The holidays are a time for reflection, fun, and of course, shopping. Traditionally, shoppers formed lines at dawn and swarmed shopping malls and department stores to take advantage of Black Friday deals. Holiday marketing strategy formerly consisted of newspaper ads, physical catalog mailers, window dressing, and posters.
Now, online retailers wear the holiday consumer shopping crown, and eCommerce holiday marketing is all about PPC ad spend, social media, and conversion rate. In the digital landscape, there’s more competition but more potential. So how can you increase your holiday eCom sales in 2021?
Start Your Holiday Strategy As Soon As Possible
No matter your strategy, it’s essential to prepare for holiday consumer shopping as early as possible. Consumers have the holidays on their minds as early as September—this is especially true in 2021 since the pandemic made many people miss out on holiday festivities in 2020.
As the holidays approach, it’s critical to prepare your inventory, develop a killer holiday marketing strategy, and secure your funding to make the most of increased holiday demand—and opportunity.
Prepare Your Inventory
Managing inventory flow for an eCommerce business can be challenging—even more so thanks to holiday shipping delays. It’s critical to keep enough supply on hand to meet increased demand. This means topping up your cache of raw materials—including labeling and packaging materials—as well as assessing your storage needs for finished goods.
Build Your Ecommerce Holiday Digital Marketing Strategy
Along with tight inventory management, you need a solid digital marketing strategy. Your 2021 holiday marketing strategy should include PPC ads on multiple platforms, social media campaigns, SEO, and critical analysis of your key metrics to maximize conversions.
Leverage PPC Ads
PPC Ads provide a critical marketing advantage for many online retailers. Consumers will be shopping online for holiday gifts and bargains for months, and strong PPC campaigns provide tons of impressions that customers often circle back to after they’ve done their research.
- Google Ads—Maximize your impact by showing up for relevant keywords at the top of a Google Search.
- Amazon Ads—If you’re an Amazon Seller, promote your goods as Sponsored Products to get more eyes on your items.
- Etsy Ads—If you sell on Etsy, you can boost your listings in Etsy search for as little as $1/day.
- Facebook and Instagram Ads—Facebook’s powerful targeting and wide network provide massive advertising opportunities for eCommerce brands.
- Twitter Ads—Twitter Ads are a great way to raise awareness and drive traffic toward your eCommerce site.
- Pinterest Ads—For eCommerce brands with a strong visual aesthetic, promoted pins can be a great way to drive conversions.
Push Your Products On Social Media
Social media is a great, affordable way to increase holiday sales. Post often, and focus on your visual appeal. Each post should hook the viewer as they scroll through announcements from family and friends, travel photos, memes, and travel photos.
- Update Your Profile and Cover Photos—This is a simple way to announce that your brand is participating in holiday festivities, which can encourage your followers to check and see if you’re running any promotions.
- Embrace Short Form Video—Social media users are far more likely to pause for videos than photos; however, since many people scroll on mute, remember to caption your sales pitch.
- Use Every Avenue You Have—Posts, Stories, Reels, Tweets, Short Video, Long Video—Use everything you can to point people towards your holiday sales.
- Clean Up Your Landing Page—It’s crucial to deliver a knockout experience when social media users click through the links on your posts and hit your landing page. Make sure your copy is clean and enticing, and your imagery is beautiful.
Go Big On Key Shopping Dates
Consumer shopping traditions drive tons of revenue during the holiday season, and the more creative you get with your promotions and marketing, the better. While historically, shoppers restricted holiday sales to a handful of key dates, current schedules and online shopping have turned the entire months of November and December into an annual sales extravaganza.
Halloween
Halloween isn’t traditionally a significant consumer holiday. However, it also marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, so as shoppers celebrate Halloween with their friends and family, they’re searching for holiday gifts and planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas parties.
The day after Halloween is a common day for flash sales. Tap into the energy by not only discounting your Halloween stock but also promoting holiday collections and sales while people are in a shopping mood. Email is a great way to make sure that your customers wake up to your most significant announcements, and social media is a great way to make sure they see reminders of your sales throughout the day.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Black Friday started as just a single evening when shoppers could find great deals on big-ticket items, and Cyber Monday began as the digital response to Black Friday—especially in the tech world. Then, we saw the appearance of doorbusters, bundles, and week-long sales. Now, the entire month of November is one giant holiday promotion where practically anything goes.
When maximizing your impact during November, tantalizing deals are key. Much of your competition will be offering store-wide discounts in some form or another. Build hype with substantial social media campaigns and drive conversions with weekly or daily flash sales. Get creative with themed bundles and add-on items. The more promotions you can run, the better.
Super Saturday Thru Christmas Eve
The final Saturday before Christmas—and the days leading up to Christmas Eve—is when many last-minute shoppers search for the perfect gifts for any special guests they expect to see during the holidays. Also, it’s the time that many shoppers will be seeking small gifts for coworkers and office parties. This is a great time to promote sentimental gifts like jewelry and easy gifts like fuzzy socks and candy.
Christmas Day Through Year-End
In the past, shopping on Christmas Day was considered bad form. Today, it’s open season. Many young people are eager to spend gift money on the big-ticket items they’d been eyeing during Black Friday but just couldn’t afford. Also, many people will want to buy things to pair with the gifts they receive from friends and family.
New Year’s
New Year’s marks the final major push for eCommerce stores. It’s a great time to promote items that can be part of “new beginnings.” Many people will plan to build new skills and habits or take on hobbies, and they’ll be searching for books, apparel, and equipment to help them accomplish their goals for the New Year.
Secure Your Marketing Funds Early
A good marketing strategy costs money upfront. You don’t have time to wait for your holiday sales to clear—you need to pay contractors and employees to make marketing assets and execute campaigns. You need to purchase ads on several platforms and prepare your inventory for increased demand. To reap the benefits of a killer holiday strategy, you need efficient funding.
Instant Access from Payability
Get funds from your eCommerce sales faster with Instant Access.
- Fast Approval—Skip the credit check and apply online with your seller account for same-day funding.
- Daily Payouts—Get your marketplace payouts on the same day, including weekends and holidays.
- Quick Transfers—Transfer money to your bank instantly with Instant Transfer, or use Same Day ACH or wire.
- Cash Back—Earn cash back on purchases you make with the Payability Seller Card.
Instant Advance from Payability
Launch your holiday strategy today with up to 250k through Instant Advance
- No Credit Check—Apply with sales and account health.
- Fast Funding—Apply online and receive funding as quickly as one business day.
- Get Your Money Immediately—Transfer money to your bank instantly with Instant Transfer, or use Same Day ACH or wire.
Cash Back—Earn cash back on purchases you make with the Payability Seller Card.
