Business Tips

The 2021 Holiday Season — How to Increase Sales with These 7 Effective Strategies

Last updated January 2022

The 2021 holiday shopping season is upon us and retailers like you are battle-tested. You’ve navigated a global pandemic. You’ve pivoted and adapted and your shoppers have followed suit.  

And even though businesses are still dealing with the impact of COVID-19, the collective retail community has hope because people are shopping. Deloitte predicts a 7–9% increase in holiday retail sales this year, compared to 2020. Deloitte’s projections indicate that holiday sales could total up to $1.3 trillion between November and January of 2022.

Shoppers have gained confidence shopping online, but muscle memory is drawing them back to stores as well. What does that mean for e-commerce, brick-and-mortar, and omnichannel stores? It’s a call to pull out all of the stops to corner that retail dollar and keep customer experience at the forefront of every decision. 

In this post, we’ll cover tried and true tactics your business can engage in to help drive e-commerce and in-store sales. Here are the best 7 strategies to increase your holiday sales, so you can make the most out of 2021.

7 strategies to increase sales this holiday season

1. Get seasonably social 

Whether we love it or could live without it, social media is a major part of your shopper’s lives. This means you need to be where they are so they can hear (or see) your message. But social media is more than posting random updates or picture-less posts. You have to have your own social media strategy!

There are several creative ways you can engage your audience through social media during the holidays. Consider a few of these tactics:

  • Create a lookbook – Help your shoppers get ideas for socially-distanced events or entertaining at home by grouping items you sell. Take pictures, present stories, and write posts about how your product can help your shopper take control of the holiday season.
  • Create shopping guides – Similar to a lookbook, you can create gift-giving guides for your shoppers so they know exactly what to pick. You can partner with other businesses that have complimentary products. 
  • Personalize the experience – Answer the questions shoppers post on your social media pages promptly. Share branded messages to personally assure them that your business is ready to help them whether they shop at home or walk into your store.
  • Create contests – Shoppers love the prospect of winning something, so why not put together a fun contest to create engagement? 

While big giveaways and contests build excitement, it’s also the little touches that can help you get noticed. Small updates such as refreshing your profile pictures and updating your hashtags keeps you relevant. 

Your social media strategy doesn’t have to be all-consuming, but it should reflect what matters most to shoppers this holiday season: convenience. Communicate your commitment to delivering hassle-free options and they’ll follow you anywhere.

2. Plan your promotions

As you’re planning your promotions, look at the data to see what has worked for you in the past. Was offering free shipping a popular promotion? Did you sell out when you offered your lowest price ever?

The 2021 holiday season is the time to put your best effort into a promotion. Even if you can’t lower your margins, you can get behind your promotions with strong marketing. And don’t forget, there are several promotional ideas you can use for your products, such as:

  • Bundling – If a shopper purchases two or more items together, offer an incentive.
  • Discounts – Taking money off the retail price is proven promotional tactic.
  • Free Shipping – Offering free shipping is not only a great incentive for holiday sales, but it’s a way to encourage e-commerce shoppers who still aren’t ready to head back into a physical store.  

You likely already know what works and what doesn’t work for your shoppers. Now it’s time to build on what you already know, so you can make this holiday season even better.

3. Create exclusive events

Another way to generate excitement around your holiday offerings is to create exclusive events. These events can take on many forms, whether you have an e-commerce or brick-and-mortar store. 

There are many ways to offer your shoppers an exclusive, insiders-only experience just by ramping up your messaging:

  • Offer an exclusive sale to your email list subscribers
  • Offer a private shopping experience, open only to your insiders
  • Send a newsletter to your private group 
  • Create an invitation-only Facebook group
  • Offer an incentive in exchange for an honest product review

You can also generate buzz and excitement for your store through physical events. Think of all the ways you can make a shopper feel important by inviting them to something like:

  • A small, exclusive event with a respected guest speaker
  • A private sale
  • An organized charity event

Exclusive events do not have to be expensive, they only need to make a shopper feel important. Creating these private events is a fantastic way to increase loyalty among your shoppers.

4. Use your email list and re-target

You can use your email list in very powerful ways. Having your potential shopper’s email puts you one step closer to building loyalty — if the email is treated correctly.

The holidays are a perfect time to use your email distribution list. You can notify your shoppers of upcoming events, promotions, campaigns — whatever you want to give them access to. 

Not only are email addresses great for promoting upcoming events, but email addresses are vital for re-targeting customers. 

When you re-target a shopper, it just means that you’re reaching out to them after they abandon their cart on your site. The holidays are an important time for re-targeting, because your shoppers are likely to get distracted with so much going on.

Sending a cart abandonment email doesn’t have to be complicated. You can follow simple steps such as using a creative subject line, sending an additional promotional offer, or simply reminding your shopper of what’s still in their cart.

By using your email distribution list in smart, tactile ways, you can increase your holiday sales and capture your shopper’s attention.

5. Offer payment flexibility

As shoppers continue to navigate financial challenges, offering payment flexibility may be one of the best strategies you can implement. Offering an installment plan allows your shoppers the ability to pay for their purchase over time.

Installment plans offer several benefits for the shopper, such as:

  • Interest-free payments
  • Paying over a period of time of their choosing 
  • An easy, integrated checkout process
  • No additional paperwork or application
  • Using the shopper’s current credit card, so no additional credit is needed

Splitit is able to offer your shopper all of the benefits listed. 

By offering payment flexibility, you give your shopper the chance to purchase an item they might not be able to afford in full up front, and you help your business in the process. Businesses offering Splitit for instance, have seen higher online conversion rates and a 20% increase in average order value (AOV)

Imagine what your holiday sales revenue would look like if you could increase your AOV or your cart conversions. The best part is, Splitit is so simple to add to your checkout process and integrate with your site.

6. Optimize your site

All indications are that US holiday retail sales will steadily increase in 2021. Globally, online shopping continues to rise and is expected to account for 21.8% of all retail sales by 2024. The best way to get ready for increased online sales is to optimize your site sooner, rather than later.

What can you do to optimize your site? There are several action items, and making these updates before the holiday rush can help lower your cart abandonment rates and increase your sales.

  • Check for site speed. No one likes a slow web page. Use insights to make sure your site speed is optimal. Shoppers expect sites to load within a second or two, and do not have patience for anything much longer.
  • Refresh your landing page. Make sure your landing page is consistent with your offerings for the holidays.
  • Create a sense of urgency. Use language on your landing page and product pages to encourage shoppers to purchase ASAP. 
  • Refresh your product pages. Go through each product and review descriptions. Refresh and update where necessary, adding in language for the holidays if possible.
  • Make payment options easy to find. If you’re offering flexible payment plans, such as through Splitit, or increasing the number of payment options, make sure your shoppers know. This could be the difference between you getting the sale or a shopper choosing another retailer.
  • Create a seamless checkout process. Shoppers want a checkout process as smooth and hassle-free as possible. Studies show the more clicks someone has to make, the more likely they are to move on to another site.
  • Don’t forget mobile shoppers. Mobile shopping is increasingly important. Not only do shoppers demand responsive sites on their smartphone, shoppers are also making more purchases within apps. 

Optimizing your e-commerce site is critical for the holiday season. Not only is it a best -practice throughout the year, but it sets you up for a successful holiday season.

7. Pull all your marketing plans together

The final step to increase your holiday sales is to get your marketing plans solidified and communicated. It’s great if you know what you want to do to increase your holiday sales, but it’s equally important to share with your employees.

Whether you use a calendar, email, or some other system, having all your promotions and marketing plans written out will help you and your colleagues stay on track. Remember, you’ll likely have these strategies working simultaneously.

Don’t forget to plan out all your marketing campaigns, such as your:

  • Social media messaging
  • Social media campaigns
  • Shopper emails
  • Shopper newsletters
  • Website updates
  • Promotional and discount strategies
  • Exclusive shopper events

When you put it all together, you might quickly realize how much you have planned for the holiday season – or you might see a gap that needs to be addressed. 

Once you have all plans pulled together, you can communicate with team members to help build the momentum. 

Final thoughts on the 2021 holiday season

The holiday season has always been an exciting time for retailers. But each year brings a new set of challenges. Businesses have worked hard to adapt to the changing needs of their shoppers, and that continues to be true this holiday season. 

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to increase your sales, and the best part is, you can start preparing now. It also means 2021 can end on the best note yet.