The holiday rush is great for eCommerce. But what do you do when it’s done? How can you turn one-off holidays into steady post-holiday eCommerce sales?
That’s a big question and there are a lot of ways you can answer it. In this guide, we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you do just that.
Below, you will find 23 suggestions on how to achieve steady post-holiday sales, broken down into actionable tips. If you follow some of these tips, you can ratchet up your post-holiday sales and lock in continued growth for your eCommerce business.
Marketing Strategies
If you want to drive sales, you need a great marketing plan. Of course, there are a million ways you can draw attention to your products. You will want to focus on targeted campaigns that have your market in mind.
Here are a few tips to inspire you.
#1: Create targeted email campaigns.
If you want emails to sell, you need to customize your pitch to your recipient. The best way to do that is by segmenting your email list based on customer behavior and preferences.
For example, separate customers who bought gifts from those who purchased items for themselves. That factor alone tells you a lot about their intent behind purchasing.
Once you do that, you can send personalized emails with relevant product recommendations and exclusive offers tailored to each segment. Use engaging subject lines and clear calls to action to increase open and click-through rates.
Timing is key. You will want to send emails when customers are most likely to engage, such as early morning or late evening. When in doubt, though, most email software can help you pick the right time.
You may also consider using automated email workflows to follow up with customers who clicked on links but did not make a purchase.
#2: Use social media for promotion.
Run post-holiday promotions on social media platforms. No matter how you choose to do this, you will want to use eye-catching visuals and engaging captions to attract attention.
Here are a few specific ideas you can implement:
- Offer limited-time discounts and exclusive deals to your followers.
- Collaborate with influencers to expand your reach and drive traffic to your website
- Track the performance of your campaigns to optimize your strategy.
- Use platform-specific features like Instagram Stories, Facebook Ads, and X/Twitter polls to engage your audience.
- Create interactive content such as contests and giveaways to increase participation and visibility.
Social media is all about building up a relationship with your audience. Give them reasons to be excited!
#3: Offer exclusive post-holiday discounts.
Create special discounts available only after the holiday season. Use scarcity tactics, such as limited-time offers, to encourage quick purchases. Promote these discounts through email marketing, social media, and your website.
Highlight the savings customers can enjoy by shopping now rather than later. Additionally, consider creating a sense of urgency by showing low stock levels for discounted items.
If you want to go a step further, you can use countdown timers on product pages to emphasize the limited availability and encourage immediate action.
#4: Launch a New Year sale event.
Organize a sale event to celebrate the New Year. You can offer significant discounts on popular products and create bundled deals to increase average order value. This is the perfect excuse to start selling again, even during the post-holiday slowdown.
You can then the event through all your marketing channels, including email, social media, and your website. You might also consider hosting live streams or virtual events to showcase your products, if you want to provide a more interactive experience.
#5: Implement a referral program.
Encourage your customers to refer friends and family by offering rewards for successful referrals. Provide incentives such as discounts or free products for both the referrer and the referee.
You can also promote your referral program through email, social media, and your website to maximize participation. If you really want to lean into this strategy, you can use referral tracking software to more easily manage and reward referrals.
#6: Work with influencers for promotions.
Start by finding influencers who share your brand values and have a loyal, active following. Give them unique discount codes to share with their audience. This can help you attract new customers and increase sales.
Focus on building long-term relationships with these influencers. That way, not only will you make a key marketing ally, but it will also help you keep the brand message consistent. Also, encourage them to create authentic, personalized content showing how they use your products in their everyday lives. This approach makes their promotions more genuine and relatable to their followers.
And when in doubt, always pick with influencers who seem more genuine. They tend to keep their followers happy for longer!
Customer Engagement
The holidays are a great time to win new customers. But if you really want to succeed in the long run, you need to engage with your customers after the holiday rush. That’s how you keep customers loyal and ready to make repeat purchases.
Below, you will find tips on how to do that.
#7: Personalize follow-up emails.
Send personalized follow-up emails to customers who made purchases during the holidays. Thank them for their business and recommend products based on their previous purchases.
Use dynamic content – even if it’s something as simple as adding their first name – to tailor the email to each recipient. This will increase the likelihood of engagement and repeat sales. You can also mention specific items they bought and suggest complementary products.
In those emails, include special offers or discounts just for them to make them feel valued and appreciated. Keep the tone friendly and conversational, making sure your message feels like a genuine thank you rather than a generic marketing email.
#8: Offer loyalty rewards for repeat purchases.
Implement a loyalty program that rewards customers for repeat purchases. One way to do this is to offer points for every dollar spent, which can be redeemed for discounts or free products.
Promote the benefits of your loyalty program through email marketing, on your website, and in-store if applicable. Create different tiers in your loyalty program to encourage customers to spend more to reach higher levels of rewards. Then you can send regular updates about their points balance and remind them of the benefits they can unlock.
#9: Collect user-generated content (UGC).
There is no marketing better than word of mouth. So you need to give customers a reason to start talking!
Ask customers to share photos and reviews of their purchases on social media. Create a branded hashtag to make it easy to find and share this content. Offer incentives like discounts or entries into a giveaway for those who share their content.
UGC is just a fancy way of talking about things that customers say about you online. Once you have UGC, you can feature it on your website and social media. This helps build trust and can encourage fence-sitters to make purchases for the first time.
You can also share user stories and photos in your marketing emails. This will help you show real customers enjoying your products. It’s great promotion, yes, but it can also build a sense of community too!
#10: Provide exceptional customer service.
Make sure your customer service team is responsive and helpful. Address any post-holiday issues or questions promptly. The two weeks after Christmas are especially critical.
Providing exceptional customer service can turn one-time buyers into loyal customers and generate positive word-of-mouth referrals. You can even salvage a lot of returns too, since good return processes can lead to people who are willing to come back again in the future as customers.
For that reason, you need to train your team to handle common post-holiday issues. That includes all the usual post-holiday problems like returns, exchanges, and shipping inquiries. Empathy and efficiency go a long way here.
Once problems are resolved, you can then follow up with customers to make sure they are satisfied with the solution. After all, a follow up email after a problem is a good excuse to stay in touch with a potential long-term customer.
#11: Host a social media contest.
Run a contest on your social media platforms to engage your audience. Contests can increase brand visibility and drive traffic to your website. Set clear and simple rules to make it easy for people to join. Promote the contest through all your marketing channels and remind your followers regularly until the contest ends.
As part of the contest, you can ask participants to share photos, videos, or stories related to your products. Be sure to offer attractive prizes to bring new people on-board, of course!
Last but not least, be sure to announce winners publicly. This is a great way to build excitement and encourage future participation.
You can use Gleam.io and Rafflepress to help you do this.
#12: Share holiday-themed content to keep the festive spirit.
Continue sharing holiday-themed content even after the holidays are over. Share stories, recipes, or tips related to the season. This keeps the festive spirit alive and gives customers a reason to keep paying attention to your brand.
You can post content that reflects on the holiday season. That might mean talking about customer holiday experiences with your products or showing behind-the-scenes looks at how your team celebrated.
The vibe you want to go for is nostalgic and heartwarming. These themes evoke positive emotions and will help keep your audience connected to that fleeting festive feeling. And again, it’s another reason to stay in touch after the holiday rush!
Website Optimization
Optimizing your website is key to providing a smooth shopping experience. After all, nothing can break a potential sale like a slow, broken, hard-to-use website.
A little time spent on site improvements can lead to increased sales and higher conversion rates. Here’s how to make it happen!
#13: Make your website with mobile users in mind.
Make sure your website looks great and works well on mobile devices. After all, many – if not most – customers shop on their phones. Use a responsive design that adjusts to different screen sizes.
Compress images to reduce loading times and make sure buttons are easy to tap. Test your website on various devices like phones and tablets to be sure it performs well.
Regularly check for any issues and fix them quickly. Don’t forget to check your navigation menus too. You want users to be able to find what they want quickly and easily.
#14: Update product listings with post-holiday offers.
Give your product listings a makeover to highlight post-holiday discounts and promotions. Use clear, concise descriptions and high-quality images to showcase your products.
Mention any limited-time offers or special deals to encourage quick purchases. Make your listings stand out with eye-catching graphics and bold text for important details.
Keep the content fresh by regularly updating the listings with new deals and relevant seasonal promotions. This keeps customers interested and coming back for more.
#15: Improve site speed and performance.
A fast-loading website is crucial for keeping customers around. Regularly monitor your website’s performance with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. This will let you address any issues promptly. That way, the shopping experience stays smooth.
Every second counts. For that matter, every tenth of a second counts! Even a slight delay can lead to lost sales.
When in doubt, follow these rules:
- Compress your images
- Use a content delivery network (CDN)
- Minify your code
These three tips alone will dramatically improve site performance if you haven’t done them already.
#16: Enhance the checkout process for ease.
If you haven’t already done this, double check your checkout process. It needs to be really easy to buy. You want as little friction as possible.
For one, offer guest check out. Customers don’t want to make accounts. Don’t make them.
Provide clear instructions and multiple payment methods. That way, customers don’t have to look for their credit card if they know their PayPal password by heart.
Test the checkout process yourself to identify any potential pain points and eliminate them. A hassle-free checkout is the easiest way to increase sales.
Don’t give people a reason to abandon their carts!
#17: Use A/B testing to find effective strategies.
Experiment with different website elements using A/B testing. Try out different headlines, images, and calls to action to see what works best.
Analyze the results to determine which variations perform the best. Implement the winning strategies to improve your website’s conversion rate.
Make a regular habit of this. It’s a good way to make sure your site experience is constantly getting better.
And if you need a tool to get started? Consider VWO.
#18: Add a live chat feature for immediate assistance.
Roll out a live chat feature on your website to provide real-time assistance to customers. This can help resolve any issues or questions they have while shopping, leading to higher conversion rates.
As you do this, be sure your live chat is staffed with knowledgeable and friendly representatives. Offer 24/7 support if possible to cater to all customers. By being available to help immediately, you can prevent lost sales and boost customer satisfaction.
Inventory Management
One of the problems of post-holiday eCommerce is inventory management. If you’re smart about how you handle it, though, you can get rid of your overstock and prevent stockouts at the same time.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help you manage your inventory.
#19: Highlight overstocked items with special deals.
Identify overstocked items that are taking up valuable space. Promote these products with special deals to move them quickly. Offer discounts or bundle them with popular products to create attractive offers.
Highlight these deals prominently on your website and through various marketing channels like email newsletters and social media posts. Use eye-catching graphics and persuasive language to draw attention to these offers.
This not only helps clear excess inventory but also brings in customers looking for great deals.
#20: Bundle products to increase average order value.
Create product bundles that offer a better value than purchasing items individually. This strategy can increase your average order value and help move slower-selling items.
Combine popular products with less popular ones to create appealing bundles. Promote these bundles on your website’s homepage, in product descriptions, and through email marketing campaigns.
Use phrases like “best value” or “exclusive bundle” to entice customers. Bundles can also make great gift options, providing added convenience for shoppers and boosting sales.
#21: Introduce limited-time offers to create urgency.
Use limited-time offers to create a sense of urgency and encourage quick purchases. Highlight these offers prominently on your website, in marketing materials, and across social media platforms. Another trick you can use are countdown timers, which can emphasize limited availability and stop people from procrastinating.
Use phrases like “while supplies last” or “only a few left” to enhance the urgency. Limited-time offers can be applied to overstocked items, new arrivals, or seasonal products, making them a versatile tool in your marketing strategy.
#22: Promote seasonal products with creative marketing.
Market seasonal products with creative campaigns that resonate with your audience. Use holiday themes, seasonal colors, and storytelling to make your promotions more engaging.
And yes, while this might seem like it’s more of a holiday marketing tactic than a post-holiday marketing tactic, it still works in January and February. Winter-themed items still work well in January. And Christmas red isn’t all that different from Valentine’s red.
Just like with the BFCM season, post-holiday seasonal promotions can include limited-edition products, themed packaging, or special discounts, all designed to attract customers and boost sales.
It doesn’t have to be complex either. Just think of how much revenue Starbucks has made just by using holiday-themed cups!
#23: Restock popular items quickly.
Monitor your inventory levels closely and restock popular items promptly to meet customer demand. Be sure to communicate regularly with suppliers to lock in quick turnaround times.
You will also want to keep customers informed about restocked items through email newsletters, social media updates, and website notifications. Use phrases like “back in stock” or “just restocked” to create excitement and drive repeat purchases.
Offering a pre-order option for out-of-stock items can also maintain customer interest and lock in immediate sales once the items are available again.
Final Thoughts
Boosting post-holiday eCommerce sales takes a mix of a lot of tactics. In our list, we discussed targeted marketing, smart customer engagement, optimized websites, and efficient inventory management. But, of course, there are many more ways that you can secure post-holiday sales that we didn’t even mention.
We hope you find these tips useful and that you’re able to use them to keep sales strong long after the holidays are over!
