Your eCommerce Holiday Readiness Guide
Following the Cyber rush, luxury brands need to quickly switch gears into Holiday messaging mode. It’s essential to keep the momentum going with optimized strategies, engaging content, and compelling offers.
This year, many luxury ecommerce brands may have experienced a November slump due to the economic uncertainty brought about by the US election cycle, but December provides an opportunity to make an extra push to recover any lost revenue.
Ready to make December a successful month and hit your annual targets? Here’s our eCommerce Holiday Readiness guide — our early Christmas present to you.
8 eCommerce Holiday Planning Tips
Here’s a Holiday ecommerce checklist of things to do to prepare your website and marketing strategies for a high-performing season.
1. CREATE SEO-LED HOLIDAY GUIDES
Many consumers begin their Holiday shopping by looking for inspiration online. As a result, searches for queries like 'Christmas gifts', 'Gifts for him', and 'Gifts for her' spike in December.
Brands can capture these searches and appear top of search engine results pages (SERPs) by creating SEO-optimized gift guides that target these popular search queries, among others in their industry niche. These guides should highlight your best-selling products, providing an array of gift ideas.
Here’s a checklist for creating an SEO-optimized page:
Identify target keywords and include them in your content
Optimize the Meta tags
Write a Meta title and description
Make the URL SEO-friendly
Get to the point quickly
Create high-quality content
Use internal and external links
Use engaging visuals with alt text
Apply schema markup
Make sure it’s indexed on Google
Make sure the page loads quickly
Once your SEO-driven Holiday guide is live, don’t stop there. Promote it across paid advertising campaigns, including search and display ads. You could also repurpose the content for social media Stories or Carousel posts, driving further organic traffic.
Lovingly’s Holiday Gift Guide has been optimized for search engines, targeting consumers searching for gift ideas for flower lovers. They’ve promoted their own products among others, helping to build trust for their brand and provide true value to their page visitors.
2. CREATE PRODUCT BUNDLES AND GIFT SETS
Gift sets and bundles conveniently make Holiday shopping quicker and easier, while increasing average order value. Offering bundles at a discounted price is also a good way to entice customers seeking offers without lowering the perceived value of your luxury brand.
Consult your sales data to see which items are often purchased together, then bundle them up to encourage customers to buy them and save. Include these bundles in your paid ads to entice social media users onto your website and drive extra sales.
Sabon’s “gift shop” features various gift sets at different price points, ensuring that every type of customer can purchase a Sabon gift. These curated sets make gift buying far simpler for customers, increasing the likelihood of making a purchase.
3. REFRESH YOUR HOLIDAY LANDING PAGES FROM LAST YEAR
SEO is a process that helps your web pages rank on Google. New pages can take a while to appear top of search engine result pages, which is why most brands keep their Holiday landing pages live throughout the year but hide them in the backend of their site.
By the time December rolls around, brands can simply make these Holiday pages visible to the public. But they should update them too. Google prioritizes fresh, relevant content, so a Holiday page talking about Christmas 2023 with no changes to the page is less likely to reach the top of SERPs for Christmas 2024.
As well as specifying the year, ensure that you update your bestsellers to show an accurate catalog of top-performing products or products you want to push for this year.
SKIMS uses its Holiday landing page to promote seasonal products that should perform better in December, such as Christmas-themed pajamas and fleecy jumpers. They optimize the page with relevant copy and trending products to keep customers engaged.
4. USE FOMO AND TIME-SENSITIVE MESSAGING
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a powerful motivator for sales. This is especially true during the Holiday season when time is limited and people want to make sure they don’t miss out on great deals. Crafting compelling, time-sensitive offers drives urgency and prompts customers to act quickly and make the purchase.
Here are some ideas for creating urgency:
Countdown timers: Include a countdown clock on your website or email campaigns to show customers exactly how much time is left to take advantage of your offers
Limited quantity offers: Use messaging like “Only X products left” to create a sense of scarcity.
Flash deals: Use last-minute sales, particularly for products that are more likely to be purchased at the eleventh hour.
Apply this messaging throughout your organic social media content to remind your customers to act now to avoid missing out.
CALPAK used this method incredibly effectively over the Black Friday period, but the same strategy can be applied for the Holiday season too.
5. MAKE SHIPPING CUT-OFF CLEAR
Shipping deadlines are crucial during the Holiday season when customers want to ensure that their gifts arrive in time for the 25th — even if they’ve left it to the last minute. Clearly communicate your cut-off dates for each shipping option, including standard shipping, fast shipping, and international orders.
Ensure that your customers don’t miss this by displaying the message in a pop-up, especially when checking out. You could also include it on your homepage or use a site-wide banner. Sending email reminders to customers about these deadlines can also urge them to purchase in time.
Many shoppers appreciate free shipping, especially around the Holidays. Consider running a promotion for free shipping on orders over a certain value to push more conversions over the checkout line.
N.Peal have added a banner that specifies their shipping cut-off at the top of their website. Clicking on it takes users to their delivery & returns page which provides details about last order dates for Christmas delivery in the UK and internationally.
6. HAVE A CLEAR RETURNS POLICY
When buying gifts online, there’s always a risk that the recipient may not like them or that they won’t fit. By offering an easy and clear returns policy, you provide peace of mind to shoppers, making them more likely to purchase from your store.
Around the Holidays, it’s advisable to extend your returns window to after Christmas, regardless of when it was purchased. You don’t want to punish early shoppers for getting their gifts from you in advance by not allowing them to return the item before they even had the chance to gift it.
Try to make the returns process as seamless as possible, too, with clear instructions on your website. Include the cost of returns, their options, and how long the return process may take. Gift receipts can also help recipients to return or exchange their gift without the uncomfortable scenario of handing it back to the gifter and asking them to do it for them.
N.Peal also make their returns policy very clear, offering an extended Christmas returns period for items purchased after November 1st. This exclusive offer is highlighted prominently with an on-site banner.
7. OFFER GIFT-WRAPPING SERVICES
Gift wrapping, especially for luxury goods, is that something extra that can sway a shopper’s decision to purchase from your brand. They may be sending it straight to the recipient’s house, making a standout unboxing experience important.
Offering a high-quality gift-wrapping service can elevate the customer experience and guarantee that your items are presented in wrapping as prestigious as your products. Make sure that your gift-wrapping services are visible on your checkout pages and demonstrate its value.
Don’t forget to show off your unique, luxurious unboxing experience on social media. Use UGC that shows customers or influencers unwrapping their gift-wrapped Holiday purchases or create your own content to show it off to its full extent.
Chanel offers free luxury gift wrapping and gift notes with every order. Not only does it ensure that their items are always presented beautifully, it also offers something extra to their customers to persuade them to make that purchase.
8. OFFER GIFT CARDS TO LAST MINUTE SHOPPERS
Gift cards are a lifesaver for procrastinators, making them a great option for last minute Holiday shoppers. They’re super convenient for luxury brands too, as they can be delivered instantly by email. Make this clear on your website, as it will allow you to capture sales right up to Christmas morning.
If a shopper is clicking through your website, unsure of which items to purchase, a pop-up offering gift cards could appear. Rather than losing out on a sale because they were hesitating, you can capture the sale by taking the guesswork out of the gifting equation.
Ralph Lauren makes it clear that e-gift cards will arrive to the recipient's inbox within 24 hours. They allow customers to select a range of prices to suit their gifting needs or even type in their own gift card value.
We Can Help With Your Holiday eCommerce Strategy
Block & Tam drives business growth for luxury brands through effective, multi-channel digital marketing solutions.
With the right combination of SEO, paid advertising, and social media strategies, your brand can maximize its Holiday sales this December. Get in touch with our team today.
