Deck the carts
Tips for WooCommerce and Shopify merchants over the festive shopping season
As the holiday season approaches, it’s time for eCommerce merchants to make the most of festive shopping traffic.
It’s shopping season! For merchants on WooCommerce and Shopify, there are some effective ways to boost your site’s performance, appeal, and customer experience.
Here’s how you can ensure a smooth (and merry) shopping season for your customers – and drive more sales in the process.
Seasonal promotions
Naturally, holiday shoppers love a good deal, so consider creating festive discounts, limited-time offers, or gift-with-purchase incentives. Showcase these promotions prominently on your homepage, and use banners and pop-ups to make them visible throughout the customer journey.
WooCommerce and Shopify both offer plenty of plugins and integrations for running special promotions. For example, you could add a countdown timer for urgency or a pop-up with a special discount code. Seasonal bundles also work well, and with multi-buy discounts, customers get an incentive to shop for multiple items or gifts.
Extended return policies
In the build up to the festive season, buyers often purchase gifts early, so offering an extended return window can ease concerns and increase conversions. Even if it means a bit more inventory management, it’s a customer-centric gesture that can help build trust with new shoppers.
Gift-ready packaging
Many customers prefer to send gifts directly to recipients, so consider offering gift wrapping or personalised messages. Simple features like these can make a big difference to last-minute shoppers, adding convenience and a personal touch that enhances the shopping experience.
Like what you’re ready?
There’s more where this came from. Subscribe to our newsletter for a monthly delivery of insights, stories and studio news directly to your inbox.
Festive personalisation
You already know it, but it’s worth saying again: Personalisation is the secret sauce for today’s shoppers. Use customer data to send tailored emails or product recommendations based on past purchases. Tools like Klaviyo and Mailchimp allow you to create highly targeted, personalised marketing.
Optimised website speed and performance
Page load time is crucial year-round, but during the holiday rush, even a small delay could lose customers to competitors. For WooCommerce, ensure your hosting can handle seasonal traffic spikes, and consider using caching tools and CDNs (content delivery networks).
Keep the site’s design lean – remove any apps, plugins, code, or scripts you don’t need, and optimise images. Also, ensure product pages load quickly, even with high-resolution product images, so visitors stay engaged and ready to purchase.
Seamless checkout journeys
Cart abandonment spikes during busy shopping seasons, so make your checkout as seamless as possible. Remove any unnecessary fields from your checkout page, allow guest checkouts, and include clear shipping and return policies.
WooCommerce users can integrate plugins for a smoother checkout, and Shopify merchants can streamline the journey by customising each checkout step. Offering diverse payment options – like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Klarna – also helps cater to more customers, making checkout a breeze.
Ready to get your site holiday-ready?
As holiday shopping heats up, make sure your site is optimised to deliver a seamless experience.
If you’d like a professional review of your site, get a website audit from Atomic Smash to maximise your festive potential.
AI-driven support
Offering quick support during peak shopping times is essential, and AI tools can help you manage it effectively. Consider adding an AI-powered chatbot to assist customers with common questions around stock, delivery times, or sizing. This can be especially useful on Shopify and WooCommerce sites with high seasonal traffic.
Chatbots can manage multiple inquiries at once, ensuring a quick response time while freeing up your team for more complex queries.
Greener delivery options
As eco-conscious shopping becomes more important, consider adding eco-friendly delivery options. Many shoppers, especially during the holidays, appreciate the choice of carbon-neutral shipping or reduced packaging options. Highlighting these options can set you apart and attract mindful consumers.
Product previews with AR
If you’re feeling adventurous, augmented reality (AR) is another trend making waves. AR can let customers visualise products at home before buying – a feature particularly popular in jewellery, furniture, and apparel.
Takeaways
As the festive season kicks into gear, now is the time to ensure your WooCommerce or Shopify site is ready to deliver a seamless and joyful shopping experience.
From running enticing seasonal promotions to optimising site speed and offering thoughtful extras like gift-ready packaging, small changes can make a big difference.
And by embracing trends like AI-powered support and eco-friendly delivery, you can set yourself apart and delight customers during the busiest shopping period of the year.
Need help fine-tuning your site?
Get a website audit from Atomic Smash and make this season your most successful yet!