Christmas advert 2019 — How to give yourself a gift

For many stores and online shops, the Christmas season is one of the most profitable times of the year. This is because people buy gifts for friends and family and buy more for themselves too. Loud Statista Retailers in Germany generate around 102.4 billion euros during the Christmas season and that only in the months of November and December. This period is particularly lucrative for toy and book retailers. In the two months, these industries generate a quarter or more of their annual turnover.

But these huge sales do not come about by themselves. You have to draw attention to yourself and your offers through targeted advertising before and during this time. In this blog post, we will explain to you which things need to be considered in Christmas advertising and which actions can drive sales.

Differences between online shops and stationary retail

Especially during the Christmas season, retail business is heavily based on the emotional activation of customers. However, creating a Christmas atmosphere in a shop is much easier than in an online shop. With suitable decoration, Christmas music in the background and product labels and other signs designed according to the season, you can immediately give customers the feeling that they have arrived at the right store to do their shopping for the Christmas season. But even on a website, the Christmas spirit can be passed on through the screen. Small animations such as snowflakes flying across the screen help. You must also select the images on the page that are appropriate for the season.

So that your shop is not overlooked in the hustle and bustle of the actually “contemplative” Christmas season, you should draw attention to yourself in front of the shop, for example with displays in front of the entrance. The product names or descriptions on the website should also be revised in order to make your website visible to online shoppers in return. In doing so, they adapt your keywords to the terms you are currently looking for and increase the chance of appearing higher up in Google searches.

Local businesses must also ensure that they are visible to searchers on the Internet. Good reviews on Google are particularly decisive here. To generate them, they can, for example, the WLAN marketing package from Socialwave use. This automatically asks your customers to leave a review for you. This increases your standing in the Google ranking and you are viewed and found more often.

Communicate Christmas ads

The decisive element of all activities in Christmas advertising is communication. Because no matter how beautifully decorated your store is or how extensive the discounts are, if customers don't know this, they won't come to you to shop. It is essential to advertise your Christmas business well in advance, as many people find out about offers and promotions long before Christmas. The number of searches on the subject of “Christmas gifts” starts to rise as early as October.

The “last-minute shoppers” in particular are not to be forgotten. This group of buyers is waiting until just before the holidays to buy the gifts. Many people have no time to go shopping earlier due to work or the like. That's why they need to know which stores are open late and up to a few days before the party and which online shops are still delivering on time.

Christmas online too

Regardless of the online shop or local store, you need to adapt your social media presence. People are finding out more and more via Instagram or Facebook. If you post pictures and posts during this time of year, they should be in time for the holiday season. Spread the word about your Christmas promotions and offers on these channels as well.

While online shops automatically receive email addresses from their customers through newsletters, stores must obtain them elsewhere. External services can be helpful in this regard. For example, this Socialwave WiFi marketing package. Here, you provide your customers with a free hotspot. Users then log in either via email or social media. You can also communicate with your visitors this way.

Create buying incentives for customers

Your customers are now informed about your Christmas offer. In addition, your shop or website is suitably decorated. Now it's about offering customers incentives to buy from you. No time of year is better for this. First, you need to know exactly how competitors give discounts and start sales. The sale of vouchers is also a popular measure at Christmas. Because people often simply have no idea what they should give away and buy vouchers so as not to have to commit themselves.

Another way to increase sales is cross-selling. For example, if your customer wants to buy a product, offer them another product that would go with it. However, it must be ensured that the additional product is within a reasonable price range. It must therefore not be too expensive compared to the actual object of purchase.

For online shops, it is helpful to be able to promise customers shorter delivery times. For example, you could provide free express delivery for a certain total price. This would ensure that the purchased gifts reach customers in good time before the party. When the holidays are over, you still shouldn't stop doing the promotions. Because between Christmas and New Year, many people have time off and continue to buy more and more. By selling at the end of the year, you can get rid of the last inventory or improve sales one last time.

Services suitable for Christmas advertising

In addition to discounts and promotions, there are other services that can be offered especially during the Christmas season. These often make your visitors decide to shop at your store.

gift wrapping

Probably the best known of these services is in-store packaging or sending as a gift if it is an online shop. With this service, you can primarily address people who do not have time to wrap gifts or who would like to have their gifts professionally wrapped. However, it should be noted that you or your staff should be experienced in packaging.

Extra content

Another simple additional campaign for Christmas is to offer customers extra content. This content can include crafting tips or recipes that you make available to your customers free of charge. On a website, these can simply be added as an extra menu item and you can distribute brochures in a local shop.

advent calendar

Last but not least, advent calendar competitions are always a popular way to convince customers of their own offer. For example, they can give away or give away small samples and inexpensive items. As a result, visitors are already familiar with your brand and offer. This motivates many people to buy directly from you and not go to other stores first. Like other companies, you can advertise your advent calendar on social media. As a result, they also increase awareness for these channels.

conclusion

Since the holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year, retailers must try to attract as many customers as possible. The best way to do this is with good Christmas advertising. There are, of course, differences between stores and online shops. These relate primarily to the type of visual design. During this time, it is also particularly important to communicate all actions to customers at an early stage. Then you need to create buying incentives for visitors to buy from you. Offering Christmas-related services can also boost sales at the end of the year. If you follow these tips and adapt to the needs of your customers, you can have great success over the holiday season.

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