Thinking about the Easter or summer business during the Christmas season?
Timely preparation is key to success during the peak season, as it requires a lot of planning and organization. For online shops, investing in optimizing the online shop as early as late summer pays off in the last quarter around Christmas. Services and advertising campaigns should be planned for users early on, so that seasonal business can be handled stress-free.

Seasonal business: What does that even mean?

Bars and restaurants in vacation regions can sing a song about seasonal business, because the term “seasonal business” means that goods and services are sold that are dependent on the seasons. Christmas is a good example, as all retailers benefit particularly from this time of year. Basically, everyone is looking for a gift for their loved ones, which causes sales in retail to rise rapidly! Grocery stores also sell more sweets. Boutiques and fashion stores sell vacation and winter clothing, while discounters, furniture stores, and decorating stores cater to consumer needs.

What challenges does seasonal business pose for retailers?

For example, in the retail sector, Christmas sales in November and December account for approximately 19 percent of many retailers’ annual sales. In the toy trade, even around 28 percent. To successfully manage your business during a season, you should plan early so that your cash registers can ring in. Some questions arise, such as the obvious question about the assortment: Which seasonal items are suitable for my business and which products do my customers want? Additionally, it must be considered how high the number of units of each product must be in order to satisfy the demand. You should not order seasonal goods at the last minute, but rather order in advance when the conditions are good.

But how can you keep an overview with all the planning? It’s quite simple! We’ll show you with the following tips.

Timely planning is necessary

According to media reports, up to 100,000 truck drivers are said to be missing in Germany. Inventory, storage capacity, and the availability of goods play a decisive role in seasonal business. Therefore, retailers should not negotiate with their freight forwarders or logistics providers at the last minute, but rather secure good terms with long durations in a timely manner. The right goods must be at the right place at the right time with the right presentation in order to be sold. This is the central challenge of seasonal business. Note delivery deadlines, any bonuses, and other additional agreements. Since negotiations can set you back on schedule, don’t forget that the ordered goods also need to be unpacked, labeled, and set up.

Seasonal business in online retail quickly leads to products being sold out. Since this can happen once, it is important to have a good reaction. An apology accompanied by a small discount on the product order or incentives for other products will dissipate the initial anger.

Maintain your product data and information materials to prevent returns

Especially in online trade, use the quiet periods of the year to describe goods in a way that allows customers to form a good picture of them, using 3D planners, AR tools, videos, images, comparative scales, and text information. When in doubt, the rule is: It’s better not to order than to return. The more information about a product that is available to the customer, the better. This allows for better decision-making and the customer is not surprised by the product’s dimensions, for example.

Easier for all parties: Presenting gift ideas for seasonal business

At Christmas and Easter, many customers are faced with the question: What should I give as a gift and what kind of gifts do I want to give my loved ones this year? Therefore, by Black Friday at the latest, not only the bargain-hunting season but also the gift-giving season begins. Also because many people receive Christmas bonuses at the end of the year or have generally lived frugally, the money is more readily available. This is an opportunity to take your customers by the hand and present gift ideas. The best way to do this is to use pre-assembled gift baskets or bundle purchases. Online shop operators can inspire and support their users with overview pages for the most beautiful gift ideas, for example.

Well prepared for the advertising and discount battle: Plan the kick-off for seasonal business!

The pre-Christmas period is just beginning for many shops and retailers with a battle of advertising and discounts: around the infamous Black Friday. No matter where, there are high discounts on the entire range. Participation in the discount battle is not only possible by the watering can method, but vouchers and discounts can also be issued in a targeted manner. Some customers see offers for business shirts in a specific trade journal, while other users see promotional offers for casual looks on Facebook.

The digital world also brings some additional possibilities and subtleties. Shopping cart abandonments by customers who have already registered but are hesitant can be specifically prevented with coupon codes. If a user already has products in the shopping cart and wants to leave the site, they might still be convinced to stay by an overlay that is displayed at the moment of exit and contains a coupon code. This demonstrates, among other things, the endless possibilities for increasing the attractiveness of one’s own offer.

Activate your regular customers and customer data to boost sales

Maintain your existing customer database: With the help of coupons and incentives, it is possible, for example, to shift purchases to a quieter time or to boost sales. This also includes alleviating the biggest concern of many last-minute shoppers: Will the gift arrive on time? Experts point out that it is important to proactively support users. Order deadlines should be communicated as early and clearly as possible, especially in online stores.