The Foundations for a Successful E-commerce Festive Season
As autumn paints our favourite high-street and online stores with warm hues, it’s time for online traders to gear up for the festive rush. Having fulfilled Christmas for hundreds of e-commerce customers over the years, we know the importance of a well-prepared Christmas plan. We’ve pulled together our checklist for a successful e-commerce Christmas season, inspired by conversations with our own customers, E-commerce business owners who develop and implement a creative, customer-focused, ahead-of-the-rest e-commerce Christmas plan will cast a spell that keeps customers coming back to your online store repeatedly.
Whether you’re an established brand or an up-and-coming business, it’s essential to lay the groundwork for a successful holiday shopping season. Without some fundamentals in place, things become more stressful than they need to be – and your online team of elves will be lying in a heap at the end of it. So follow the steps in our checklist to set yourself up for a great online Christmas trading season.
Optimise Your Website
First and foremost, ensure your e-commerce website is mobile-friendly. According to Adobe’s 2023 Holiday Shopping Report, mobile devices are expected to account for 51% of online spending during the 2023 Holiday season –ahead of desktop shopping for the very first time. So spend a bit of time to make sure your mobile site is easy to navigate, looks good, is easy to shop and is adorned with festive graphics. If you’re short of bespoke Christmas graphics – now is the perfect time to use one of the many creative AI programmes.
Stock-up for the Christmas Period
Analyse sales data from previous years to forecast demand. Stock up on popular items to prevent potential Christmas stock shortages. If you have any supply chain issues get on top of them early – and add in a bit of extra lead time where you need to.
Real-Time Tracking
Being able to track your e-commerce inventory and sales in real-time is absolutely key over the Christmas shopping season. It means you can respond and adapt to exactly how customers are responding to your online offer – and make the most of opportunities you didn’t anticipate.
Offer Gift Wrapping and Personalisation
Make it easy for customers to add gift wrapping, a personalised card or gift tag, or other personalised messaging. This is often where the mobile website ends up frustrating customers – so double check this works on mobile devices too.
Monitoring Success
Constantly monitor site traffic, sales data, and client feedback. Make the most of analytics software to track performance and don’t be frightened to change something that isn’t working, or to try new things out.
Limited Edition Christmas Gifts that Wow Your Customers
Limited edition products and kits can generate excitement particularly if you’re offering something truly unique and desirable. This can attract attention and encourage shoppers to purchase gifts they might not have thought of before. So when you think about what stock to hold, don’t forget to look at your product inventory and lead times from that perspective too. Make sure everything is in place to assemble your gifts, too – packaging, wrapping, gift tags, and inserts.
Returns and Exchanges
Offering easy returns and exchanges – perhaps even with extended return dates – will give customers peace of mind and encourage them to shop with you.
Christmas E-Commerce Marketing Ideas
To stand out amid the festive bustle is hard, so aim to appeal to your customers’ emotions and create memorable interactions with your online store and the unboxing experience. Here are a few simple ideas from some of our e-commerce client marketing teams:
Personalise gift recommendations
A good CRM system can help you personalise your interactions with your customers. Use customer data to tailor gift options specifically for them. Show that you understand their needs and that you have ideas that can make them shine in the great Christmas Gift show-down. Their shopping experience will be so much more special – and you get a customer for life.
Online Advent Calendar
Launch an online advent calendar with daily promotions or discounts until Christmas. We’ve seen this used successfully across different sectors.
Social Media Contests
Host Christmas-themed contests on your social media channels to boost creativity and user interaction.
Festive Email Marketing Campaigns
Experts like MarketingSherpa and The DMA say email marketing is still the undisputed king of Christmas marketing. For online retailers, emails have the highest conversion rates,, open- and click-through rates. E-commerce businesses typically see a staggering ROI of almost $38 per $1 spent, compared to $21 combined for all other digital channels. So – get your Santa’s little helper hat on – and create your Christmas email campaign. Better yet, combine email marketing with a physical mail campaign. According to the DMA, multi-channel marketing combining direct mail and email generates a 17% higher return on investment.
** DMA 2022 DMA Response Rate Report. *Email Marketing Benchmark Report 2023.
Unwrapping Success with Commands.co.uk e-commerce fulfillment services
Now that you’re equipped with a plan for e-commerce Holiday success, let Commands.co.uk handle your logistics. Our fulfillment center is ready to provide an end-to-end service from pallet storage, order processing, pick & pack, gift wrapping, personalisation, returns & exchanges, real time inventory management and reporting. You’ll find more information about our full-service e-commerce fulfillment services here.
Building a Good Reputation for Christmas Success
Commands.co.uk takes pride in offering exceptional customer care year-round. Our dedicated Account Team ensures a happy purchasing experience, ready to process orders, handle exchanges, and provide refunds. To discover more about our custom order management services get in touch, call us 0141 944 3900 or email sales@commands.co.uk