GLOBAL BRANDS LOOKING FOR UNIFIED FULFILMENT
In this guest article, Adam King, Founder of Real Agency, a leading ecommerce design and development studio based in Bournemouth, UK, shares a proven, data-strategy to help online retailers prepare for the busiest shopping months of the year. His approach focuses on managing traffic spikes, optimising conversions, and ensuring a seamless customer experience.
As an ecommerce retailer, the Black Friday to January sales period is your Super Bowl. To maximise revenue and customer satisfaction, preparation is key. At Real Agency, having been through 15 peak seasons ourselves, we emphasise transparency, data-driven strategies, and true partnerships. Start planning months in advance to handle the surge in traffic, orders, and customer expectations.
Here are 10 actionable steps to ensure your store thrives during peak season, delivering measurable results and a seamless shopping experience.
- Plan early for the entire peak season
- Schedule promotions for key sales dates
- Optimise delivery options and cut-off times
- Implement a website code freeze
- Offer gift wrapping as an upsell
- Extend returns for holiday purchases
- Highlight hero products and strategic bundles
- Enhance retargeting for holiday shoppers
- Make products shareable on social media
- Offer flexible payment options
- Bonus point: Optimise mobile experience for peak traffic
Plan early for the entire peak season
Preparation for Black Friday, Boxing Day, and January sales begins long before November. Map out your inventory, marketing, and logistics plans by late September to avoid last-minute scrambles. Ensure stock levels align with demand forecasts based on historical data and trends. Coordinate with fulfilment partners to confirm capacity for the holiday rush. Work with server providers to have scalable solutions to cope with increased traffic. A proactive approach prevents stockouts, delays, and website issues, ensuring your business is ready to capitalise on every sales opportunity through January.
Schedule promotions for key sales dates
Craft targeted promotions for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day, and January sales. Plan discounts and bundles in advance, aligning them with your hero products. Use data to identify high-performing items and create compelling offers that drive conversions. Schedule email and social media campaigns to build anticipation and maintain momentum across the season. Clear, timely promotions keep customers engaged and boost sales during critical periods.
Optimise delivery options and cut-off times
Clear communication about Christmas delivery cut-off times is essential. Offer multiple delivery options, including express shipping and click-and-collect at pick-up locations. Allow customers to choose delivery dates for convenience. Highlight these options on your website product detail page and in marketing materials to reduce cart abandonment. Partner with reliable couriers to ensure timely deliveries, reduce customer service queries, enhancing customer trust and satisfaction during the busy holiday season.
Implement a website code freeze
Avoid website updates or new features after mid-December to minimise the risk of downtime during peak shopping periods. A code freeze ensures stability when traffic spikes and your team may be off for holidays. Test all site functionalities—page load speed, cart, checkout, and payment systems—well in advance. Time is a limiting factor so a reliable, fast website is critical to capturing sales and maintaining customer confidence during the festive rush.
Offer gift wrapping as an upsell
Add value with optional gift wrapping services. Pre-purchase gift bags or wrapping materials to streamline operations. Promote this as an easy upsell on product pages and at the checkout, enhancing the customer experience. Highlight the convenience of ready-to-gift purchases in your marketing. This small addition can boost order value and delight customers, making their holiday shopping effortless.
Extend returns for holiday purchases
Encourage early gift buying by offering an extended return window. For example, allow items purchased from November 1st to be returned until January 15th. Clearly communicate this policy on your website and in emails to build trust. A flexible return policy reassures customers, reduces purchase hesitation, and aligns with the holiday shopping mindset, driving higher sales volumes.
Highlight hero products and strategic bundles
Identify your top-performing “hero” products using sales data and promote them heavily. Bundle these with slower-moving items to clear inventory or include essentials like batteries for toys to enhance value. Showcase these bundles on product pages and in campaigns. Strategic bundling maximises revenue, improves customer satisfaction, and ensures your best products shine during the holiday season.
Enhance retargeting for holiday shoppers
Holiday browsing spikes, with 60% of shoppers abandoning carts during peak season (source: Baymard Institute). Optimise retargeting via display networks, abandoned cart emails, and social media remarketing. Personalise ads based on browsing behavior to entice customers back. For example, offer time-sensitive discounts or free shipping. Test and refine campaigns to maximise ROI, ensuring you recapture hesitant shoppers in the competitive festive market.
Make products shareable on social media
Christmas is prime time for sharing gift ideas. Ensure product detail pages (PDPs) include easy-to-use social sharing buttons for platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Optimise product images and descriptions for social appeal. Encourage user-generated content by promoting hashtags or contests. Shareable products increase brand visibility and attract new customers, amplifying your reach during the holiday frenzy.
Offer flexible payment options
Holiday shopping can strain budgets, so offer split payment options like Clearpay or Klarna for higher-value purchases. Promote these at checkout and on product pages to reduce cart abandonment. Highlighting flexible payments appeals to cost-conscious shoppers, encouraging them to complete purchases. This strategy can increase conversions, especially for considered purchases during the expensive festive period.
Bonus point: Optimise mobile experience for peak traffic
With mobile driving over 60% of holiday traffic, ensure all the points listed above are prepared for mobile-first and simplify navigation for quick purchases. A seamless mobile experience reduces bounce rates and boosts conversions, ensuring your store captures every sale opportunity.
From early planning and website readiness to smarter promotions and customer-centric policies, the difference between surviving and thriving in Q4 lies in how well you implement these steps. That’s where IFGlobal can help.
With decades of ecommerce and logistics expertise, we empower ecommerce businesses to confidently scale operations, streamline fulfilment, and meet rising customer expectations without sacrificing speed or quality. Whether you're planning your peak-season strategy or need a reliable partner to help you deliver it, speak with an expert to see how we can help turn your busiest months into your most successful ones.
