning Customer Deals
   Instead of giving customers a discount on their purchase give them a reward that cannot be used until the next year. Offer an amount that is large enough to entice the user to return but small enough to ensure they are likely to spend more than just the reward amount. Not only will this help you finish the year strong, it guarantees sales for the next year as well.

tags: Business ,  Sales ,  Web Strategy ,  Online Marketing