Holiday Promo Ideas for Ecommerce Stores

The time for holiday gift giving is coming at us fast. Depending on your industry & brand, you’ve spent weeks or potentially even months developing your holiday products.
As the holidays approach, it is easy to start to get a bit anxious. You’ve spent so much time, effort, and money on creating something great that you want to make sure they’re successful.
Low holiday sales could be a crushing blow, both financially & psychologically for your brand.
What you need to realize is your product may be outstanding, but if you don’t promote the release properly, nobody is going to buy it.
Here are a few tips to help you navigate the sea of holiday sales & stand out.

Create Hype Ahead of the Holidays

Everyone is fighting for customers’ attention during the holiday. Competition is brutal,  and advertising costs soar. Promote holiday items early with teaser social media posts. Catch the attention of prime shoppers early so when Black Friday & other holidays come, your shop stays top of mind.

Early Access Deals to Get VIP Customers Shopping…EARLY

Reward your subscribers & followers with early access deals before the holiday rush. Entice customers to shop with members’ only deal. Get your key customers to purchase ahead of the holidays. Jumpstart sales early in the season. 
Your subscribers & followers will feel special because they are “in the know” & they can get a good discount before everyone else. Plus, it helps to get people shopping in your store before they’ve begun their holiday shopping elsewhere. Getting your customers shopping early also eliminates the risk of gifts not arriving on time.

Create a Sense of Urgency

It is difficult to create a sense of urgency with Print-on-Demand. It is nearly impossible to conjure scarcity when a product can be created & shipped almost instantly. A few ways around this is to create limited-edition holiday collections where only a few items will be printed. Also, the product can become unavailable after a certain date. Another approach is to use subtle FOMO triggers like “early access ends today” and “limited quantities.” Signals that customers need to act fast or miss out on some terrific bargains.

Bundle Offers

Product bundles are a simple way to boost holiday sales. Getting a higher average order value (AOV) is an instant win for every e-commerce shop. Bundling is a great way to deliver greater value than stand-alone products, as they are usually offered at discounted prices. Bundle complementary products and accessories at a discounted price.
On top of the bundle deal, you also offer a free gift to make the offer that much more enticing.
Be sure to highlight the features & benefits of your bundle in the copy. Create a sense of urgency or scarcity by stating that the bundle is a limited time & may be unavailable soon. Customers will most likely make a decision quickly & buy your bundle to avoid missing out.

Host Contests & Giveaways

Social media contests help raise brand awareness & provide an opportunity to build relationships with both current & new customers.
Set a benchmark goal for what you want to achieve so you can clearly gauge the success of the contest. Your goal might be something like:

• 10% more Facebook likes
• XX new followers on Instagram
• XX new email subscribers

Define what your prize will be before the contest begins i.e Limited edition items, gift cards, or a large collection of products work. Just make sure it is something that contestants will value. Then, outline how the prize winner will be chosen.
Here are a few contest ideas to get you started”

• Photo caption contest ideas
• Video contest ideas
• Essay contest ideas
• Sweepstakes
• Selfie contest ideas
• Instagram hashtags
• Share a photo contest
• Product-a-day giveaway
• Help name a new product contest
• Curated Pinterest board contest
• Build a lookbook contest
• Win a gift card contest
• Vote for your favorite item contest

Ecommerce Holiday Shopping Calendar

Key dates for this year’s (2020) holiday season:

• Green Monday: Monday, December 14
• Free Shipping Day: Saturday, December 12
• Christmas: Friday, December 25
• Hanukkah: Thursday, December 10 – Friday, December 18
• Boxing Day: Saturday, December 26
• New Years: Thursday, December 31

Plan out your holiday marketing to attract as many customers as you can on these key shopping days.