Now I don’t know about you, but as soon as I got home from holiday last week, my mind turned to Christmas (that’s probably because I love Christmas).
It may be September, but if you are like most online retailers, you probably already have your Christmas photo shoots under your belt, your rota planned (what no Christmas holiday?!) and are attempting to make an educated guess as to what our fickle consumers will be scrabbling around Google to get their hands on this year.
However, getting your product range spot-on is just part of the battle; there are plenty of other things you can do to ensure you have a bumper Christmas. And let’s face it; the retailers of the UK deserve a great Christmas after the (albeit highly enjoyable) distractions of this summer with Jubilee parties, Olympic celebrations and Paralympic victories.
So what else can you do to ensure your ecommerce business’ Christmas is a cracker? (sorry couldn’t help it!)
I’ve put together a few things to consider when planning Christmas for your ecommerce business:
1. Keep your eyes on the bauble
Christmas is often a time of unexpected crazes, advertiser-inspired wish lists and new product releases causing a stir. Don’t take your eyes off the ball and be prepared to act quickly to take advantage of the latest trends. Equally, don’t delay acting on poorly performing lines – if you’ve chosen a turkey and can’t afford to have cash tied up in stock, consider running a promotion to stimulate demand. Of course every business is different, but the key point here is stay alert and act quickly. Don’t get to January and realise you just missed Christmas.
2. Don’t over-dress your Christmas tree
Whilst it’s important (if relevant) to embrace the Christmas spirit on your website, there’s nothing worse than an over-dressed tree. It can look tacky and messy and more importantly will negatively impact your user experience, which will result in reduced conversion rate and less sales – quite the opposite of what you intended, I’m sure. Ensure your Christmassy touches are on-brand and subtly fit within your site’s existing design, adding just a hint of festivity and not negatively impacting your user experience. Nicely designed banners are a great way of embracing the various festivities & celebrations that we will enjoy in the coming months and are the easiest to implement. If you have a decent ecommerce solution then you should have full control over your on-site banners making it easy to test, refine and test again until you reach optimum performance.
3. Give them a reason to part with their chocolate coins
I’m not the first to admit that it’s tough getting me to part with my chocolate coins, and even tougher to get consumers to part with their hard-earned real ones. Make sure you provide a compelling reason to buy; at Christmas consumers want to and need to spend money, but they’re going to need persuading if they’re going to spend them with you. There’s another online retailer just waiting to take their money, so before they hit the back button, give them a reason to buy. Whether it’s free delivery, free returns, price guarantees, gift wrapping, product personalisation or even just a great website or unique product range; make sure you have something that sets you apart from your competition.
4. Be careful with your sleigh
With the chaos and disappointment of Christmas 2010’s snowy disaster still fresh in the minds of many online shoppers, reassurance is most definitely needed. Make sure you choose a reliable and quality courier service that will provide service level guarantees. Communicate your delivery options and guarantees on your website clearly and in the right places to stimulate conversions – product page, basket, homepage. Ensure that you clearly communicate last order deadlines for Christmas delivery and provide a variety of delivery options to suit all requirements, such as delivery to an alternate address, put in a safe place or leave with a neighbour – to allow your customers to keep up with the busy schedules that are so common in the run up to the big day.
5. It’s the most wonderful time of the year
Arguably it is, but for most of us in retail, it is also one of the busiest. It’s when at your busiest that the cracks will start to appear – your systems are under strain, your staff overworked and your stock management processes are tested to their limits. Prepare in advance – ensure you have sufficient people-power to meet demands, make sure your ecommerce technology is up to scratch and your stock system up to date and working smoothly. Be prepared to invest in additional resource over Christmas to keep the cogs in motion and make sure that you keep a note of what goes wrong and why. Come January, you’ve a nice quiet patch to get to work on fixing any problems that Christmas so kindly highlighted for you. The more prepared you are, the more wonderful your Christmas really could be!
Even I’ve had enough of my cheesy Christmas connotations; enjoy the time you have to prepare now and be ready to take advantage of the Christmas boom. Let’s hope that all those consumers that haven’t been spending over our summer of fun have managed to save up for a bumper Christmas shopping spree. Be prepared; give a great service and make sure you do that little something special to stand out from the crowd.
Merry Christmas!
