We’ve moved the clocks forward an hour, and now it’s time for holiday sales to begin. We all know about Black Friday sales, but there is plenty of time between now and then for early fall deals to get started. Many retailers are now offering holiday discounts earlier and earlier that are upstaging even Black Friday itself.
Holiday sales are an exciting opportunity to attract new customers and it’s important to do some research and find out what is working for other businesses before getting started. Here are a few tricks to help your business make the best of early holiday shopping:
Create a Holiday Gift Guide:
A Holiday Gift Guide is a great way to show customers – especially new customers, what you have that their friends and family would love this holiday season. For example, gift categories, such as “ Great Gifts for Teachers”, “ Gifts for the Exercise Addict,” or “ Great Gifts for Moms” are all helpful for the novice shopper. You can share these with your customers via in-store flyers, on your website, or even in a blog post. I recommend posting your Gift Guides on your business’s social media accounts and emailing them to your customers in your newsletter as well. When posting your guides on social media, be sure to take advantage of popular holiday sale hashtags such as #BlackFridayDeals or #CyberMondaySales.
Online Holiday Deals:
Many customers are looking to online shopping for holiday deals long before Cyber Monday. If you already have an online store, you’ll want to get in on the early holiday sale action! Marketers everywhere are fighting for the attention of holiday shoppers and to be heard, you will need to highlight in-demand featured products and relevant deals. You can offer special discounts on individual hot holiday items or special promotions such as “ Free shipping on orders over $75” or “Spend $100 and get a free gift” to encourage customers who may not typically buy online.
Promotional Content Calendar:
Creating a promotional content calendar is a great way to show your customers in advance what deals you will be having and when. This will encourage customers to pop into your store on various days for that special item that they are looking for — and hopefully, pick up a few more things while they are there as well. You’ll want to use social media ads and in-store promotional banners to let customers know about your sales well in advance so they can plan ahead.
In-Store Deals:
With many consumers switching to online shopping for their holiday buying, retailers need to give customers a unique in-person experience that they cannot get online to get them to their brick and mortar locations. Once customers are in the store, they are likely to buy more. A free gift with purchase, special early bird deals for hot holiday items, free gift wrapping, or even a free family holiday event — such as ornament making for kids are all great ways to encourage typical online shoppers to come into the store.