It’s beginning to feel a lot like…templates season!
But seriously, Q4 is fast approaching, and as we all know, we’ll blink, and we’ll have Trick-or-Treaters at our door. Giving out candy is effectively the unofficial kick-off to the holiday shopping season, followed by Thanksgiving and the pandemonium of BFCM (Black Friday / Cyber Monday), Winter Holidays, and a New Year.
Let’s be honest; it’s a lot to prepare for (as if you haven’t been already).
Here at Justuno, we know this time of year can be overwhelming for retailers, and sometimes, creating holiday-specific designs for your on-site promotions can fall by the wayside.
That’s why our design team and industry-leading partners have created seasonal pop-up templates you can add to your site in just minutes for every holiday and strategy you can think of. These out-of-the-box designs can be customized to match your brand or use them as-is; they even have basic targeting rules attached.
Pro Tip: Check out our Better Than Ever Holiday Workflows ebook featuring eight must-have strategies for the season complete with how-to videos and templates for maximum efficiency this year.
Keep in mind that a lot of shoppers have already started their holiday shopping, with 17.11% starting in October and 27.76% before then. So don’t wait to get started this month and keep up your seasonal momentum all quarter long!
Let’s check out a few of this year’s options, discuss some holiday marketing strategies, and get your Q4 campaigns up and running with just a few clicks!
Halloween (10/31)
Even if you don’t sell products that are related to Halloween, you can still take advantage of this Fall holiday. As we said earlier, it’s the unofficial start to the holiday season, but more than that, it’s a chance to start building your holiday marketing list early. Capturing these website visitors with an email pop up sets you up with a fresh crop of subscribers to market to in a few weeks for your BFCM and end-of-year campaigns.
Plus, who doesn’t love a few spooky surprises? With Amazon continuing to host a second Prime Day event in October, you’ll want to make sure to appeal to deal-focused shoppers who will be primed (lol) to find some deals. Make sure you’re ready for an influx of shoppers looking to compare across sites with lead captures!
Thanksgiving (11/28)
Turkey Day! While this is a day filled with food, football, and family for most–it’s also quickly become a huge part of Cyber Week. Thanksgiving is like BFCM’s little brother who’s grown up while no one was looking. Try to take advantage of shoppers who are bored while the pies are in and browsing online, giving them early access to deals or exclusive gifts.
Many big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and more have been closing on Thanksgiving Day, and while we’re not sure if the same will be true this year, it’s pretty likely. Since these retailers have traditionally been front-page news when it comes to doorbuster deals in their stores—more consumers will be trying to shop those deals online or look for other items to replace them. Make sure you’re ready for them, and consider starting your sale early so they can convert before the big weekend.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday (11/29 & 12/2)
These two days are like a retailer’s Super Bowl: they’re the two biggest shopping days for the holidays and, sometimes, the whole year (minus Prime Day). Competition is fierce for consumer attention during them, so your promotions will need to be eye-catching and have serious incentives behind them. BFCM comes with the expectation of heavy discounts and limited-time offers to offset the pain of mandatory family visits, so make sure to plan your campaigns accordingly. For many, this is a brand’s biggest (or only) sale of the year: make sure to build hype and heavily advertise what you’re planning to offer to build buzz and excitement.
If offering discounts isn’t something you’re willing or able to do, use other non-discount strategies to drive traffic and close sales. Exclusive items like free accessories, customization, etc., are a great draw, as well as gift cards and other perks to drive repeat purchases.
Pro Tip: Use our Text Ticker feature on banners during BFCM to drive extra engagement. Text tickers are animated text features on your promotions to display different messages.
If you want to remind visitors of your most popular products, you can have a rotating list of products going at the top of your site with clickable links. Alternatively, have a date/time fade into a product page to tell them when it’s going on discount (or when it’s leaving). Keep a site-product stock percentage on a ticker to add an extra impetus to purchase – if someone sees there’s 40% less stock available than when they checked the site earlier that day, the pressure will be on!
Small Business Saturday (11/30)
Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses across the country. With the events of the last few years, there has been a purposeful trend of wanting to support small businesses during the pandemic and subsequent economic effects. According to our holiday consumer trends report, around 22% of shoppers are willing to pay more to support small businesses with their holiday purchases, and 25% are planning to shop this day of cyber week.
Use pop-ups to let shoppers know about options like BOPIS, limited shopping times, or shipping deadlines.
Giving Tuesday (12/3)
This year has shed more light on social causes and how consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z like to shop at businesses that support causes they care about. Cause marketing is a great way to showcase your support for the local community but must come from a genuine place.
The best way? Simply share with visitors things you’re already doing. Not only does it give you an opportunity to build a deeper relationship with your customers, but can help you build awareness that expands your brand reach. Use solutions like ShoppingGives to easily let consumers donate or support causes + run a social/email campaign highlighting key ways their purchases help support your brand’s efforts.
Winter Holidays
Throughout the entire month of December, there are a variety of holidays consumers celebrate. While consumers are certainly shopping, and retailers are focused on their bottom line at the end of Q4, it’s important to remember that these days hold a deeper meaning for many. Make sure to keep the reason for the season in mind and remain authentic in your promotional messaging.
Green Monday (12/9)
eBay created Green Monday in 2007, which refers to their biggest sales day in December. Green Monday is the second Monday of December and is the last Monday with at least 10 days until Christmas (i.e., some of the last days you can purchase online and expect to get it in time for Christmas). Spending has reached over $1B dollars every year since 2011, so while it’s not a real holiday, it’s not a day to ignore.
Think of Green Monday as a second Cyber Monday by running deep discounts. Don’t forget to capitalize on urgency by emphasizing the time left for shoppers to get their orders in before shipping deadlines. This a great opportunity to appeal to those who have been procrastinating (can anyone say gift cards!) with a one-off email and SMS campaign.
Free Shipping Day (12/14)
Shipping is one of the biggest reasons for cart abandonment in the e-commerce world, so take advantage of a day dedicated entirely to getting rid of it! If you don’t usually offer free shipping, this is a great opportunity for treating your customers (and also a great way to have a record end-of-year push). If you already offer free shipping, then use this as a chance to offer expedited shipping or some other surprise with their purchase. This is just one of many out-of-the-box holidays during this time of year and can be a great way to take advantage of a smaller holiday with less competition while still grabbing customer attention.
Hannukah (Starts 12/25)
Hanukkah is an eight-day festival of lights centered on family and tradition. With multiple days available for marketing, this allows for some creativity when structuring your promotions. If you have the time, you could even consider putting together an interactive calendar with a special offer or treat for each day.
Don’t forget, as with any religious holiday or festival; it’s important to be considerate in your messaging. Brands are more compelling, and marketing is more powerful when it’s real and relevant. Keep that in mind during the holiday season to avoid any marketing gaffes.
Boxing Day (12/26)
Boxing Day is a UK holiday that’s become The Commonwealth’s version of Black Friday in a sense. For many retailers, this day represents the largest shopping day of the year, so it’s important to pull out all the stops in your promotion strategy. Some other countries in Eastern and Northern Europe have adopted a similar holiday known as “Second Christmas Day” that has equally substantial shopping traffic.
Since these are regionally celebrated holidays, make sure to use geo-targeting rules to show promotions only to visitors they will resonate with, AKA lives in those countries.
Kwanzaa (12/26)
Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday that celebrates African heritage and family. Again, as a holiday deeply rooted in a community, it’s important to be observant with regard to your messaging. The week culminates in a feast with gift-giving, so countdown banners and order deadlines are great promotions to urge shoppers to convert.
New Years (12/31 & 1/1)
The New Year is a great excuse to offer deals for customers still shopping and as a great avenue for cleaning out your extra inventory and getting ready for the new year. This is the perfect time to start marketing to your newest email subscribers and begin incentivizing their next purchase. Build loyalty and cultivate that customer relationship into the new year with relevant (and compelling) marketing campaigns.
Final Thoughts
The holidays are always a frantic time between retailers chasing Q4 sales goals and consumers overwhelmed with all their shopping decisions. For 2024 that frenzy has been amplified by an economic landscape that’s filled with talk of recession and a downturn.
The holiday season is starting earlier than ever with Amazon’s October Prime Days, making this Q4 a downright marathon for marketers. Remember to stay true to your brand’s identity and be authentic while pulling together your promotional strategy. In this day and age, there’s nothing more off-putting to consumers than a brand trying to be something they’re not.
Make sure you stay tuned throughout the next few months for more of our holiday marketing content, and you can keep track of it all in our BFCM content corner. We’ve got a lot in store this year for our readers to help you reach your 2024 holiday goals and make this a sales season to remember!
