Just a handful of days remain in October and then we're into November— one of the most critical months for thousands of e-commerce merchants. The back-to-back combination of Black Friday and Cyber Monday presents plenty of sales opportunities. For shoppers, that time is a stark reminder that it's time to get serious about holiday shopping. Smart merchants prepare for this phenomenon well in advance, and Part 2 of our series on Holiday Mindsets is here to help you strategize!

(Click here for Part 1 of our series on Holiday Mindsets!)

5.) Drive customers to deals pages. Customers don’t want to have to hunt for your store’s deals. Make it easy on them by putting the best deals on one or a handful of easy-to-find deals pages. This encourages focus, which is easy to lose during the midst of the holiday frenzy. This doesn’t mean that you can’t also have general store-wide specials or other promotions, but deals pages will absolutely help your holiday conversion strategy.

6.) Great strategy is based on timing. You know how you feel that window of opportunity shrinking with every passing day? Your customers are feeling the same thing. Capitalize on their natural sense of urgency by placing countdowns on your website. Counting down the days left for shopping is great, but putting digital countdowns related to specific deals is even better. This encourages shoppers to buy now and ask questions later! Make sure your own marketing efforts are timed perfectly: Be consistent and helpful, but be careful not to spam customers either.

7.) Be consistent with your marketing and branding. You may have an incredible-looking website, but make sure your marketing efforts are equally incredible. Ho-hum newsletters and snore-inducing social media may never get the click you need to drive customers to your tricked-out website. Likewise, amazing marketing without a compelling website will only serve as a letdown for customers.

8.) Encourage follow-up shopping. So you’ve succeeded in converting a new customer. Great. What are you doing to encourage they buy from you again and again? Prominent newsletter sign-up placement will attract customers interested in your brand, helping you market to them in the future. Another tip is creating attractive print inserts to place in your packages. Receiving a branded advertisement with promotional codes and other exclusive deals is an added incentive for your new customer to shop with you again.


Got the right holiday mindset? Now put those thoughts into action with a holly-jolly combination of merchandising tools we've assembled for you!

Happy Holidays!