It’s just a week until people get their final pay cheque before Christmas and the busiest selling time of the year gets into full swing, but are you making the most of your opportunities to capitalise on holiday sales?
Stamps.com survey findings on shipping promotions
Free shipping is the most effective sales promotion heading in to the holiday season according to Stamps.com. In their latest survey on e-commerce shipping practices, Stamps.com found that 64% of respondents report that free shipping, with or without minimum spend, is the most effective promotion they can offer during the holiday season, and 53% will be offering free shipping on more products this year compared to last holiday season.
Free shipping might appear to be something foisted on sellers by eBay, but there’s little question that it’s the direction in which ecommerce is moving. Other significant findings from the Stamps.com surrvey are:
- Of merchants offering free shipping with a minimum spend, 66% of respondents require an order value of $50 or higher
- 29% of the respondents will offer free shipping on orders of any size, no minimum purchase required
- 82% of e-commerce merchants expect to have international sales
- For merchants using social media this holiday season, 54% plan to use the channel to drive sales
eSellerPro Christmas Ecommerce Guide
A report by eSellerPro has found that despite the increased revenue opportunities available in the lead up to Christmas, many online retailers are still struggling to take advantage of this increased consumer spend. Although Christmas activity should really begin in October, it is not too late for retailers to act to maximise their seasonal revenue.
The free eSellerPro Christmas Ecommerce Guide details the steps retailers should take when it comes to planning for Christmas, including steps that should have been taken 60 days prior and further steps that should be taken 45 days, 30 days and 15 days prior.
However the guide also emphasises that it’s still not too late to gear up for Christmas and take advantage of the huge opportunity this year and lays out a plan with steps to take immediately to ensure bumper Christmas and New Year sales. In particular the guide identifies email marketing as an area often forgotten at the busiest time of year but according to iContact email marketing is one of the most cost effect methods of converting previous customers into repeat buyers.
What are your Christmas selling tactics?
What are you doing to ensure Christmas is as profitable time a year as possible? Acknowledging the economy isn’t (to say the least) at it’s best are you offering more promotions and undertaking more marketing this year than in previous years? Do you have any tips for our readers on how to drive as many sales as possible in the run up to Christmas and to capitalise on New Year sales?
One Response
We stocked up early this year, it was scary at one point as we had shed loads of stock, no money and the usual amount of orders.
However the last couple of weeks it has started to pay off, as the order pile in we can concentrate on dispatch rather than worrying about ordering stock in.