How to Increase Your Sales During the Holidays, the Most Competitive Time of Year
The holiday season is described as the most wonderful time of the year. However, if you’re a marketer, it has the potential to instill stressful planning, auditing, testing, and building campaign initiatives.
With so many businesses relying on holiday sales, marketing and ecommerce professionals need to step up to the plate and battle against their competitors.
Gift buying is and remains as one of the biggest and most stressful pain points of the holiday season. Most consumers will start researching gifts far ahead of the holiday season but end up buying at the last possible moment. In a recent study by PayPal, 59% of Americans find holiday shopping to be so stressful, that they’d rather do a multitude of unappealing activities instead. 1 in 5 Baby Boomers and Gen Xers would rather go to the dentist than find a gift, while 19% of Millennials would rather text on the phone with their boss over the weekend.
Plenty of research has already been performed explaining what happens during most gift buying experiences and why it has the potential to be so unpleasant. 29% of consumers claim that there is too much to choose from online while 24% say that online stores don’t provide enough product information and support to make selecting the right product a simple process. So, we know what’s causing such roadblocks for consumers, so it’s vital that your business takes the necessary steps to combat such barriers.
Consumers today are suffering from a severe case of choice paralysis. Choice paralysis is when buyers feel like they’re faced with too much choice and too much noise. They’re begin over-analyzing and overthinking when in the end, they’re just incapable of taking any action, leaving your business with a collection of abandoned shopping carts. The consequences of choice paralysis can have a far-reaching impact on your business, especially if you rely on a sales bump during the holiday season. If customers can’t decide, they don’t buy. In other words, they don’t convert.
Canon, a leading consumer electronics company was looking for intuitive ways to educate and inspire shoppers early in the purchase journey. With hundreds of cameras to choose from, Canon battled choice paralysis and wanted to drive conversions and foster brand loyalty in such a crowded marketplace. Canon recognized the gaps in their customer experience and implemented a camera selector to guide shoppers to the perfect products by asking engaging questions. Since the launch of their digital assistant, Canon has been able to overcome their battle with choice paralysis, boost conversions and create an enjoyable experience for shoppers.
There is a disconnect with the expectations of consumers and the experiences that brands provide, and this goes far beyond the holiday season. It’s. year-round and is a challenge brands and retailers face in every industry. It’s simple, consumers don’t speak the same language as industry professionals. 71% of consumers switched to a competitor that provided a better customer experience. Most businesses recognize that there’s a problem, but not many have managed to crack the code. The expectation for convenience is at an all-time high. So, how can your company stand out above the competitors? Consider what makes a meaningful customer experience. Things like intuitive experiences, easy route to purchase, personal and relatable engagement.
The holiday retail market is expected to increase up to $475 billion dollars by 2024. That is a number your business cannot afford to ignore. Listen and learn from your customers, ease the struggle of gift buying and create a fun and human-friendly experience for your shoppers. By doing so, you’ll notice conversion rates skyrocketing. The gifting industry relies greatly on social trends and consumer research it fundamental. It can highlight key factors that make the difference between commercial success and failure.
Now’s the time to get started combatting choice paralysis before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Start conversations with consumers, analyze their behavior and use that data to your advantage. Ready, set, sell… You got this!