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It may seem like you have months to prepare for the Holiday eCommerce rush, but starting now can lead to far fewer headaches and last-minute frustration. Last year, Black Friday took in an estimated $530+ million online, while Cyber Monday is expected to net over $700 million for online retailers this year. Many eCommerce sites say they earn a quarter of their yearly revenue between the end of Thanksgiving and the beginning of Christmas – are YOU truly prepared?

Laws of Attraction

A website needs to attract customers for two reasons: to purchase products and to increase brand awareness. By offering interactive features on your site, you can increase user engagement and return visits. Here are few ideas we can help you with:

• A Holiday Flash Game – Remember the Snow Ball Throwing game? Or Shaving Santa? Even if you don’t, your customers do. We can build a Flash game based on your brand and products, with built-in promotions and product offerings.
• Christmas Countdown Clock – Remind your customers just how much time is left for them to get those must-have gifts. A countdown clock is perfect for promoting impulse-buys.
• Google Product Search Feed Optimization – Are your products listed in Google’s shopping comparison engine? We’ll build and optimize your product feed on time for the holiday season and attract new customers browsing for the perfect gift.
• Boost Conversions and Gain Valuable Feedback – Using Kampyle, you can get helpful feedback on your site and increase conversions now well before the holiday season.
• Email Promotion Design and Programming – It’s not enough sending one email blast; on the other hand, sending daily 12 Days of Christmas emails might annoy your customers. We’ll help you plan an email strategy, segment your list, and design and develop creatives to go out weekly, bi-weekly and then daily right before your last-ship-day.
• Last-Ship-Day Calendar & Reminders – Get them to order before it’s too late! We’ll design a shipping table on your site that lets your customers know the final order/shipping date to have your products arrive before Christmas.
• Product Reviews and Image Zoom – Since there’s not yet a way for customers to feel, touch, taste or try on your product virtually, the next best things are product reviews and product zoom images. Show them the quality and texture by letting them zoom in with a simple click. Bolster consumer confidence with product reviews and help your shoppers make informed buying decisions.

Things That You Can Do Yourself

• Create a Gift Ideas Category – Highlight this special Holiday area on your navigation bar with an attractive, themed graphic. You can also divide this further into sub-categories including Gifts for Him/Her and Gifts for Kids. Tailor it further by letting customers see gifts by price range or other custom filters.
• Keep Your Customers Informed With a Gift Ideas Newsletter – Taking the gift idea one step further, ask your visitors if they’d like great gift ideas or holiday discounts delivered to them via email. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn how many customers want to be “in the loop” during this hectic time of year.
• Promote Gift Cards – Gift cards are a great option for many people because they simplify the gift-giving process and let the recipient choose his or her own present. Display your gift card option prominently on the page so that people can order them quickly and easily.
• Offer Free Gift Wrap – People are extremely busy over the holiday season. Anything your company can do that will save them time is heartily welcomed. Things like free gift wrap make it easy to get that special present delivered straight to the gift recipient without delay.
• Feature Special or Time-Limited Items – People will eagerly wait an entire year to get specials or unique products that they can only find over the holidays. Promote these limited-edition items in a prominent place on your website and watch the sales rack up!
• Create a Facebook Event – Promoting a Facebook event on your Fan Page is a great way to get your customers talking about your promotions and sharing the news with friends.
• Dress Up For the Occasion – There’s nothing quite like spreading the holiday cheer on your website. Emulate Google and add a stocking or a Christmas tree to your logo. Update your newsletter and blog with holiday graphics and colors to match the store. Just don’t forget to change it back once your promotions are over!

Get Started Now – Before The Rush is On!

These are just a few of the many ideas you can use to increase holiday sales and get a jump on the season. For more information on any of the unique programming and design elements that can be incorporated into your business, call us at 866.431.6669 or fill out our contact form here.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 10:21 am and is filed under Ecommerce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.