Holidays are a time of togetherness, sharing things, caring for each other, and spending quality time together. Another important thing about holidays is shopping for our loved ones.
Statistica states that in 2021, the retail sales over the holiday season were projected to be between 843.4 billion U.S. dollars to 859 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.
And so, this holiday season is equally important to all eCommerce stores as this is the time of the year when you can spread joy by giving your customers coupons and discounts. And you can also try different strategies in sending campaigns to have a better reach and increase sales.
Holiday season online spend is expected to drive $209.7B this year 2023. (Adobe Resource Center)
To increase sales, you must prepare an Ecommerce Holiday Plan for your business every year to stay organized and prepare for different campaigns beforehand without any hassle.
Are you ready for the biggest sale of the year? If not, now is the time to get started.
Major Shopping Holidays 2023:
The holidays are a time to celebrate with friends and family, but they’re also a great opportunity to grow your business. With our help, you can plan an Ecommerce holiday plan to send your email campaigns to get customers excited about buying holiday gifts and ensure they return next year.
How to plan your holiday season calendar?
- Note down the important holidays.
- Plan your holiday strategies (Offers/BOGO deals/ half store/ free gifts)- primarily when and where to provide these offers
- Choose themes for each campaign with valuable content
- Design your campaign posters, website, and newsletters based on your theme
Here’s an example of how to design your Ecommerce calendar to plan your email campaigns.
Thanksgiving (11/24/2023)
Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, warmth, and celebration. It’s also the perfect time for e-commerce businesses to start sending campaigns. It is important to focus on your American audiences as they celebrate it.
Segment your target audiences and start sending email campaigns on the 20th of November, four days before Thanksgiving.
Have an email list? If you have one, then send out a few emails reminding people about all the deals you’ll be offering during Thanksgiving weekend so that everyone knows what’s coming up and can make plans accordingly.
Here are some tips that can help you improve your online sales:
- Offer discounts during Thanksgiving weekend
- Run promotions during this period
- Send out a loyalty program for your repeat customers
- Create social media posts about your products and promotions
Since Thanksgiving is followed by Black Friday, a weekend, and Cyber Monday, it is very difficult for any business to stand out from the rest. Launching new products as limited editions, organizing an event, or a shopping marathon can motivate customers to buy products from your Ecommerce stores.
Now let’s look at the statistics below to see the number of shoppers during the thanksgiving event in 2021. This clearly shows that shoppers have switched to online shopping rather than buying from a physical store post-covid. This just proves that Thanksgiving Day is just a kickstarter to the biggest sale of the year.
Black Friday (11/25/2023)
Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and it’s coming up soon!
If you’re an e-commerce business owner, this is a time to get ready for the rush.
Whether you have a brick-and-mortar storefront or operate exclusively online, you can do plenty of things to prepare your email campaigns. If you don’t have much time left until Black Friday hits, here are some tips that will help you get ready:
- Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices. Your site must work well on any kind of device so that customers can enjoy a seamless shopping experience when they visit your site.
- Give detailed product descriptions, so customers know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase something from your store.
- Make sure all of your products have at least one picture review so shoppers can see what they’re buying before ordering it.
- Hire more employees so that you can handle increased traffic on your website during these days; they will also help you manage customer service requests more efficiently.
What are all the things people love to buy during Black Friday?
People love shopping for clothes, accessories, toys, gifts, appliances, and food during Black Friday weekend. 66% of people prefer buying clothes and accessories during the Black Friday weekend.
Small Business Saturday (11/26/2023)
Small Business Saturday is a special day set aside for shopping at local businesses. It’s a chance to support your neighbors, also small business owners, by spending money on something they’ve made or grown.
Do you know where it all started?
Small Business Saturday is an annual event on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was initiated in 2010 by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Businesses to promote small businesses, which are an important part of the economy.
Today, this day has become one of the most important holidays for small businesses to drive sales and expand their community. How should you prepare for your Small Business Saturday sale?
- To prepare for Small Business Saturday, consider what special deals or promotions you can offer to customers visiting your business on November 26th.
- Start sending email campaigns right from the beginning of the week (Nov.21)
- Make sure your website is up-to-date and ready for customers looking for holiday gifts.
- Share some photos of your store on social media, and give people a sneak peek at what they can expect when they come in.
- Talk with other local retailers about doing a collaborative event together! Don’t forget to spread the word through social media and email campaigns. (Use subject lines like abc.com X xyz.com: Mega Sales)
Cyber Monday (11/28/2023)
Cyber Monday comes after thanksgiving weekend. This is a perfect mood setter for all your customers, and it’s time for you to drive the Monday blues away!
Cyber Monday is another significant day for Ecommerce stores to reach their customers with exciting offers. We all might think Black Friday is significant as people buy more during the weekend than on a dull Monday. But your assumptions are totally wrong.
The fact is Cyber Monday sale has driven more revenue than the Black Friday sale. I am not bluffing. Let me provide you with the statistics.
- In 2021, Cyber Monday spending beat Black Friday spending by $1.8 billion. (Source: Adobe Analytics)
- In 2023, Cyber Monday will see the most growth over the weekend at a rate of 5.1% YoY and $11.2B in revenue (setting a new record and crossing $11B for the first time).
So make sure you are getting ready for Cyber Monday sales, and it is the right time to recover your abandoned carts. With BayEngage, you can easily recover 64% of abandoned carts, regain customers and increase your revenue simultaneously.
Cyber Monday is an opportunity for brands to reach customers. You can use it as a time to promote your products and services, engage with customers, and drive sales.
Here’s a checklist for Cyber Monday:
- Set up your email campaigns (e.g., drip campaigns) in advance of Cyber Monday (maybe from the day before Thanksgiving) so that you don’t have to worry about managing them during the busy day.
- Create landing pages for new products or promotions with a modified logo.
- Ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets so that shoppers can browse easily while they’re out on the go
- Consider bundling products together at a discount price point (Pile up different products and sell them as combo packs for a lower price)
- Offer free shipping deals so customers get more value from their purchases.
Giving Tuesday (11/29/2023)
Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving, where people unite to celebrate generosity, encourage others to offer, and focus on the importance of social justice. Cyber Monday sales are usually extended to the next day with a holiday fondly called Giving Tuesday. This is the time of the year when businesses contribute towards a cause and help people by giving back to the community.
How to prepare email campaigns for Giving Tuesday?
- Make it about the cause, not the company.
- Keep it short and sweet: no more than two sentences.
- Ask for a gift—don’t suggest it!
- Be specific about what you’re asking them to do: donate, volunteer time or resources, or spread awareness of your cause by sharing on social media.
- Plan your email campaigns in advance. You can use the “Save Date” feature in the “campaign name” to schedule your emails so they go out on the day of Giving Tuesday.
Moreover, In 2023, based on trends in Google Search terms around “Giving Tuesday,” and national giving trends, it is predicted that $3.2 Billion will be raised on Giving Tuesday 2023. This will be an 18% or $500 million increase over 2021’s record-breaking $2.7B.
Also, make sure you get everyone involved in the planning process! Set up a meeting with your team and ensure everyone has some input about what you’ll send out. This also helps make sure that everyone feels included, which is important on Giving Tuesday!
Green Monday (12/12/2023)
Green Monday is one of the most important days in December to kickstart Christmas vibes. The term “Green Monday” was suggested by eBay in December 2007 as it was the most profitable sales during the second Monday in December for eBay.
You might wonder what the difference is between Cyber Monday and Green Monday!
Green Monday is only an online sale event, whereas Cyber Monday is a half-price sale that happens for a week. This offer starts on Black Friday and goes till Giving Tuesday. Green Monday happens every second Monday of December, and this sale happens mostly on eBay.
Start sending campaigns for Green Monday right from the beginning of December to ignite the spirit of Christmas.
Christmas (12/25/2023)
Most people finish their Christmas shopping by November end or early December. On the day of Christmas, people spend more time with family and friends than going out and shopping or shopping online. This is the day to rest and spend quality time with people around you.
Statistica says, In 2021, consumers in the United States are expected to spend approximately 886 U.S. dollars on Christmas gifts on average. This is more than what Americans were thinking of spending on gifts in the past 20 years. This data shows that most of them finish their Christmas shopping in November.
When it comes to eCommerce stores, think of strategies that can maintain your sales. You can target other countries online and send campaigns to different non-U.S residents. Or you can sell it through social media by going on live.
Still, in the U.S, categories like food and beverages might be excellent options to sell during the Christmas holidays. People love buying cakes, cookies, chocolates, and beverages more than clothing and electronics. These stores can send email campaigns and promote sales on social media.
Also, send Christmas newsletters to your community and be a part of their celebrations too. Plan your newsletters with a cheerful subject line and choose a Christmassy campaign design. You can also manufacture products that are known as Christmas limited editions. Some of the examples of Christmas limited edition chocolates.
Boxing Day (12/26/ 2023)
Boxing Day comes after the day of Christmas. This is the day of giving gifts to each other and sharing love with people.
What is the significance of Boxing day?
Boxing Day is a centuries-old gift-giving day that originated in Britain. It has become a ritual since then.
And yes, boxes are a huge part of Boxing Day traditions! It signifies the ‘gift boxes’ exchanged among family and friends. If you like the easy way and your deadline is tight, a swag box might be a good choice.
So don’t miss the chance to send email campaigns for Boxing Day, as it is the end-of-season sale or year-end sale. This is the year’s last chance for eCommerce stores to run campaigns and provide mega discounts. So if you plan your campaigns well, you can increase your sales during this day.
New Year’s (01/01/2023)
New Year’s Eve is a universal celebration all around the globe, eagerly waiting for new beginnings to come. People spend more on crackers, beverages, and food for New year. Send your campaigns based on different discounts that customers can avail of from your store.
Also, set new goals for your business in the coming months. Share your growth story and thank your customers for participating in a fantastic 2023.
Tips to make New year’s email campaigns memorable and engaging:
- Wish the best for your customers
- Launch a new product that marks a new beginning for your store
- Come up with a theme for your shop for the year 2023
- Share your new year resolutions with your customers
- Send them a new year card through email- with comforting and encouraging messages
- Offer a discount of 50% for the first 100 customers
- Creative New year’s email templates that can increase open rates
How to Prepare for The 2023 Holiday Season
1. Set solid holiday season sales goals
The holiday season is here, and you’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed when it comes to setting your sales goals.
It’s okay! We’ve all been there.
But don’t worry! We’ve got some tips to help you get your holiday season sales goals set so that you can have a stress-free holiday season with your loved ones and still hit your numbers. Follow these five steps to understand your goals better:
Step 1: Identify what you want to achieve during the holiday season. Do you want to sell more products? Get more customers? Increase revenue? Get more reach? etc.
Step 2: Figure out what exactly will help your business grow
Step 3: Set a specific goal for how much success you want in each area.
Step 4: Figure out how much money or time you’ll need to achieve these goals.
Step 5: Break down larger goals into smaller ones, so they’re easier to measure and track progress toward achieving them
2. Set marketing strategies in place for the goals
Once you are aware of your goals, start developing strategies to help you reach them. For example, if you want many customers on your website, what marketing strategies can you build to make this goal possible?
Here are some major things you should never overlook:
Firstly, research different subject lines and templates that have higher open rates. Do AB testing for your holiday email campaigns if you want your users to open your email among the thousands of holiday emails.
Secondly, Content Creation. Always create engaging content that will attract customers to your eCommerce site and keep them coming back again and again. This means you should create articles that provide helpful information on travel, technology, entertainment, marketing, and finance topics like (how to accept credit card payments).
Thirdly, Social Media Marketing. Different social media platforms are excellent ways to advertise your business. You can post links to your website so people can redirect to your website. This can increase your website traffic organically.
3. Stock up on inventory
When it comes to managing any eCommerce business, auditing your stock is very important. This can help you profitably manage stocks. Two things you should have in check while doing this:
- Monitor your stocks
- Learn about the demand for your products
‘Stock’ means already existing finished goods ready to be sold, and ‘inventory’ means the finished goods that are getting ready for sale. When there’s a demand, you can use these products and create campaigns saying, “Your favorite products are back” or “RESTOCKED!”
4. Increase your SEO efforts
Keyword research and the selection of words are essential for improving your website’s ranking in Google. You need to research and select the most relevant keywords for your business.
The first step is to get an idea of what kind of keywords people are looking for. To do this, you can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or SEMrush. These tools will show how often people are searching for certain keywords and how much competition there is for those terms.
Once you know what terms people are searching for, you can ensure that your website includes them in its content with the right context. This will help us to choose those keywords which will generate the highest traffic when we advertise with them and improve search rankings!
5. Launch a loyalty program for loyal customers
Launching a loyalty program for loyal customers is a great way to reward your customers and motivate them to continue spending time with your business.
A loyalty program allows you to offer special rewards and discounts to your most loyal customers, hopefully encouraging them to keep coming back. The more often they visit, the more rewards they can earn and the more money you’ll make! 😉
You can easily build a strong bond with your customers using loyalty programs. This can also help you grow your community seamlessly.
Loyalty programs are a great way to improve customer retention and increase sales.
6. Create a smooth customer experience.
Whatever business you are doing, put your customers first! Prioritize them! Create a great experience for your customers while using your website.
If you are unsure about the customer’s experience with your website, send a feedback form asking them to rate their experience. In this way, we can avoid certain things and improve website performance and quality.
Things you can do to improve customer satisfaction:
- Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly and optimized for all devices.
- Create a space on your website for customers to ask questions or queries regarding your products or services
- Fix the loading speed of your website if it’s slow or not responding
- Add all possible payment methods
- Suggest products for your customers and add a section to add their favorite products.
- If you are a subscription eCommerce business supporting multiple payment gateways and currencies, consider an eCommerce subscription management software to manage recurring billing, payments, and customer retention.
7. Give out free shipping to bring joy to the customers.
Giving out free shipping is a great way to increase sales and bring joy to the customers as well. The psychology of customers is that they love getting something for nothing, so they will be more likely to buy from you when you offer a free shipping deal.
Moreover, It is a great strategy because it helps you keep your costs low. If your customers are free from paying shipping charges, they will be more likely to buy things from your website. Statistica shows that 73% of consumers are more likely to purchase online items with free shipping.
Giving out free shipping can also help increase the amount of time people stay on your Ecommerce website and browse through products before buying them because they don’t have to worry about paying for shipping costs that might make them spend more than what they are actually spending on.
8. Promise and deliver products quickly.
I am a person who always looks forward to getting the ordered products quickly! I know many people out there can relate to me!
As an Ecommerce business owner, you should understand customers’ expectations and deliver products as soon as possible.
When a courier comes for delivery, the excitement level is unending. So when you provide an estimated delivery date, ensure you deliver within that time frame. If you fail to deliver your products on time, your customers won’t mind switching to another website.
So, be careful with payment and delivery when running your business.
9. Dazzle people with strategic holiday promotions!
This holiday season, dazzle people with strategic holiday promotions! Wondering how to take this up for your business?
Remember, when you have a plan to promote something on your website, make sure you have the perfect strategy to execute this promotion.
To get started with your holiday marketing plan, just follow these steps:
- Brainstorm ways to leverage your website’s products and services.
- Figure out how much budget you’ll need to promote it through email marketing and social media.
- Make sure all team members understand what’s expected from them during this time.
- Get inspiration from other top-performing websites and try improvising your campaigns.
10. Give the best customer support in the industry.
Customer support is as important as growing your revenue. Make sure you give all possible support to your customers.
- Exchange products- help your customers to replace them with the products that they like
- Refund options- Ensure the money reaches your customers in whichever form they have opted for
- Bad experience on a product- give them a replacement or coupons to retain customers.
- Building a Customer Relationship Management for your business is essential to growing your business.
11. Be prepared for the incoming website traffic.
There’s a lot of the hustle and bustle when it comes to holiday sales! Is your website ready to tackle this? Will you be able to provide a seamless shopping experience when there are thousands of people viewing your website?
Think about it! Start preparing to manage your incoming website traffic.
- Improve your website every day
- Appoint a software technician on special days to fix bugs and errors on your website.
- Speed up your website pages
- Have alternatives for your websites. Say, like Instagram!
12. Create a buzz on social media
It is very important to spread the word about your holiday plan to your community through multiple channels. Social media is another powerful tool next to email marketing to communicate with your prospects.
What are all the things you can do on social media?
Instagram- You can create posts and reels to promote your products. You can also go live to know your customer’s expectations this year.
Facebook- You can add stories and links to your website
13. Know your customers.
Knowing your customers is the key to success in sales. Take steps to know more about them because that will improve your business and drive sales. Only when you know your customers better, you’ll be able to segment your email lists properly and send valuable emails.
Here are some of the tips you can use to know your customers
- Figure out what your customers want and value the most
- Find out how they think and make decisions based on their opinion,
- Social Media is a place to learn more about your customers.
- Ask more questions to your customers
- Send feedback forms to your customers
14. Prepare for post-holiday sales.
Don’t get tired after the holiday season. Everybody’s life will be back to the grind, and this is the time when you can start preparing for the New Year’s sale and start promotions and formulate strategies for Valentine’s day sale!
Remind your customers of the next holiday post-New Year’s day. This can motivate customers to look forward to buying things from your website. These campaigns can also bring a smile to their faces while returning to work after the holidays.
How can BayEngage help make an Ecommerce holiday plan to bring in sales?
Have you heard of BayEngage before?
If your answer is No, it’s time for you to know more about this email marketing tool that can help you bring in different plans and strategies for sending valuable email campaigns!
BayEngage is a budget-friendly email marketing tool that can help Ecommerce businesses to
- 380+ free email templates
- Easy to integrate with any platform
- Create proper leads using advanced segmentation tools
- Drag and drop the workspace to edit your templates
- Create campaigns and automate them whenever you need
- You can recover 64% of abandoned carts
- Free stock images, videos, and GIFs can be added to your campaigns.
These are some of the valuable features that can help you during your busy holiday season.
What’s next?
Relax and make the most of your holiday with our ultimate Ecommerce Holiday Plan: 2023. 😊
If you are a beginner and you want to learn more about getting ready for the holiday, I am sure this must have been a guide for you. Remember all the tips while coming up with your holiday plans, and create a calendar for your business today!
Wishing you a stress-free, fun-filled holiday season!
