For many businesses, the holiday season is the most critical part of the year for sales, and can set the tone for the entire year.
Considering this, it’s not surprising that, starting with Black Friday, companies scramble to gain an edge over the competition through various promotions and exclusive holiday sales.
But what are some of the essential retail holidays that can help you drive sales? And how to use them to your advantage?
Let’s dive deep into the peak holiday shopping seasons and their trends to maximize your online holiday sales.
Black Friday
Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for retail, so the sellers that manage to attract the most customers can fill a large part of their holiday sales quotas in just one day.
However, while the biggest Black Friday sales might happen in the large chain retail stores that run extensive promotions for thousands of people, that doesn’t mean smaller businesses can’t take advantage as well.
In fact, many smaller stores and online sellers run successful Black Friday campaigns as well, running deals through the entire end of November.
Small Business Saturday
After Black Friday comes Small Business Saturday, which was first recognized as a holiday shopping day in 2010 when American Express launched a campaign encouraging shoppers to support small local businesses following the frenzy at big chain stores the day before.
Today, Small Business Saturday has grown to become a significant part of this massive sales weekend, generating almost 13 billion in 2017.
While getting in on the Black Friday holiday retail action is always a good idea, no matter how big or small your business, Small Business Saturday helps tap into the local audience, providing additional opportunities to make sales.
Cyber Monday
While Black Friday is still mostly relevant in retail, Cyber Monday is quickly becoming the equivalent for online shopping.
Today, it’s the single biggest online sales day of the year. With U.S. consumers spending more than half a trillion dollars online in 2018, there’s certainly plenty of opportunities to go around for e-sellers that make the most of the occasion.
However, while having appealing sales for the shopping season is essential, it’s equally important to ensure your business is prepared to handle the onslaught, both in terms of an influx in website traffic and in stock of the most coveted items you want to sell.
Free Shipping Day
Everybody loves free shipping, so it’s not surprising that Free Shipping Day holds an established place in the online holiday sales landscape.
Taking part sometime in the middle of December, the day offers free shipping with a guarantee of delivery by Christmas Eve. The free shipping serves as a perk to late holiday shoppers who want to buy a few final gifts, but aren’t sure whether or not their orders would reach them on time. Free Shipping Day is often considered to be the last day for holiday shopping online, making it a crucial day to promote exclusive deals and sales.
With a Free Shipping Day, you can not only provide a sense of time-sensitive urgency as an incentive for people to buy now but the day can also be used to offer expedited shipping and the assurance of on-time delivery—a surefire way to make your customers happy with their shopping experience.
Super Saturday
Super Saturday is the last Saturday before Christmas. The last-minute need for shoppers to check items off of their Christmas shopping lists makes Super Saturday an excellent day for sales and special deals. It’s the last opportunity many people have to wrap up their shopping for the holidays, which is why many businesses want to make sure they are able to attract those audiences.
Both large chain stores and smaller businesses advertise promotions, with many even offering extended working hours to ensure that even the latest of shoppers still get a chance to find what they’re looking for.
Boxing Day
Although Boxing Day will probably never match Black Friday in terms of popularity and sales in the U.S., the day after Christmas remains an excellent opportunity to not only provide a final boost to sales at the end of the year but to also clear inventory and seasonal merchandise that will not be needed when next year comes around.
However, if you want people to flock to your stores on Boxing Day, you need to drastically cut the prices, as only incredible bargains will help you clear out the shelves (both online and offline) and make room for next year’s selection.
Insights Into Online Holiday Shopping
Understanding the processes behind the retail holiday season is crucial, as they provide the perfect opportunity to make the final push for profits during the last month of the year.
At Luth Research, we can help you gain valuable insights about online holiday shopping, providing you with comprehensive market research and behavioral tracking data for your target audience, the biggest market trends, and opportunities that you should pursue for optimized success.We’ll help you make the most out of the lucrative opportunities provided by holiday shopping sales.