Set your online store up for success this holiday season with our free downloadable workbook.
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A recent report by eMarketer estimates holiday spending will grow to over $1.3 trillion this year, with ecommerce and mobile commerce sharing equal importance with in-store shopping for customers. And with half of people in an eMarketer survey stating they’ll start gift shopping before Thanksgiving, it’s best to start getting ready for holiday sales and marketing long before fall or winter begins.
Follow these checklists to ensure your business is set up for success before, during, and after the holiday season.
Before the sales season starts (Summer to October)
The sooner you start getting your business out there, the more time you have to build interest in your products. The more interest you have by the holiday season, the bigger your audience when it’s time to promote your sales.
To ensure you’re ready before the holiday season:
Prepare your products. Add seasonal items like gift cards, add-ons, and subscriptions for popular repeat-buys. Feature your best-sellers on your homepage.
Tidy up your website. Successful business owners suggest testing the shopping and checkout process yourself. Make sure to check your product listings, FAQs, and navigation too.
Connect your payment tool. Make sure you have a tool, like Squarespace Payments, that gives customers multiple payment method choices so you can make more sales.
Get order fulfillment running smoothly. Make a plan for efficiently packing, shipping, and tracking orders, especially if you’re selling both online and in person.
Check your SEO-friendliness. Optimize your site copy with keywords—Squarespace’s AI writer can help you draft. And don’t forget local SEO and shopping search results, so customers can find you no matter how they search for gifts.
Start building a mailing list. Create a captive audience for your holiday promotions and discounts.
Plan your holiday marketing moments. Make a calendar or list of your holiday deals and when and where you’ll promote them. Start with your Black Friday weekend offers and consider offering a mix, like free shipping or returns and BOGO deals in addition to regular discounts.
Read our full guide to prepping for the holiday season
During the holiday season (October to end of December)
Once the holiday rush hits, focus on executing your plans and providing excellent customer service. Having a clear, simple marketing plan ready before the holidays will allow you to focus on sales and handling orders.
Use email to your advantage. Schedule emails so promotions go out at key times. Start with Black Friday and use Squarespace email templates designed to build excitement for your sales. Or set up automations so that customers who abandon their shopping cart get a reminder to return and shoppers get thank you messages after placing an order.
Create a sense of urgency. Stand out in crowded social media feeds and inboxes with unique subject lines, captions, and a feeling of urgency. Use limited availability or low-stock labels on products that are running low and pop-ups or announcement bars to highlight limited-time discounts.
Stay on top of orders. Lean on the fulfillment processes you set up before the holidays to keep orders going out efficiently and customers happy. If you have the Squarespace app, you can track and fulfill orders even when you’re on the go.
Connect with customers. Another way to stand out is to spend time connecting with shoppers in person or online. Share behind-the-scenes details about your holiday experience and engage on social media—these personal touches can help you stand out in a sea of big brands.
Pay attention to what’s working. As you go through the holidays, pay attention to what is and isn’t successful. Are you feeling overwhelmed by orders or customer outreach? Do you think you nailed a marketing moment and certain messages are really landing? Take this all as data to review and learn from later.
Get 5 tips for your holiday marketing strategy
After the Black Friday rush (late December to mid-January)
The final push leading up to the end of the year is filled with opportunities to build customer loyalty and encourage additional sales. This period after the end of major holidays and into mid-January is often called “Q5” or “the invisible quarter”, when many people still have ample free time but advertising is less crowded.
Remind customers to shop for themselves. A majority of people in a National Retail Federation survey used the period after the holidays to do their own shopping, return gifts to buy something with store credit, or use gift cards they received.
Take advantage of the slowdown. With the year’s biggest sales over, there’s less competition for your customers’ attention, which means your emails, social posts, and paid ads are more likely to get noticed. If you’re paying for ads, costs may also be lower.
Say thank you. This is also an ideal time to express thanks to customers for their orders, remind them to leave reviews or testimonials, or recommend products. This isn’t just an opportunity to make more sales, but a way to make people feel like a valued part of your business, which can increase their loyalty and advocacy for you long-term.