9 Ways D2C Brands Can Increase Year-End Holiday Sales

The year-end holiday season is filled with excitement, cheer and, of course, lots of shopping. During this time, customers are on a constant hunt for gifts for their family, friends, colleagues and more. Therefore, this is a crucial time for D2C brands to grow and scale their businesses.

Since businesses are aware of the importance of this season, they do not shy away from offering massive discounts or going all out with their marketing efforts to attract customers.

In this blog, we will be covering all the ways you can increase your sales during the year-end holiday season.

9 ways D2C brands can increase year-end holiday sales

1. Choose the right marketing channels

Consumers are currently more exposed than a couple of years back, as they are active and present across multiple channels like emails, social media, SMS and more. Therefore, their attention is spread thin, which requires brands to utilize a multi-channel approach in their marketing.

Additionally, due to the surge in demand for online shopping, the competition among brands has increased. Therefore, every brand is fighting for their customer’s attention and trying to stay ahead of the competition.

It is crucial to choose the right marketing channel to ensure that you attract the customer’s attention and beat your competition whilst investing time and money in the right resources.

The number of ways that brands can market their online business are search engines like SEO, social media marketing, email marketing and more. We recommend a multi-channel approach to ensure your brand reaches the right ears.

A brand that decided on a multi-channel marketing approach is Urban Ladder, a furniture and décor brand.

The company recently announced their Full House sale, which offered customers up to 70% discount on their products. They promoted their sale on their social media channels, websites, and YouTube Page directing customers to their website and physical stores. The method helped them reach a wider audience and capture customers who are active on different channels.

Urban-ladder-example-of-choosing-the-right-marketing-channel — Source: Urban Ladder YouTube Page

2. Provide special deals and discounts

Another way to boost holiday sales is by offering special deals and discounts to customers.

Yes, we understand that the holiday season is a time to increase revenue and grow sales. However, offering special deals and discounts attracts new customers, increases engagement and helps expand the customer base. Many customers plan their shopping spree around discounts and promotions. So, why not give them what they want?

Depending on your budget, you can provide offers like

– High discounts on limited high-margin products

– Discount on minimum spend

– Free samples

– “Buy one get one free” offer

Amazon’s Great Indian Festival is a much-awaited sale event across the country. Customers are offered attractive discounts in all sectors including electronics, apparel, footwear and more. They also offer additional discounts on minimum spend.

3. Improve social media marketing

Social media can be a big help for promoting discounts, offers or brand as a whole during the holiday season.

The year-end holiday season is associated with words like joy, celebration and love. Your social media marketing strategy should reflect these sentiments to motivate the customers to buy their gifts from your company.

Start by updating your social media profile, cover photos, banners and other visual mediums. Then post pictures related to your deals, offers or discounts, if any. Or simply decorate your page by promoting your brand and products/services with holiday-themed posts.

A brand using social media marketing during the holiday season is Bath and Body Works India, a cosmetics retail store chain.

Closer to the end of the year, the brand promotes its holiday-themed products like Christmas candles and gift bundles, in addition to discounts like the Black Friday Sale. The strategy helps customers be informed that their favorite scents and products of the season are back in stock with the brand on their website and physical stores.

Source: Bath and Body Works India Instagram Page

4. Offer freebies

We all love receiving things for free, and this is true even for customers. Therefore, offering freebies is an excellent way to boost sales.

Since customers are shopping during the holiday season, providing freebies will motivate them to choose your brand over competitors, and thus, increasing customers and sales.

You can give free shipping, free samples, and gift cards on minimum purchases. The biggest offer that we see is free shipping. We recommend including it, as your competitors are most likely also offering it. Therefore, you should try matching their offer and providing extra, if possible.

5. Improve your customer service

People shop a lot during the holidays. And more customers and sales mean more problems businesses run into. But with a simple improvement in customer service, you can ensure that your buyers get a seamless shopping experience. Once your customer is satisfied, they are also more likely to come back and refer your brand to their friends and family.

Some brands have also been relying on automation to provide top-notch customer service. For example, providing direct links to tracking orders, making returns simple with a few clicks and more.

6. Run limited-time sales

Another way to boost sales during the year-end holiday season is limited-time sales that appear out of nowhere. In this method, you can increase your discount for only a few hours. For example, raising the discount from 40% to 50% for an hour, which can be done multiple times during the day. Alternatively, you can run only a limited-time sale for a day or two. It would depend on your budget and margins.

Here are some pointers to keep in mind for running limited-time sales:

– Use countdown timers or pop-ups to let customers know about the short sale duration.

– Promote your sale beforehand on social media, emails and website

– Use different coupons for different sales to track the success of the promotion.

A brand that runs limited-time sales is Nykaa Fashion. Currently, they have their Diwali sale running that offers up to 80% discount on their products. On a few brands, the company has been offering additional discounts and has opted for a timer to show their customers the end time of the sale.

7. Schedule new product launches

Compared to the rest of the year, the year-end holiday season is a more wallet-heavy affair for customers. They end up spending particularly on home décor, electronics, accessories, gadgets and more. Therefore, to attract more customers, launch your new products during this season.

You will be able to tap into the holiday rush while also promoting your product. Utilize the power of ad campaigns, influencers and social media to receive visibility and attention on your new product during this seasonal time.

A product launch we are loving is Chumbak’s Marigold Diwali, which is a set of hand-painted stoneware. The brand used social media to create hype around the product, before introducing it.

8. Prepare for bulk sales and return orders

The holiday season brings in several orders, much more than your brand would receive otherwise. Therefore, you need to predict customer orders based on historical data and prepare accordingly.

Stock up on appropriate inventory levels to ensure timely shipping and delivery of orders. Prepare and speak to your manufacturers and fulfilment centres based on the data.

Additionally, more orders mean more returns. The rush might not leave you with enough time to account for returns. However, it is vital to track it to know about the inventory levels.

9. Optimize your brand website

You have your sale running. You have promoted your brand and products/services. You have improved your customer service. But suddenly, your website crashes due to high traffic. All your efforts have been wasted due to one small mistake.

For all D2C brands, the website is very important as customers make their purchases on it. They also use it for queries, tracking updates and return orders. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your website is working properly before the holiday season starts.

Some ways to optimize your brand website are:

– Ensure it can handle high traffic

– Make it mobile-friendly

– Improve the page loading speed

– Ensure there are no 404 errors displaying

Conclusion

There you have it! The 9 ways you can increase your year-end holiday sales, whilst boosting engagement and customer base. And if you are looking for assistance, Velocity is always available.

We help brands grow by providing a wide range of financial products with the belief that entrepreneurs deserve the best.

9 Ways D2C Brands Can Increase Year-End Holiday Sales