Christmas is fast approaching and the holiday shopping season is just around the corner. It’s that time of the year when many consumers will be busy looking for gifts to give and services to avail. This shopping craze involves purchases from both digital and physical channels, meaning that most business owners, especially those in the retail industry, will be in for a treat.
With the pandemic seemingly behind us this year in 2022, experts predict that 37% more shoppers in the U.S. plan to start buying gifts as early as November. So, if you want to boost your revenue, now is the ideal time to start planning your marketing and promotion strategies. Here are five creative holiday marketing ideas to captivate your customers and increase sales.
1. Create a holiday gift guide
A holiday gift guide is one way to provide exciting and unique gift ideas to your customers during this holiday season. You can organize your products or services based on category, price point, target audience, and sales history. Then, you can either create digital gift guides and post them online or print them out and send them via direct mail.
The goal is to create a flawless shopping experience where shoppers can easily and quickly find the perfect gift without spending too much time deciding. Remember, the easier it is for your customers to choose gifts, the higher your sales revenue will be.
2. Run a referral contest on social media
A referral contest is always a great promotion strategy, especially during the holidays. Since people would rather listen to people than to brands, word-of-mouth marketing is still the best marketing. Consider offering an attractive prize to whoever has the most referrals or customers brought to your business. Giving them added incentives will motivate them more. In today’s market, it’s much easier for people to share your message online, and social media can be an excellent channel to boost your referral outreach.
3. Provide gift discounts
Another excellent holiday marketing idea is providing gift discounts to shoppers looking to buy multiple products or services from your business. While the bulk of holiday spending is around gifts to loved ones, there’s a high chance that shoppers will also buy something for themselves. Offering a buy-one-get-one or 50% off specials might bring in more customers and convince them to buy more items from your business.
4. Offer free gift-wrapping
This holiday marketing strategy works best if you have a physical store where you can provide a gift-wrapping station for customers. Holiday shopping can be stressful, and making their shopping experience a little easier by offering free gift wrap is something shoppers will surely appreciate. When you provide extra services for free, it can help encourage customers to come and shop at your store.
5. Offer free shipping
For online retail businesses, free shipping remains to be a major draw for most customers. With the holiday season now upon us, some shoppers may want to avoid the stress of going to physical stores to buy gifts. Consider offering free shipping for your online shoppers with a minimum spend amount to encourage them to order items in bulk. Or you can run a limited-time promotion for free shipping to give your buyers a sense of urgency. Because when something is free, shoppers usually don’t want to miss out.
Conclusion
For business owners and shoppers alike, the holiday shopping season is truly a wonderful time of the year. When most customers are willing to spend on gifts, it’s the best time to ramp up your holiday revenue. Take advantage of the shopping craze and apply any of these five holiday marketing ideas to attract more customers, increase your sales, and have fun!
