Retail sales are astronomical each time the holiday season comes around, in spite of everything else going on around the globe. If you're not ready for the incoming storm with customers, a surge who temporarily increase your profit can result in some headaches. The absence of deadlines for shipping, backlogs in inventory and a lack of staff to handle chats, emails, and calls can cause holiday shoppers to be unhappy. Get rid of these problems by organizing your WooCommerce store prior to the Christmas season. Follow the steps below to begin.
1. Prepare your staff
Get your staff trained, up to speed and stock up for the busy holiday season.
Make sure you have enough staff by hiring seasonal employees to assist with increases in customer demand or sales.
Learn to be more efficient by teaching employees about product sales, details delivery deadlines, discount offers during the holidays. Think about cross-training your staff in advance so that you can quickly shift resources when demand is high.
Make sure you have cafe beverages in your break room, festive snacks to keep you happy during the busy hours and the supplies that employees require to perform their duties. If everyone is working remotely, think about gift cards for this.
It's normal for employees to take advantage of holidays and spend time with their family or have a relaxing time with family or friends also. Make sure that your schedules are checked to ensure shifts are covered and important work is covered when people leave and come back.
2. Review your returns policy
Think about whether your exchange or return deadlines are suitable in light of the holiday season. If someone places an order early to avoid the rush of shipping, they may require more time than usual for exchanges in the event that the gift doesn't meet the criteria.
Check that you have a return procedure that is specific about what items can be returned under which conditions. So that gift recipients don't get unpleasant surprises in the event of issues during the Christmas season.
While you're at it, ensure that the information on your site is correct as well. Descriptions of products, FAQs, as well as plenty of pictures will assist shoppers in choosing the best gift for them the first time, decreasing the number of returns to your shop.
3. Consider adding gift cards
Get more conversions this holiday season by making it easy for shoppers at Christmas, particularly those who are waiting until the very last minute. According to research conducted by OnePoll, just more than fifty percent of Americans will wait until Christmas Eve before they finish their shopping.
Gift Cards can be a winning for both the customers and you. They are also available by email, which makes them a great choice for those looking to show gratitude to loved ones in a distant location.These simple options inject fast cash into your business, and also bring new clients to your website.
4. Communicate last order dates
Create urgency to turn shoppers to buyers by making sure buyers are aware of shipping deadlines. Make sure your content is easy to change throughout your sites, so you can adjust the countdown timer as the holidays get closer.
For instance, a company shipping orders from a location in the continental United States to another location in the lower 48 could begin with the deadline that is December 15, for deliveries made via USPS Retail Ground. If that deadline is not met, it could change to December 18 in the case of Priority Mail, then December 23 for Priority Mail Express.
Include last order dates on:
The homepage
Pages for landing
Product pages
Shopping cart pages
If possible, post your information at a prominent spot over the fold.
5. Offer bundles of products
Upsells with exciting bundles of products that allow customers to purchase the perfect present. Make pre-made baskets that simplify giving gifts or let customers create their own.
Run an eCommerce bookstore? Give gift-giving customers the option of choosing the book to put in a basket which also comes with blanket, a reading light and a notebook to record their thoughts. Look outside of your box (or inside the basket, depending on what it could be) to mix and match items to appeal to customers.
Other alternatives for positioning items for the holiday season gifts are:
Subscriptions
Products with seasonal themes
Options for personalization, such as engraving
6. Establish marketing campaigns
Start by offering perks which will encourage customers to make bigger orders. For example, free shipping during the holidays, seasonal additions and free gift cards for purchases of an amount, and discounts for purchases over a certain quantity are all possibilities to consider.
Once you've set up a perk up, increase it by including the promotion within your holiday marketing emails and posts on social media as well as remarketing ads, landing pages, and also on your shopping cart and product pages.
Make sure that your ads are noticed by using effective pictures, simple designs and videos. Don't forget about your current customers as well as previous customers. Utilize targeted messages to contact them in a way that reminds them of an earlier pleasant experience they had using your online store.
7. Streamline shipping processes
The less is usually more in the case of possibly complicated procedures. It is possible that you can provide every shipping option to your customers however this could cause confusion and stress for both you and them. Instead, select a handful of the most well-known methods. This makes processes easier to use, which reduces the possibility of mistakes and assist customers in making the right decision to meet their requirements.
For choosing the right shipping option to you and your WooCommerce store, you must first do some study:
What are the locations of your customers? Do you mostly serve a local customer base or do you regularly send out international shipping?
Which shipping options are the most economical and practical for your customers? Pick a few options that can accommodate your budget and urgent shipping requirements.
What are the official dates for delivery of the service you're considering?
To increase sales, you could consider giving free shipping, and also expedited shipping choices that customers are able to purchase. Over 90% of online buyers claim that they are motivated to spend more money if free shipping is available.
8. Update website designs to celebrate the holidays
Physical stores usually deck with festive displays to make shoppers feel more enthusiastic for shopping during the holidays. The same by enhancing the style and layout of the design of your WooCommerce shop.
Instead of glittering tinsel, include a few seasonal photos or festive images. Make sure to highlight holiday-themed items in carousels on the pages' top and add seasonal content in prominent places. Timers for countdowns that create the feeling of urgency, product sections that sell more, as well as holiday shopping guides are some other examples to make your website in the spirit of the holiday season.
9. Make sure you test everything prior to the panic
If it's something that you've just added, such as a guide for buying presents during the holidays or a standard feature for your website like shopping carts, try it before the holiday season heats up. When the holidays are in full swing there's a chance that you won't have enough time to deal with broken hyperlinks or fix a problem in your payment method.
Important functions to look into Include, but aren't limited to:
The process of checkout
All payment methods
Shipping calculators
Coupon codes
Mobile displays
Site navigation
Sites that link to landing pages as well as buying guides
CTA buttons are everywhere on your website
Take advantage of the season's shopping. Make plans ahead and incorporate essential extension to increase your efficiency attract customers and make sure you keep your promises.
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