13 Sep Online Sales: now is Time to Prepare for Peak Season
September 16 marks the start of a crucial countdown: just 100 days until Christmas. This is a vital time for anyone operating an e-commerce website. The holiday season, marked by many promotional initiatives, represents an opportunity to boost sales and retain customers. Discover why and how to prepare a successful peak season now with MyBank’s tips.
Key takeaways:
- Year-end opportunities for your e-commerce
- The importance of advanced planning
- Website optimization as the first step
- The key role of online payments
- Promotions and discounts to maximize sales
- Digital marketing and security at the forefront
Year-end opportunities for your e-commerce
The last months of the year are typically the most profitable period for online sellers. 55% of consumers now prefer to shop online and even more so on special retail dates like Christmas and Black Friday. [1] They are more inclined to make purchases, both for gifts and to take advantage of offers.
Capitalizing on these opportunities can lead to a significant improvement in your e-commerce’s annual results. Merchants who are particularly competitive can aim for up to 5 times the revenue of an average day during these occasions.
The importance of advanced planning
Traditionally, the holiday shopping season includes November and December, the last two months of the year marked by events such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year’s. However, with promotions and discounts often starting as early as October, the year-end shopping is becoming increasingly extended.
This is why the right time to prepare for the sales peak on your e-commerce is now.
September is the perfect month to strategically plan activities and initiatives for a successful fourth quarter.
Website optimization as the first step
Constantly optimizing your e-commerce site is imperative, and even more so in anticipation of a significant traffic spike like the one expected at year-end.
Conversions also depend on a responsive design that automatically adjusts to the device being used by the customer, along with a well-organised, distraction-free checkout process.
Never underestimate the importance of a quick and efficient checkout: 62% of users abandon their purchase if the process takes longer than 2 minutes. [2]
The key role of online payments
The challenges and significant opportunities of the last months of the year require your immediate attention on payment optimization for sales and the adoption of a strategy that includes alternative payment methods, capable of meeting diverse customer preferences and needs.
Alternative payment methods, such as account-to-account (A2A) solution MyBank, enable cashless fund transfers without the use of cards, streamlining collection processes and improving operational efficiency for businesses.
In recent years, A2A payments like MyBank have gained growing acceptance among citizens and businesses in any sector, representing 18% of ecommerce transactions in Europe in 2023, with further growth prospects. [3]
September may be the right time to review your payment processes and consider the simplicity of integration of a solution like MyBank, which allows your customers to make a fully pre-filled bank transfer with immediate confirmation and 24/7 operation, directly from their online banking service with no transaction amount limits and no third-party data sharing.
Promotions and discounts to maximize sales
It is time to plan your special offers and promotions, keeping in mind how crucial segmentation based on purchasing behaviour is to make them even more relevant to your customers.
Introducing promotional bundles or “Buy 2, Pay 1” offers can be great strategies to increase the average order value (AOV).
Digital marketing and security at the forefront
It would be a serious mistake to neglect digital marketing in the last months of the year when expanding brand visibility and reaching a broader, targeted audience can lead to a significant increase in web traffic and consequently conversions.
Increased traffic demands heightened security measures, which in turn fosters greater customer trust. It’s crucial to communicate this commitment to security clearly. As the year draws to a close, take the opportunity to educate your website users. Encourage them to verify the legitimacy of communications and to use only official channels, ensuring a secure and protected shopping experience.
[1] https://empathy.co/resources/special-dates-guide/
[2] https://stripe.com/en-fr/guides/state-of-european-checkouts-2022