Prepare For The Holidays

This is one of the busiest times of year for many stores, including online stores.  There are lots of things that you can do to increase sales over the holiday season.  The thing that I would like to focus on is upselling.  Keeping in mind that an existing customer is more profitable than a new customer, you'll want to gear your website and sales towards your existing customers or customers who are committing to purchase on your website.  Below are a few ways to do this.

• Send a holiday e-mail blast. Customers are making many purchases over the holiday season, so sending a blast with sales or promotions will help you with sales, and help your customers save some money. 
• Highlight Gift Items. This is for those customers who don't know what to get someone on their list, or to purchase stocking stuffers.  You can create a section on your website which lists gift ideas for all types. Some merchants will want to divide this section up into "male" and "female" or possibly by price.  Either way you do it you will not simply want to list sale items, but really list good gift giving items.  
• Upsell Gift Items In Your Cart. Use your global cross sell feature (ShopSite Pro) to display a few general gift items in your shopping cart.  These items should not be high in price and should not add much to shipping, but should be quick impulse buys for customers to give as gifts this holiday season.  For example, if you are a media furniture store, list a few small CD cases for cars.  If you are an electronics website, list a few electronic cases as gift items in the cart.
• Display Delivery Schedules. It is important that gifts arrive before Christmas.  Make sure that customers know that the products they are purchasing will arrive before Christmas.
• Reward Your Weary Shopper. Shopping does take a lot of time and energy this time of year.  Make sure you are rewarding your customers for purchasing with you.  Include rewards such as "Free CD with any purchase over $20" or "Get one for yourself with our Buy 1 get 1 FREE reward."

This season can be hectic and stressful.  Try to provide tools and tips to your shoppers to make their shopping experience easier and more enjoyable this season.