Your Guide to the Spirit of Holiday Competition

The holidays are here and, for some, before the frost is even on the pumpkin. So, as you prepare to trot out the turkey in tinsel, we’re serving up suggestions for retail relevancy as you wrap up the old and welcome in the New Year.

Search! Search! Search!

If your store has a single rally cry this holiday season, let it be SEARCH! Optimize your keywords, bolster your product data and make your product selections ridiculously easy to find. One key phrase to keep in mind? “Near me.” Make use of the tag to show up more often to local buyers.

Make Sure You’re in Ship Shape

Extend your shipping window to capitalize on clicks from last-minute shoppers. Yes. The stretch from Black Friday to Cyber Monday is huge for online sales, but the week before Christmas remains a strong top shopping spot. In fact, Hitwise reports that 12% of all visits and 14% of all transactions happen the week preceding the holiday. Extending shipping entices procrastinators to purchase – even when the ticket price is high. RetailDive’s study showed that for 64% of shoppers, free shipping tipped the scales between “Hmmmm, maybe” to “SOLD!” If your business can bear the burden of free commercial shipping, don the Santa hat and deliver the furniture or décor yourself. Talk about customer service!  

One for You, Two for Me

When was the last time you were able to stick to your Christmas List? Didn’t you find yourself justifying “just a little something”? How many times did you whisper, “Treat yo’self!”? You’re not alone! Everyone wants to buy for themselves during the holidays, so why not encourage it? Celebrate the season with a “Merry Christmas to: ME” sale. This way, the gift is always the right size and color.   

Take Personalization to the Next Level

When you maintain strong relationships with customers, you know what they have, what they like and what they want. Make recommendations their loved ones and help them score a holiday home run! 54% of RetailDive’s survey respondents used a retailer’s recommendation when gifting. If you’re making the recommendation online, include plenty of product data and details to help the buyer justify the purchase. For extra credit, add little touches like gift wrapping – to simplify the season. Look, we’re all busy during this time of year and every second you save your guests is a value-add they won’t forget.

Pin the Table to the Wishlist

It’s our holiday take on the birthday party classic - except this version makes it easy to share wants and wishes with friends and loved ones. Make sure your products are pin-able to Pinterest and rich with product data to ensure the SO, friend or family member knows exactly which hutch/chair/buffet/pillow to buy.

Keep in mind that between November and December 2017, according to Adobe Digital Insights, sales were a whopping $108 billion. Yes, a big chunk of that goes to Amazon and other big box retailers, but with a little thoughtful planning, a nice portion of it can make its way to your purse.

This year, there are 33 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s a huge window to increase home furnishing sales. Apply yourself, make sure your product offering is up to date, add robust and descriptive product data and take advantage of overlooked opportunities for messaging. For example, Green Monday is the second Monday in December and an easy putt for furniture retailers promoting sustainable products.

And if you’re not already announcing holiday sales in advance of taking the kids trick-or-treating, give yourself a break. You’re simply avoiding deal fatigue. And, yes, it’s a real thing!   

Whatever plan you put in place, sharpen your competitive edge during the holidays to ensure you get a little extra bang from the holiday bucks. And if extra bucks aren’t worth reading about prior to pumpkins, we simply don’t know what is!

‘Tis the season for competition. Happy HalloThanksMas to all. . . and to all, a good return on investment.