Last-Minute Holiday Marketing Strategies for E-Commerce Businesses

The holiday season is in full swing and you can feel the energy in the air! And although the biggest shopping weekend on the year is behind us (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday…all of which lasted more than a weekend!), shoppers are still looking for the perfect presents and pushing the limits of shipping deadlines. Whether shopping for Christmas, Ramadan, or Hanukkah or planning and prepping for New Year’s Eve, there’s no question most everyone is still in the shopping and buying spirit!

Luckily, with a few last-minute tweaks to your store design, festive product collections, and creative holiday marketing ideas, you can make the most of the next few weeks and finish the 2022 holiday shopping stronger than you imagined! 

Here are some holiday marketing ideas, including campaign strategies, gift guides, email marketing, and festive apps to help you attract customers and close more sales before the holiday shopping season officially ends. These strategies are intended to be easy to implement, even if you’re short on time and budget, and many can be executed with simple tweaks and updates to your existing e-commerce store and product offerings

Develop holiday-specific products or variants

If you’re in the dropshipping or print-on-demand business, this strategy is for you! Consider developing new seasonal products, by tweaking your imagery, messaging, and color schemes. By doing so, you can easily give shoppers the impression of having new product offerings, even if they’re simply your existing products reimagined with a holiday twist.

“Gift-ify” your existing products

By bundling products into holiday gift packs for the holiday season and updating packaging with festive add-ons, existing products from your core collection can generate new interest. One easy way to accomplish this is create bundles based on recipients (such as “Gifts for Her,” “Gifts for Him,” “Gifts for Kids, Tweens, Teens, Pets…” etc.)

Offer digital gift cards 

Digital gift cards are both in-demand and easy to add to your e-commerce store. Easily update the design to reflect the season and promote these as last-minute gift ideas to your customers. Consider featuring them prominently on your site and at the top of gift-giving collections. Also be sure to promote them on social media after your shipping deadline has passed to keep holiday sales flowing until Christmas Eve!

Create holiday collections

To help customers easily navigate your website and quickly find the perfect gift, consider creating new collections around holiday themes, categories, or gift recipients. You can create holiday collections from your core products by positioning them as “Holiday Party Dresses,” “Gifts for Dad,” or “Toys for Toddlers.”

Consider timed holiday “drops”

Build anticipation around new products or product variants by teasing “drops” to your social media audience or email subscribers. Consider creating a “12 Days of Christmas” or a virtual advent calendar to unveil new products or holiday promotions.

Develop a holiday gift guide

Consider creating gift guides on your blog and/or share gift guides via email marketing or social media. You may also consider linking your social media or your website homepage to holiday-specific collections repositioned as gift guides (using the ideas from above – “Holiday Party Dresses,” “Gifts for Dad,” “Toys for Toddlers,” “Gifts for Him, Her, Kids, Tweens, Teens, Pets,” etc.)

Promote your holiday promotions and products on social 

Offer special discounts and deals exclusively to those who follow you on social media. You can easily do so by implementing a discount app to offer a gift with purchase, BOGO deals, or tiered discounts that drive higher cart totals. Daily deals and countdown timers may be used to create a greater sense of anticipation and urgency.

Use content marketing to drive traffic 

Consider what value you can offer to your customers this time of year and then create a holiday SEO strategy to help drive more customers to your site. Whether your target audience is looking for festive recipes, unique gift ideas, or DIY content, find relevant ways to attract them through this content and drive them to your products.

Host a giveaway

Get into the giving spirit by hosting a giveaway and sharing information about it on your website, email marketing, and social media accounts. Simply ask your customers and followers to complete certain actions like sharing your post or signing up for your newsletter to gain an entry. 

Update social media headers or avatars

You may want to update social media assets like your Facebook cover image or Twitter avatar for the holiday season to remind customers that you’re a destination for gifts. Tool like Hatchful or Canva may be used to create a custom logo and social media assets for the season. Also update your bio to include holiday messaging.

Send a holiday discount code to your email list

Reward existing subscribers with an email marketing campaign to drive them to your site for their shopping needs. Get creative with your subject lines, and offer enticing discounts, to help your message stand out in customers’ flooded inboxes.

Incentivize new subscribers and customers with a discount

You can also incentivize signups by offering a discount to new subscribers. Set up a welcome email that generates a unique coupon code for new subscribers or use a pop-up on your site and reveal the code upon sign up.

Launch an email campaign with daily or weekly features

Tease new holiday promotions and surprises each day or week with a timed email marketing campaign. Consider leveraging daily deals, discount codes, gift with purchase, and new products. 

Decorate your e-commerce website

Add festive touches to your homepage to let buyers know you’re a destination for gifts or holiday products. Bonus: If your e-commerce website is Shopify based, there are several apps in the Shopify App Store make the process even easier if you don’t have time to design custom holiday assets:

• Create a snow-falling effect on your homepage with Christmas & Snowfall Effect 
• Festive Decorations adds animated holiday icons to you store
• Greet customers with a seasonal soundtrack using Custom Background Music: Xmas

Add a new header to feature announcements

Headers and announcement bars are a great way to announce specials or shipping deadlines to new visitors. An app like Hextom works with your Shopify store to add custom banners in seconds. Use this space to promote free shipping and other holiday campaigns. 

Add a holiday countdown timer

Shopify Apps like Countdown Timer by POWr and Order Deadline remind customers of your order deadlines, with countdowns embedded in product pages. Communicating cut-off shipping dates clearly on your website can create a sense of urgency—a successful holiday marketing strategy you can use to drive sales. 

Create a shareable shipping calendar

Customers appreciate clear guidelines around shipping to ensure their gifts will arrive under the tree in time. Don’t make them search for it. A calendar graphic or chart with important dates is a useful asset that you can share across FAQ pages and even email and social media. 

Update your returns policy and set up seamless returns

Establish your refund and exchange policies and clearly communicate them on your website. The peace of mind that comes with a stress-free returns experience can give customers purchase confidence over the holiday season and increase conversion. 

Reallocate marketing efforts to last-minute gifts

The holiday shopping season continues even after your shipping deadlines have passed! When that time comes, reallocate your marketing dollars to promoting gift cards that can be delivered as last-minute as Christmas morning.

Express your gratitude

Don’t forget to say thank you to your customers! Following the end of the holiday shopping season, consider sending holiday-themed thank you notes or emails that include an offer for their next purchase. PostPilot helps you bypass the over-crowded inbox with physical, personalized postcards sent directly to your customers.

Both holiday shopping and marketing pose unique challenges! Not only are your typical customers shopping for others rather than themselves but also shipping cut-off dates create a sense of rush and urgency. By adapting your marketing efforts to the unique nature of holiday shopping, you can give your customers a positive experience that will keep them coming back into the new year!

Happy Holidays!