AN E-COMMERCE CHRISTMAS 

Steps for a successful e-commerce Christmas 

Like any time of year, it is important to focus on the needs of the customer. When considering your online business focal points this Christmas, you should think about what customers are looking for at this time of year and what benefits you can offer them. We’ve compiled a list of the most important measures that can help make Christmas a very merry success: 

1. Optimize the range: Make sure the big sellers and any items that are in demand at Christmas are prominently integrated in the online store and that plenty of stock is available. Every shop should also offer vouchers by e-mail – the perfect last-minute gift. 

2. Offer additional services: By offering extra services, such as extended cancellation rights, pretty gift wrapping or little chocolate giveaways, you will not be at a disadvantage against bricks-and-mortar retailers and you will stand out from the competition. 

3. Present other gift ideas: Impatient shoppers really appreciate category pages where they can find perfect presents for grandparents or on a budget in just a few clicks and without too much thought. Can the gift be improved with suitable additional products? If so, show the customer appropriate suggestions. 

4. Display relevant information: Providing clear information on shipping and returns is vital if you want to make online shopping as transparent as possible and make the purchase decision easy for the customer. When doing last-minute Christmas shopping, it’s particularly important for customers to know immediately whether the item will still arrive by Christmas Eve. 

5. At the ready with promotions: Buying presents is an expensive business – so people will jump at the chance to save some money. Promotions are a popular way of offering incentives to buy, but they should be creatively packaged. What about a holiday calendar where customers can find new promotions in the store every day up to 24 December? 

6. Don’t forget to decorate: Just as regular stores are decorated with Christmas trees, lights and all kinds of ornaments, you can also spruce up your online store for the season. There are virtually no limits: from ribbons on product images to a Santa’s hat on the company logo. 

In the end, of course, it comes down to you to decide what strategies are best suited for your online store and target groups. But one principle always applies: Good planning and organization are essential. 

What should you bear in mind when planning and organizing these measures? 

Probably the most important thing is to work on your e-commerce Christmas strategy early. It’s no accident that the day after Halloween brick and mortar stores are decked out for the holidays, and they didn’t begin planning at the end of October. It’s important to define which measures are implemented, and how. You should also consider any problems or difficulties that could arise in the implementation phase so that you can solve them quickly. 

These include potential technical challenges. Can the server cope with the Christmas rush without slower loading times? Your IT team should be able to answer that. Of course, it goes without saying that the online store must be accessible and function on mobile devices. 

You should also establish your stock levels and determine how secure your product availability is in advance – especially for the items you intend to promote during the run-up to Christmas. This should be clarified internally with your team and externally with your suppliers.

 

As always, the product information must be complete, categories tidily assigned, suitable images shown and the correct prices displayed. A Product Information Management software is a simple solution that ensures you always have an overview of all product data during the busy Christmas season. It helps enormously with the organization and consistency of product data. 

PIM systems to support e-commerce 

With a PIM system, you bundle all product data in one place, with media-neutral implementation. That benefits not just your online store, but also your website, your social media channels and any Christmas advertising materials through which you’d like to automatically communicate product data. Update description texts and photos of your items in next to no time and let a professional presence move prospective customers closer to a purchase decision. 

Of course, a PIM system will also be very useful in e-commerce at other times of the year too: 

It’s also easy to integrate your Digital Asset Management software into the PIM, thereby making work processes even more efficient. If you’re interested in a PIM system, our sales team will be happy to help with a no-obligation initial consultation. 

We wish you a wonderful Christmas and great success with your digital Christmas trade! Stay healthy!