The surge in eCommerce sales during 2020 and 2021 was partially credited to several pandemic-induced buying behaviors. Additionally, sellers are combating new prices, transformed consumer preferences (like early holiday shopping trends), and the threat of an economic decline. Despite all that, in 2022, holiday sales are expected to increase by nearly 14%.
On one hand, every seller wants to bank on this opportunity. But on the other hand, there is also the need to stand apart from the crowd of online sellers and engage more consumers. Having the right strategies in place can help you win on both ends and boost sales on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year in 2022.
Here are three tips to help you along.
1. Optimize your product listings
Product listings are the pillars that your eCommerce catalog stands on. Optimized and properly presented product listing pages can improve conversions significantly. So, if you haven’t updated the listings on your eCommerce store, start working on listing optimization for the holiday season ASAP.
You may question the logic behind altering product page content when they are getting you sales. However, it is essential to remember that buyer psychology during the holiday season is strikingly different from other times. They seek good deals, quick purchases, discounts, many product photographs, and fast delivery. Modifying your listing while keeping all these factors in mind will help guide shoppers to the product(s) they’re searching for. Product listing pages can significantly improve the user experience and create a positive perception of your brand.
Without properly optimized product listings, you can miss out on conversions. To avoid doing so, follow these simple practices to optimize your listings to convert more this holiday season–
- Listings Title: Well-written, descriptive headers assist people in understanding what they can expect to see on a particular page. Think of page headers as short, crisp summaries that briefly inform shoppers about the content of a page. As sellers, you should focus on clear headers that convey what you’re offering in a nutshell. You should also aim to cover keywords in your page header to meet the SEO requirements.
- Listing Design: Visitors will likely buy from websites that offer easy navigation and an engaging shopping experience. For example, Amazon focuses on helping users get to the products faster with its info-rich page layout. Try something similar for your website or eStore. Whether you choose a list-based or a grid-based layout for your product page, make sure to use appropriate images, styles, the volume of information, font sizes, whitespace, and image thumbnails.
- Product Page SEO: Creating a product page SEO strategy for the holiday season should be at the top of your priority list. Properly optimized listings (with the right keywords, intent, meta tags, etc.) can lead shoppers towards your product pages and turn them into customers for your eCommerce store.
2. Don’t neglect social media
Social media is the ultimate tool for every eCommerce business that wants to leverage the power of global reach and boost holiday sales for Black Friday and other events. In 2022, more than half of US consumers are predicted to make a social media purchase, bringing the country’s social commerce sales to an estimated $45.74 billion. In fact, more than 50 million small businesses are using Facebook Pages to connect with customers.
It is a good idea for sellers to use social media to inform consumers about offered deals and discounts for the holiday season.
Make use of popular social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat, as they are an integral part of holiday selling strategies for sellers. But don’t just blindly throw your marketing money on every social network. Instead, take some time out to research your target audience and their most preferred social media platform. Once you know where they spend most of their time, you can target them accordingly.
Follow these tips to create a killer social media promotion strategy for the holiday season –
Prepare your profiles
Update your social media profiles with holiday-themed banners to usher in the holiday season. Work on your profile photo, cover photo, and other image-based assets to tell your audience what they can expect. Rich, festive visuals are great for capturing attention and creating a buzz to boost sales for Black Friday and the holiday season.
You can customize the call-to-action link to lead people directly to your Black Friday, Halloween, or Thanksgiving product deals. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter also allow pinning a ‘status update’ or a ‘tweet’ to the top of their profile – you can use this to highlight your best deals, discounts, and product offers. Tell your audience you are ready for the holiday season because they already are. You can also use Facebook’s live countdown feature to create a sense of urgency about offers.
Run paid ads
One of the simple tips for selling during the holiday season is to run paid promotions and ads on social media websites. Paid ads are like online billboards; they attract users to your page or website.
Like you, other online sellers will also run ads on social media; the key is to separate your paid marketing campaign smartly. How do you do that? Use creative ads and event-specific hashtags in your paid posts (#blackfriday, #cybermonday, etc.). Also, harness the power of emotions in your social ads – try to entice feelings of joy, surprise, hope, and pleasure in the minds of audiences. Ad Targeting also matters – use multiple audience groups to create personalized ads for different buyer personas (e.g., young mothers, teenagers, professionals, etc.).
Whether you manage your social media yourself or outsource your eCommerce marketing services, keep social media at the center of your holiday sales-boosting strategy.
3. Focus on customer experience
A good consumer experience goes a long way in inspiring conversions. If your website’s shopping experience isn’t user-friendly, it’s not going to help you boost holiday sales for Black Friday or any other event, for that matter. Additionally, a majority of online shopping happens via smartphones. So, it is also imperative for sellers to provide a consistent user experience on all types of devices used by their target audiences.
Use these tips to delight your shoppers with a great customer experience:
- Make sure your eCommerce website loads quickly. Shoppers hate to wait, especially during the holiday season, as they want to grab the best deals quickly.
- Optimize your website to ensure it is responsive on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. Nothing irritates shoppers more than unoptimized and poorly responsive web pages.
- Check for broken links on your website. For example, ensure that each product listing or product detail page works. This will help prevent visitors from bouncing off your website.
- Offer time-saving and convenient features and benefits like – free shipping, autosave customer details, fast checkouts, quick-view, personalized messaging, and better product photos to generate trust and delight in shoppers’ minds.
- Use chatbots to capture customer inquiries or answer them in real-time quickly. Chatbots can also be utilized to make real-time offers and give subtle nudges to shoppers.
- Include user-generated photos to instill trust among shoppers. It is also a great way to tell them what to expect when they buy a product.
- Provide a buying guide for first-time shoppers to help them make a purchase decision easily.
Deals and discounts can be your unique advantage, but it only works if people have a pleasant time browsing, navigating, and shopping on your website.
Shoppers want great holiday deals, and they want them quickly and smoothly. Period.
Providing a pleasant shopping experience is often overlooked, yet one of the simple tips for selling in the holiday season. Think about the overall shopping experience from a buyer’s perspective, right from the landing page to the checkout page.
Ready to sell more this holiday season?
The competition is stiff, and as shoppers get smarter, it’s time for sellers to step up and delight them with more than just good deals and discounts. eCommerce sellers must use descriptive product listings, creative social media marketing, and a smooth shopping experience to boost sales for the holiday season.
We hope you make the most of these tips to create a successful holiday sales strategy.
If you also need professional assistance, like eCommerce data support, eCommerce product upload services, or product catalog management services, contact us. Leave out the guesswork and trust our professionals to do the right job for you. We provide customized solutions to businesses worldwide.
Write to us at mail@quiktekinfo.com today and get a free eStore audit!
