Prepare your Shopify store for the busiest retail season

For many retailers, Christmas is the busiest time of year – and it can take months of preparation. If you’re an online retailer, you should be gearing up for Christmas in October. That gives you plenty of time to plan and get the right systems in place, so your customers walk away happy – with their Christmas shopping in tow.

Here’s a list of ways you can prepare for the upcoming seasonal rush:

1: Black Friday, Cyber Monday

Two of the most anticipated retail events of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) present an opportunity for online merchants. Ignore BFCM and you’ll find it hard to get any attention at the end of November.

Start planning your BFCM promotional activity in October. For ideas, look at what sales your competitors previously offered. Use Facebook or Instagram’s timelines to analyse their social media activity from the previous year – to learn whether a gift with purchase, a discount or free international shipping will work for you.

Then decide how you’ll advertise your sale. Start running your digital ads two to three weeks before the sale date, and give yourself plenty of time to create and edit your promotional materials to avoid scrambling at the last minute.

2: ‘Christmafy’ your web store

There’s a good reason why retail stores deck their halls with boughs of holly – festive decorations prompt customers and drive more sales. So, bring Christmas cheer to your online store and create a Christmas version of your website.

How you change your theme will depend on your brand, but here are ways to incorporate Christmas into your website design:

• Update your accent colours to red and green 
• Change banner and hero graphics to include Christmas images 
• Create product collections and navigation items specifically for gifts, e.g. Secret Santa presents under $25 or gifts for the kids.

3: Gift cards and wrapping

More and more customers will shop online over the Christmas period, and they’re looking for retailers that make gift-giving easy. Sometimes the smallest upsells can make the biggest sales difference.

Gift cards require minimal work to set up and can be a great way to increase your sales. They are perfect for hard-to-buy-for people, and recipients will often end up spending more than the gift card’s value. Give your bookkeeper a heads-up – gift cards can be a little tricky.

Gift wrapping is another valuable add-on. With the global pandemic putting restraints on in-store Christmas shopping, customers will be looking for retailers who can deliver ready-wrapped gifts.

4: Shipping times

Most people want to receive their orders before Santa comes to visit. This year, the global pandemic is impacting on local and international delivery times. That means you’ll want to add a buffer for the Christmas delivery rush and any delays due to COVID.

In December, provide an order-by date so customers get their orders on time. Add text messages to your product pages that explain your estimated shipping times. For example:

• For local orders, please order by December 15 to ensure delivery before Christmas. 
• For international orders, please order by December 5 to ensure delivery before Christmas. 

5: Payment plans

For pricier products, consider offering your customers a ‘buy now, pay later’ option. Smaller Shopify businesses can partner with a payment-plan provider like Laybuy rather than funding and organising the service themselves. This will usually incur a small fee, so factor this into your pricing strategy.

Make sure you apply soon so you have time to trial the system and implement it on your Shopify store.

Bring your Christmas A-game

To set yourself up for the most successful holiday retail season, the earlier you start the better. Give yourself time to plan and promote sales, give your web store a Christmas makeover, add a payment-plan option, gift cards and wrapping, and update your expected delivery policy – all things that will make it easier and more enjoyable for your customers to shop for Christmas online.

Need help getting prepped for the festive season? Get in touch with the Unleashing Potential team today, because Christmas is just around the corner.