Business
5 min read

How to prepare your e-commerce business for the holiday season

Published on
September 14, 2020
Blog Website Header_HolidaySeason min
Contributors
James Rigby
Founder/CEO
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We can hear the groans already: Preparing for Christmas in September!? It gets earlier every year!! but the fact is that the holiday season (the period from mid-October all the way up to new year's day), is one of the biggest and most significant of the year for a huge number of businesses, e-commerce included.Technically, the holiday season is an American creation that refers to the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's, but in recent years it's expanded to include a bunch of other occasions! As well as Christmas, we have Halloween, Bonfire Night, Black Friday (alongside Thanksgiving in the US), and New Year's to celebrate within the holiday season, which means a lot of people buying a lot of gifts, decorations, fireworks, discounted TV's, balloons, confetti and almost anything else under the sun for friends, family, loved ones and themselves. For an e-commerce business, the holiday season is the most important part of your year, and once it's started, it just keeps on going, so it's no wonder the preparation needs to happen so early!

Spring (or Autumn) clean your inventory

E-commerce sales are growing massively every year, which is great news for you! However, it means you need to be ready for an increase in sales, and that doesn't just mean getting in extra stock! Having enough packaging, order labels, staff to pack said orders, the delivery capacity to get said orders out there, the capacity to process and turnaround returns from your increased order volume and more are all vital parts of an e-commerce strategy in time for the holiday season.This year, it's particularly important as COVID-19 is expected to draw lots of us away from the Christmas Eve crush at our local shipping centres, and instead increase e-commerce share even more than in a regular year!

Get your marketing in order

Social media posts, email marketing, website banners, discount codes, billboards, packaging design - it never ends! An overarching marketing strategy for the entire holiday season is the best way for you to control your messaging and reduce stress when it comes to this seriously busy period, and the time to start putting that together is NOW. Brainstorm your slogans, themes and promotions; get all of your assets designed (hello Design Cloud!); and have your blog posts and press releases written and queued up today so that all you need to do is implement your meticulous plans when the busy days hit.

Give your website an MOT

Your website is your lifeblood as an e-commerce business, but you knew that already. Make sure your site is ready to handle your increased number of visitors, take a look at your SEO rankings, get on top of your mobile optimisation and get your products updated, categorised and boxed off before it becomes a problem. You need your website to be in absolute top shape, and you need it to be ready before the extended holiday rush leaves you blacked out in the most important period of the year.To find out how Design Cloud can help your e-commerce business prepare for the holiday season no matter how early it is, get in touch with us to arrange a demo of our unlimited, intelligent and easy-to-use graphic design service!

Contributors
James Rigby
Founder/CEO
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By subscribing you agree to be contacted by us inline with our Privacy Policy.
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Need help with design work?

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