The holiday season is right around the corner, and the question is -- is your eCommerce shop ready? It better be, because 20-40% of all retail sales come in the last 2 months of the year. On top of that, the average order value for online purchases was up 10% from 2012 to 2013, and according to Shop.Org’s predictions there will be an 8%-11% growth in online sales in 2014. If you want to take advantage of this potential for sales then you should check out these 6 eCommerce tips for the holiday season!

1. Your
eCommerce
Guide to the Holiday
Season

2. The Holiday Season is upon us!

3. The Holiday Season is upon us!
While shoppers are preparing to spend to their hearts’ content, you should be preparing to get them to spend their money at your store.

4. The Holiday Season is upon us!
While shoppers are preparing to spend to their hearts’ content, you should be preparing to get them to spend their money at your store.
This time of year is by far the most profitable for retail companies.

5. The Holiday Season is upon us!
While shoppers are preparing to spend to their hearts’ content, you should be preparing to get them to spend their money at your store.
This time of year is by far the most profitable for retail companies.
How profitable??

6. 20%-40% of all retail sales happen during the last two months of the year
The averagevalue per online purchase was up by over 10% in 2013 from 2012
According to Shop.Org’spredictions there will be an 8%-11% growth in online sales in 2014

7. 20%-40% of all retail sales happen during the last two months of the year
The averagevalue per online purchase was up by over 10% in 2013 from 2012
According to Shop.Org’spredictions there will be an 8%-11% growth in online sales in 2014

8. 20%-40% of all retail sales happen during the last two months of the year
The averagevalue per online purchase was up by over 10% in 2013 from 2012
According to Shop.Org’spredictions there will be an 8%-11% growth in online sales in 2014

9. Ok, great so the holiday season is a profitable time

10. Ok, great so the holiday season is a profitable time, but the real question is, how can YOU take advantage of this season?

11. To answer that
we bring you
StoreYa’s
6 Tips to
Boost Your Sales
This Holiday Season

12. Create Your Holiday Theme!

13. To be successful over the holidays you’re going to need to create a holiday themed designfor your website and marketing campaigns.

14. To be successful over the holidays you’re going to need to create a holiday themed designfor your website and marketing campaigns.
Your theme is very important because it will be the base of your entire Holiday Season campaign.

15. To be successful over the holidays you’re going to need to create a holiday themed designfor your website and marketing campaigns.
Your theme is very important because it will be the base of your entire Holiday Season campaign.
You will use the same design (or design theme) on your website, in your emails, on social media, and in your advertisements.

16. Check out this emailfrom Bed Bath and Beyond as an example:

17. Check out this emailfrom Bed Bath and Beyond as an example:

18. And look at the landing page it leads to. The same exact design!

19. Decide on Your Holiday Specials

20. The Holiday Season is a perfect time for you to break out all of your most creative incentives.

21. The Holiday Season is a perfect time for you to break out all of your most creative incentives.
People expect deals so you have to deliver.

22. The Holiday Season is a perfect time for you to break out all of your most creative incentives.
People expect deals so you have to deliver.
But it’s not enough to just offer discounts, you need to make sure your deals are better than your competitors’!

23. The Holiday Season is a perfect time for you to break out all of your most creative incentives.
People expect deals so you have to deliver.
But it’s not enough to just offer discounts, you need to make sure your deals are better than your competitors’!
Here are a few ideas that you can use…

24. Discounts and sales are a simple and effective way to get people to shop at your eCommerce store

25. Discounts and sales are a simple and effective way to get people to shop at your eCommerce store
But you have to really “sell” your discount. Show that your sale is better than your competitor’s sale!

26. Discounts and sales are a simple and effective way to get people to shop at your eCommerce store
But you have to really “sell” your discount. Show that your sale is better than your competitor’s sale!
For example:

27. Discounts and sales are a simple and effective way to get people to shop at your eCommerce store
But you have to really “sell” your discount. Show that your sale is better than your competitor’s sale!
For example:
Make your sales into a gameby having a deal of the day. You can take this to the next level by posting exclusive deals every hour or so on your site and social networks.

28. Discounts and sales are a simple and effective way to get people to shop at your eCommerce store
But you have to really “sell” your discount. Show that your sale is better than your competitor’s sale!
Or you could

29. Discounts and sales are a simple and effective way to get people to shop at your eCommerce store
But you have to really “sell” your discount. Show that your sale is better than your competitor’s sale!
Or you could
Offer great discounts on great products! If you can give a discount on a hot product to undercut the competitionyou will definitely bring in more sales.

30. According to Deloitte, 66% of people are more likely to shop in an online store if there is an offer of free shipping.

31. According to Deloitte, 66% of people are more likely to shop in an online store if there is an offer of free shipping.
That is a lot of people!

32. According to Deloitte, 66% of people are more likely to shop in an online store if there is an offer of free shipping.
That is a lot of people!
Maybe you offer free shipping year round, maybe you don’t. Either way, free shipping is a great thing to stress in your holiday time marketing.

33. Target, a major discount retail chain,knows this, which is why it recently announced that it will provide free shipping through the end of the Holiday Season!

34. Target, a major discount retail chain,knows this, which is why it recently announced that it will provide free shipping through the end of the Holiday Season!

35. The holidays are a great time for games and competitions.

36. The holidays are a great time for games and competitions.
You can use the excitement of holiday shopping to boost your competitions to a whole new level.

37. The holidays are a great time for games and competitions.
You can use the excitement of holiday shopping to boost your competitions to a whole new level.
Some competition ideas:

38. The holidays are a great time for games and competitions.
You can use the excitement of holiday shopping to boost your competitions to a whole new level.
Some competition ideas:
•Enter to win sweepstakes

39. The holidays are a great time for games and competitions.
You can use the excitement of holiday shopping to boost your competitions to a whole new level.
Some competition ideas:
•Enter to win sweepstakes
•Wish list based sweepstakes

40. The holidays are a great time for games and competitions.
You can use the excitement of holiday shopping to boost your competitions to a whole new level.
Some competition ideas:
•Enter to win sweepstakes
•Wish list based sweepstakes
•Photo competition

41. The holidays are a great time for games and competitions.
You can use the excitement of holiday shopping to boost your competitions to a whole new level.
Some competition ideas:
•Enter to win sweepstakes
•Wish list based sweepstakes
•Photo competition
•Best holiday _______ ideas

42. Take a look at this competition that PayPal is running as an example:

43. Determine Your
Marketing Strategy

44. Now that you know what you’d like to offer, it’s time to figure out how to implement your strategyby thinking about the Holiday Season in terms of a “Holiday Season Sales Funnel.”

45. Now that you know what you’d like to offer, it’s time to figure out how to implement your strategyby thinking about the Holiday Season in terms of a “Holiday Season Sales Funnel.”

46. Now that you know what you’d like to offer, it’s time to figure out how to implement your strategyby thinking about the Holiday Season in terms of a “Holiday Season Sales Funnel.”
And now some best practicesfor how to use your marketing channels to create a holiday funnel.

47. You should use at least one of your social media accounts to get your holiday marketing rolling.

48. You should use at least one of your social media accounts to get your holiday marketing rolling.
Think about the Holiday Funnel --social media is the perfect place to begin setting the mood for the holiday season andgetting your customers into the buying mode.

49. You should use at least one of your social media accounts to get your holiday marketing rolling.
Think about the Holiday Funnel --social media is the perfect place to begin setting the mood for the holiday season andgetting your customers into the buying mode.
After setting the mood you should post about your products in the framework of the holidays -“Check out our new line of sweaters –the perfect Christmas/Hanukkah gift.”

50. As the season progresses, you should use social media to bolster your campaigns.

51. As the season progresses, you should use social media to bolster your campaigns.
If you are running a competition, then you should be posting about it on social media.

52. As the season progresses, you should use social media to bolster your campaigns.
If you are running a competition, then you should be posting about it on social media. If you have a sale – social media.

53. As the season progresses, you should use social media to bolster your campaigns.
If you are running a competition, then you should be posting about it on social media. If you have a sale – social media. Free shipping –social media.

54. As the season progresses, you should use social media to bolster your campaigns.
If you are running a competition, then you should be posting about it on social media. If you have a sale – social media. Free shipping –social media. Any campaign you take up, use social media to promote it.

55. As the season progresses, you should use social media to bolster your campaigns.
If you are running a competition, then you should be posting about it on social media. If you have a sale – social media. Free shipping –social media. Any campaign you take up, use social media to promote it.
Throughout the Holiday Season you should use social media to maintain the mood of the season, while directly boosting your products, campaigns, and salesin order to set your store apart from the rest.

56. Email marketing is key to your holiday season success.

57. Email marketing is key to your holiday season success.
First things first, you should be sure to build your mailing list up in preparation for the Holiday Season. A great way of doing this is by using our
Holiday Themed Coupon Pops!

58. Email marketing is key to your holiday season success.
First things first, you should be sure to build your mailing list up in preparation for the Holiday Season. A great way of doing this is by using our
Holiday Themed Coupon Pops!
Click Here!

59. Email marketing is key to your holiday season success.
First things first, you should be sure to build your mailing list up in preparation for the Holiday Season. A great way of doing this is by using our
Holiday Themed Coupon Pops!
These pop ups can definitely help you boost your sales, while building your email list.

63. Once you have your list built, you should focus on generating direct sales from your emails.

64. Once you have your list built, you should focus on generating direct sales from your emails.
Create a few automated email workflows, some generaland some specific, that will lead people through your sales funnel, and result in a purchase.

65. A general flow would promote your offers. If you’re promoting your new line of computers with special sales, then you should create a holiday themed email workflow that will show not only how good the computers are,but also how good the sale is.

66. A general flow would promote your offers. If you’re promoting your new line of computers with special sales, then you should create a holiday themed email workflow that will show not only how good the computers are,but also how good the sale is.
You can also set up workflows that will target specific customers or types of customers –one time buyers, frequent buyers, people who are highly engaged with your blog --whatever you think will be helpful in order to draw these customers in.

67. Paid ads provide you with opportunities to catch new customers that your email marketing does not give you.

68. Paid ads provide you with opportunities to catch new customers that your email marketing does not give you.
The two main platforms you should consider are Google Adwords and Facebook Ads.

69. Adwordsis a great platform to reach new people and catch the “low hanging fruit” –aka the people that are already interested in the products that you sell, but just need to find you.

70. Adwordsis a great platform to reach new people and catch the “low hanging fruit” –aka the people that are already interested in the products that you sell, but just need to find you.
Since the Holiday Season is such a big time for online shopping related searchesyou should consider bidding more aggressivelyin order to get better placement on your keywords.

71. Notice the clear spikes in search volume around the holiday season!

72. By using Facebook’s targeting settings, your Facebook Ads can be used to reach new and relevant customers.

73. By using Facebook’s targeting settings, your Facebook Ads can be used to reach new and relevant customers.
Another amazing option Facebook provides is retargeting.

74. By using Facebook’s targeting settings, your Facebook Ads can be used to reach new and relevant customers.
Another amazing option Facebook provides is retargeting.
Using Custom Audiences you can create an audience of people who have visited your website, or even visited a specific page on your site. This information can be used to create a super specific retargeted ad!

75. Finally you can use your blog to promote specific products, campaigns, and salestaking place in your store.

76. Finally you can use your blog to promote specific products, campaigns, and salestaking place in your store.
You can also use it to add value to your customer’s experience.

77. Finally you can use your blog to promote specific products, campaigns, and salestaking place in your store.
You can also use it to add value to your customer’s experience.
For example, you could write up a post about how to use one of your sale products, or a post about how to best do holiday shopping.

78. You should use email and social media to promote your blog.

79. You should use email and social media to promote your blog. For example, take look at the email from Bed Bath and Beyond that we mentioned earlier:

80. Ideally you should use all of your different channels together in order to promote a specific campaignand get your customers to go through your sales funnel.

81. Ideally you should use all of your different channels together in order to promote a specific campaignand get your customers to go through your sales funnel.
For example, you can announce a competition that you are hosting on yourblog, promote that post on social mediaand send it out via email, encourage people to sign up during the competition through a combined effort of social media, paid ads, and email.

82. Ideally you should use all of your different channels together in order to promote a specific campaignand get your customers to go through your sales funnel.
For example, you can announce a competition that you are hosting on yourblog, promote that post on social mediaand send it out via email, encourage people to sign up during the competition through a combined effort of social media, paid ads, and email.
What you end up with in this case is a full picture.

83. Create a
Marketing Schedule

84. Once you’ve got your marketing plan put together you have to keep it organized by mapping it out.

85. Once you’ve got your marketing plan put together you have to keep it organized by mapping it out.
You should know exactly when each blog post or email blast will be sent out.

86. Once you’ve got your marketing plan put together you have to keep it organized by mapping it out.
You should know exactly when each blog post or email blast will be sent out.
This way you can be sure that you or your marketing team will have everything together in time, and that your campaign will run as smoothly as possible.

87. Implement, Track, and Optimize

88. Next it’s time to implement your Holiday Season campaigns! Set everything in motion, update your website’s theme, and get the sales rolling.

89. Next it’s time to implement your Holiday Season campaigns! Set everything in motion, update your website’s theme, and get the sales rolling.
At this point it is important to keep track of your holiday campaign, because you want to know if you can attribute your sales to it or if they are just ordinary sales.

90. For that reason you should set up set up “Conversion Goals” in your Google Analytics,

91. For that reason you should set up set up “Conversion Goals” in your Google Analytics, and use the Google URL Builderto create trackable and specific links so that you can determine where your conversions are coming from.

92. As you begin to see results you will be able to see which marketing channels are working best andwhich could use improvement.

93. As you begin to see results you will be able to see which marketing channels are working best andwhich could use improvement.
Keep an eye on this so that you will be able to optimize your campaigns as you go.

94. Think About
Post-Holiday Sales

95. Last, but certainly not least, you have to think towards the future!

96. Last, but certainly not least, you have to think towards the future!
Keep track of all your holiday customers so that you can try to convert them into returning customers after the Holiday Season.

97. Last, but certainly not least, you have to think towards the future!
Keep track of all your holiday customers so that you can try to convert them into returning customers after the Holiday Season.
Here are a few ideas you could try out…

98. Send a thank you email to everyone who purchased from you during the season, and include a “thank you gift” as well.

99. Send a thank you email to everyone who purchased from you during the season, and include a “thank you gift” as well.
The email could be something along the lines of:

100. Send a thank you email to everyone who purchased from you during the season, and include a “thank you gift” as well.
The email could be something along the lines of:
“Thank you for choosing ____ for all your holiday shopping needs! As a little thank you gift we wanted to offer you a discount on your next purchase. Wishing you a happy holiday.”

101. After the holidays you will notice that there will be A LOT of abandoned shopping carts.

102. After the holidays you will notice that there will be A LOT of abandoned shopping carts.
Of course many of the people who filled a cart and didn’t purchase might have found what they were looking for elsewhere, but you never know! They might just need a second incentive to actually finish the purchase.

103. After the holidays you will notice that there will be A LOT of abandoned shopping carts.
Of course many of the people who filled a cart and didn’t purchase might have found what they were looking for elsewhere, but you never know! They might just need a second incentive to actually finish the purchase.
Try offering a “post-holiday discount” on abandoned items.

104. In the months of January and February you should try to gentlyencourage upsells from customers who made purchases during the holidays.

105. In the months of January and February you should try to gentlyencourage upsells from customers who made purchases during the holidays.
We say gently, because most of your customers probably just spent a lot of money, and you don’t want to frustrate them by pushing too hard.

106. In the months of January and February you should try to gentlyencourage upsells from customers who made purchases during the holidays.
We say gently, because most of your customers probably just spent a lot of money, and you don’t want to frustrate them by pushing too hard.
None the less, there will definitely be customers that can be drawn inby a good upsell flow, and the right discount or incentive.

107. In Conclusion

108. The holidays might be right around the corner, but it’s not too late to get startedwith your holiday campaign!

109. The holidays might be right around the corner, but it’s not too late to get startedwith your holiday campaign!
Just remember:

110. The holidays might be right around the corner, but it’s not too late to get startedwith your holiday campaign!
Just remember:
1.Design a holiday theme
2.Decide on your holiday specials
3.Determine your marketing strategy
4.Create a marketing schedule
5.Implement, track, and optimizeyour campaign
6.Think about post-holiday sales

111. If you liked this slide show then you will love our free eBook on email marketing!
Get your eBook Here!