As the holiday season encompassing Christmas and the New Year approaches, eCommerce brands in the UK are preparing for what promises to be one of the most lucrative shopping periods of the year. According to Adobe’s research, the festive season is a golden opportunity for UK businesses, since shoppers are predicted to spend a staggering £25.9 billion online during Christmas 2024. By strategically encouraging customers to add more to their baskets, you can unlock higher revenues without the additional cost of acquiring new shoppers.

Whether you’re a seasoned Shopify user or just getting started, now is the time to start preparing for this festive season. In this blog, we’ll explore tips and tricks to help you stand out particularly during the holidays, and share actionable strategies to turn those Christmas browsers into loyal customers.

Why Preparing Your Shopify Store for the Holidays Is Essential

The holiday season is prime time for online retailers, but optimising your Shopify stores ensures you make the most of the increased traffic. It's a time when shoppers are actively seeking gifts and products for various celebrations. By implementing strategic adjustments that encourage customers to spend more, you can increase your revenue without the added cost of acquiring new customers.

For instance, WIRO has helped many brands like Three Spirits, Piglets in Bed, Avery Row, and Duke + Dexter implement strategies that saw significant uplifts in holiday sales. Here's how you can do the same.

Strategies to Boost Profits This Holiday Season

1. Add Festive Banners:

Your photography is another important element. You might want to take new festive pictures of your winter products or possibly just move the ones you have to a more prominent position on the homepage. You might even add simple festive elements in editing, like doodled snowflakes or ribbon wrapping. Ensure your banners are mobile-responsive to maintain a seamless shopping experience across devices.

For instance, Luxury tanning brand Bellamianta updated their homepage with new imagery to highlight their Christmas gift sets.

2. Set Free Shipping Thresholds:

The entire month of December is filled with opportunities for festive promotions. Gift guides, markdowns on popular items, and free shipping can attract those last-minute shoppers. By providing free shipping costs on certain items, online retailers encourage online shoppers to add more products to their cart on orders over a certain amount. This strategy is particularly effective during the holiday rush when customers are already in a spending mindset. The threshold you set for free shipping will depend on your brand’s margins and goals, and the cost of shipping to your business. Many popular brands like Dove, Allbirds often offer free shipping as part of the marketing strategy to enhance the shopping experience thus encourage customers to shop with them and improve brand loyalty.

For example, WIRO worked with Piglet in Bed, a sustainable homeware brand, to provide Christmas collections and set a tailored shipping thresholds.

3. Create Holiday-Themed Gift / Product Bundles:

The holiday season is a time when shoppers shops for friends, family and even gifts for themselves. By creating Christmas focused category pages, you will enhance the user experience and make it easier to find all your holiday discounts, deals and gifts packages and bundles to attract the right buyers. Combining complementary products into bundles at a slight discount is a great way to offer value while increasing basket sizes. Bundles are especially popular for gift-giving, simplifying the decision-making process for customers.

WIRO launched Christmas special bundles for Avery Row, to increase in sales during the holiday season.

4. Upsell with Personalised Recommendations:

As an eCommerce merchant, you can boost shopping cart totals by suggesting complementary or personalised product recommendations based on a customer’s behavioral data. Leverage Shopify’s built-in apps or third-party integrations to offer higher-value alternatives or complementary items during checkout. Personalised recommendations improve customer engagement strategies, enhancing the shopping experience while driving higher spend per order.

Oh Polly, a premium women’s fashion brand in UK, suggest personalised product recommendations.

5. Launch Christmas Collections:

Creating collections on your Shopify store can be another helpful way to increase conversions. Seasonal products or collections create urgency and adds excitement to your Shopify store. When using Shopify, collections can be created to group together products for easy customer discovery and a more succinct marketing direction.

For instance, WIRO supported Avery Row to create a collection for gift ideas for Christmas.

6. Highlight Limited-Stock Alerts:

Scarcity is a powerful motivator, especially during the holiday season. Display stock availability on product pages with messages like "Only 3 left!" or "Selling fast!" to create urgency. Combine this with countdown timers for promotions to further encourage immediate purchases. For example, displaying time-limited discounts for popular items can result in faster checkouts. Ensure these alerts are accurate and updated in real-time to maintain customer trust.

7. Provide Festive Packaging and Personalisation Options:

Offering festive packaging options can elevate the shopping experience for your customers. Provide gift-wrapping services or allow customers to add personalised notes to their orders. Highlight these features on your website and during checkout to entice gift shoppers. This small touch not only adds value but also enhances your brand's appeal as a go-to destination for thoughtful holiday gifts. Promoting eco-friendly wrapping options can also resonate with sustainability-conscious buyers.

8. Track and Measure Your Conversion Rates:

Understanding your holiday campaign's success requires detailed tracking of conversion rates. If you don’t track how well your online store is doing, how will you know what’s worked and what hasn’t? Use Shopify's built-in analytics and integrations with tools like Google Analytics to monitor metrics such as click-through rates, cart abandonment, and checkout conversions. By keeping a close eye on this throughout the season, you can easily tweak your promotions to ensure success.

Conclusion

Christmas and New Year represent a golden opportunity to drive sales, but success depends on smart preparation. By launching Christmas collections, setting free shipping thresholds, offering holiday bundles, and optimising your eCommerce store, you can maximise your sales and stand out in the competitive holiday market.

WIRO has helped numerous UK brands achieve their holiday sales goals through tailored strategies that combine creativity and results-driven solutions.

Ready to take your Shopify store to the next level this holiday season? Get in touch today and let’s make this your most successful festive season yet.

Contact WIRO now!