With the holidays just days away, droves of people will be frantically browsing online for last-minute gifts. And you, putting on your marketing cap, are thinking about how you can reach them and get them to make a transaction (or two). Creating a Digital holiday gift guide is beyond beneficial as Cyber Monday becomes a bigger rival to Black Friday each year.
Some quick (but important) numbers: Shoppers used their desktop computers to spend more than $58 billion during the 51 days stretching from early November through December 2014. From 2013 to 2014, the weekend before Christmas saw a 36 percent jump in spending ($714 billion to $972 billion dollars).
Amid the noise, a stellar holiday guide that inspires shoppers to buy can make or break a company. Here are some things to consider:
A holiday gift guide for the most sophisticated kids in your life https://t.co/k8CQS8dULV pic.twitter.com/0hk1ovQru9
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) December 13, 2016
A Holiday Gift Guide Is Powerful: Check the Numbers
When it comes to holiday gift guides, you’ll want to put your company’s best foot forward. So take this opportunity to highlight bestsellers and items that will appeal to your audience.
This means honing into segments:
- What demographics are doing the holiday spending?
- How much do they typically spend?
- Are they doing the shopping for themselves, a spouse, or a child?
These are only a few questions you’ll need to investigate when creating a guide that, well, sells.
While demographics vary from business to business, a good starting point is to target high lifetime buyers and repeat customers. TheDataPoint recommends going the extra mile for these groups by offering perks like free shipping or complimentary gift wrapping.
Organize Wisely
More people are doing a majority of their holiday shopping online, so you’ll want to make their experience as pleasant and easy as possible. One way to achieve this is by efficiently categorizing your holiday gift guide.
If you believe your customers are on a budget, Vend recommends having a category (or categories) that highlights products under certain price points. This is also where having thorough data on who’s spending and how much will be invaluable.
Offer Some Eye Candy
Showcasing your merch in a captivating, eye-catching holiday gift guide can and will work wonders for sales. From a festive typeface to a soothing background, there are infinite routes you can take. The guide doesn’t need to aim to be over-the-top; in fact, clean and responsive layouts are just as aesthetically pleasing and give each gift a chance to be noticed.
One holiday guide that stands out is J. Crew. The retailer not only harmoniously presents their items, but they incorporate photography into their layout, attaching a meaning to each item in the holiday gift guide. “Seeing images of a real consumer actually putting items to use invokes a sense of desire in other shoppers, as it puts products into the context of real-world experiences,” Curalate says. “These action shots help consumers picture themselves using the products.”
Make It SEO-Friendly
You may have a loyal customer base, but it never hurts to dedicate time to creating copy that will put you at the top of search engines. These descriptions should include why this is a great gift, and for whom. While you want to do this for popular items, Volusion especially recommends doing this for out-of-the-box gifts, which are typically hard to optimize for search engines. To take advantage of people’s penchant for searching out the best deal, use the title tag to highlight any discounts. Knowing a deal is only a click away will attract more than a couple new visitors.
