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It might seem a long way off, but Christmas will be here sooner than you think. And with many consumers starting their holiday prep ahead of time, retailers must be ready to meet demand ahead of schedule.
But what’s the best way of making the most of the upcoming explosion of retail sales?
Here are eight practical ways to promote your eCommerce store, increase sales and stand out from the crowd:
1. Cart abandonment emails
Cart abandonment is an everyday occurrence in eCommerce – but it doesn’t have to always mean a lost sale.
Many customers who abandon their cart do so deliberately, with their decision to add the item having been speculative or as part of their daily scrolling. However, others may have got distracted or not had time to complete the purchase – despite having a genuine intention to do so.
Sending an abandoned cart email can act as a gentle reminder for those types of customers. In fact, it’s a proven method of boosting revenue and rescuing otherwise lost conversions.
2. Product bundles
Group products that naturally go well together or are often bought together by other customers and aim to sell them in one transaction. For example, if a shopper adds one of the products to their cart, they’ll be shown an option to add the rest of the bundle as well.
Offering the right products in bundles with a discount or a low-value item free of charge will often result in the order value increasing over what the initial purchase would have been. This is one of the most tried and tested ways to upsell a product.
3. Limited time offers and flash sales
Limited time offers are a superb way of creating a sense of urgency for your customer and increasing ecommerce sales. They can often be quickly implemented quickly on your website to support your marketing activity and communications.
You might offer 50% off selected products for a month or two. Or you could go one step further and announce a more dramatic ‘flash sale’ – with discounts applied to prices of products for as little as a few days or even hours.
4. Celebratory offers
It could be a birthday, purchase milestone or registration anniversary. Whatever the occasion, using these special dates to offer exclusive and time-limited discounts is a superb way of attracting customers back to your eCommerce store to make a purchase.
This would normally be in the form of email marketing triggered by the special day or a few days before. Research from Experian shows revenue resulting from emails like these perform over 300% higher compared to normal promotional campaigns.
5. Suggested products
Your aim might be to upsell a higher value version of the same product that someone has already shown an interest in. Or you could be upselling complementary products (similar to bundling). Either way, suggesting products that the shopper might like can be a great way to achieve a higher basket value.
You can do this on-site while the shopper is completing their check-out. Alternatively, you could follow up after the purchase with an email offering a discount if they purchase specific relevant products. This can help to trigger a separate – but related – transaction later on.
6. Seasonal discounts
Shoppers know to look for special offers and discounts at certain times of the year. Who doesn’t love a bargain, after all? Times that traditionally involve gift-giving, such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are all times when consumers are likely to buy, and newer sales traditions like Black Friday and Cyber Monday have also quickly become part of the eCommerce furniture in the UK.
Whether you choose to run a short flash sale on specific seasonal days, or a series of offers in the lead up to a seasonal event, use email to let previous customers know what you’re offering. This, paired with promotions via your website and social channels, will help you maximise sales during seasonal peaks.
7. Competitions and giveaways
What’s the one thing customers love more than a bargain? Winning something for free, of course.
It’s true that running competitions and giveaways will always attract a share of ‘compers’ (who enter every competition possible). But it’s still a good way to raise awareness of your products and brand, while expanding your email marketing list and social media following.
Giveaways help create a buzz and demand around a new product launch. They also renew interest in a product that may have been around a while. Obviously, a ‘money can’t buy’ prize or something with a high retail value tends to be the biggest possible draw. But even giveaways involving fairly low-value prizes can be very popular – especially if there are better chances of entrants being successful. For example, why not give away several lower-ticket prizes, rather than just one big draw?
8. Offer multiple retail finance options
Credit options at checkout are becoming a must-have for the modern shopper. Offering customers different options when it comes to paying for their purchase can help you get the sale over the line. And that’s not all. It can also increase the order value over the original intended spend. With interest-free finance available at checkout, shoppers can see what their potential repayments will be if they choose to spread the cost this way – which can be a positive trigger for the sale to proceed.
It provides them with more choice, doesn’t need to interrupt or delay the shopping process and provides payment flexibility that many shoppers really value – especially in today’s economic climate.
Partner with DivideBuy
Want to offer your customers with another way to pay flexibly for their purchases? Even if you already use other providers, you can add DivideBuy to your payment options.
Doing this makes you visible to our extensive customer base. Our shoppers have used DivideBuy with other retailers, meaning they are already familiar with and trust our seamless credit journey. For customers who’ve yet to use DivideBuy, giving them more choice in how to pay can increase the value of ecommerce sales that make it over the line.
Got 15 minutes? Get in touch with our friendly team and book a demo today.
