Christmas Digital Checklist
Ready to get festive? There are a few things your eCommerce business needs to tick off before you can get the cookies out for Santa.
Here’s our foolproof checklist for getting digital ready for Christmas in 2021. Follow the list and we’re confident you’ll have a very jolly season!
Item One: Create a Plan
The good news is you’re already reading this blog post, which means you’re looking to plan ahead for the festive season. Great!
Christmas time can be chaotic. Create a calendar so you don’t miss any of the dates you want to hit and make sure you stick to it. Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many businesses fly by the seat of their pants. It never works.
While we’re at it, you should create a plan for the whole year. Map out the different holidays that you can take advantage of, in addition to the festive season. For example:
- Halloween
- Black Friday
- Cyber Monday
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
Item Two: Review Past Data
Learn from your past mistakes and capitalise on insights from your marketing dashboard.
What did the festive season look like for you last year? Which products sold out? Which promotions did best? Which platforms worked well?
For example, if sales from Instagram ads last year went through the roof, make the most of that platform again. But don’t put all your eggs in one basket. See how you can optimise other channels so they perform better this time round.
Last year we were in peak Covid and saw a massive increase in online shopping. This year is set to be even bigger. Capitalise on it by embracing digital.
Item Three: Get Started Early
This is true for any sale season as you need to be letting people know about your products and promotions long before the actual holiday arrives.
Yet it’s especially relevant this year with Covid delays. We’re sure you’re familiar with this message when online shopping in 2021, “Please allow extra time for processing and shipping due to Covid-19.”
The good news is, this isn’t new!
Australia Post and logistics delays have trained the average shopper to order even earlier so that their items arrive in time. Because of this, shoppers will be jumping online for Christmas presents even earlier than usual.
Be as organised as they are and get everything in order ASAP. Encourage your customers to shop early so they aren’t disappointed by longer wait times. Beat out your competition early.
Item Four: Use Your Existing Audience
We’ve spent more time online than ever in the last 12 months, so your existing audience is most likely bigger than ever.
Use this to your advantage with remarketing.
Compile a list of people who purchased from your site last December, as well as anyone who has bought your products throughout this year. It’s likely they’ll be happy to buy it again as a gift.
There is a huge opportunity here through search, social and platform advertising to target those same people. Huge.
Don’t let them forget about their previous great experience with you! Be front of mind this Christmas.
Item Five: Benefit From Email Marketing
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Email marketing is an underestimated powerhouse.
Marketing emails are known to have a 176% greater chance of gaining conversions as compared to social media platforms. However, with the open rate of eCommerce emails being around 10%, the holiday rush risks the open rate dropping lower. Which means you’ll need to make sure your holiday emails hit the spot.
Tell a story. Make sure your copy and design is working hard to get readers to click that CTA.
We can help with this. Check out our previous Success Stories.
Item Six: Turn Christmas Shoppers Into Year Round Shoppers
Be smart.
Don’t just smash the Christmas checklist and then go back to business as usual. Take your data and strategies from this festive period into 2022 and beyond. Continue growing your audience and boosting sales throughout the year.
At Emote, we’re all about data driven strategy and optimising year on year. We never settle for good enough.