The holidays are fast approaching and with them a potential increase in sales. If you have an ecommerce store, or are selling anything to consumers, here’s a checklist of what you need to take into account.
1. Mobile Responsiveness
You need to be set up for mobile shopping! If you’re not, your customers will go elsewhere. Projections show that 30-35% of shoppers will make their purchases on their mobile devices.
2. Server speed and uptime
You can’t take advantage of an uptick in visitors if the extra traffic causes server issues. If your site is not accessible, you’ve lost a sale. If your site takes more than a couple of seconds to load, you’ve lost a sale.
3. Work on social media
Find out what people are talking about. Work out where and how to sell to them. Monitor any comments people might make about your business and resolve any customer service issues quickly and publicly.
4. Paid Advertising
This is the time of the year when good use of advertising can pay off big time. Work out your audience, what your message is to them, and find out how best to reach them.
5. Graphic Design
You’ll likely need a lot of design work done, from graphical ads, to in-store images, to new email templates. Don’t leave it all to the last minute.
6. Customer Service
Higher than usual sales can lead to problems if customer service is not given ample consideration. Do you need to hire temporary help? What processes can you put in place to minimize issues and keep buyers happy?
7. Abandoned Cart emails
Plan ahead for uncompleted purchases. Have a system in place to email buyers who have abandoned their carts in order remind them their products are waiting for them. The vast majority will go on to complete their purchases, they just need to be reminded.
8. Track sales and traffic
Carefully monitor and track both traffic and sales, as well as the causes of any upticks and downticks. This will help you plan for other seasonal shopping events and next year’s holiday season.