How to prepare your online store for a successful silly season

It’s less than fifty days before Christmas and of course, preparations for the silly season have already begun. The holiday season this year will look a little different. A lot would like to reward themselves after a particularly challenging year. (It’s been a roller coaster, hasn’t it?)

While the weeks before Christmas may be busy for shoppers, they are significantly busier for business owners and their employees. So by this time, you might be asking how can you improve your chances of having a fruitful and enjoyable selling season.

We’ve compiled our top tips to make sure your online presence and marketing plan keeps you at the top of customers’ minds during the hectic holiday shopping season to assist you in getting your small business ready for Christmas.

1. Build your online presence

You can interact, address customer demands, and build trust by publishing online content and creating a social media presence.

Building relationships with friends and followers is the goal of utilising social media, and this is true for both individuals and businesses. Regular social media posting by your business, regardless of the platform, gives your brand a voice. 

This voice lends a human touch to your business and makes it more relatable to customers. Using social media, businesses may get to know their customers. If your business isn’t on social media, you are passing up an untapped opportunity to promote your brand for nothing.

2. Expand your email contact list

If you have the audience, email marketing works well for disseminating information or sparking widespread consumer interest over the holiday season. It takes time to build an email marketing list, therefore we advise starting at least three months before Christmas.

Your past and present customers should already be in a database if you use a customer management system (CMS) like Salesforce. If not, you can grow your database through subscription buttons on your website by setting up an email database in a tool like Mailchimp or HubSpot.

3. Revisit and learn from your last year’s activities

Look at how the last holiday season performed to identify the good and bad parts. How well-received were each of your offerings—goods, services, and promotions? other parts of operation? Did you manage the increase in customers well? 

Consider what you can do this year to improve performance, such as using social media, launching new promotions, focusing on a certain target market, or rearranging your store’s layout.

4. Increase staffing resources if necessary

With the increased customer demand in the run-up to Christmas, adding more employees can help. According to an analysis, companies who invested more in their employees were more likely to see an increase in revenue over the course of the extended recovery; therefore, hiring a few extra workers might also help your bottom line.

Take a look at your current workforce and determine whether you have enough assistance to handle the additional demand. The majority of online shops still require customer service representatives, warehousing helpers, and other workers. It is best to bring on any new staff a few weeks before the chaos begins to give them time to become comfortable with your products, systems, and procedures.

5. Ensure your online store is secure

Put your customers at ease by making sure you have the right online security measures in place. It is well known that online crime (commonly referred to as “holiday fraud”) increases over the holiday season. Put your Secure Site certificates in visible places and have a page that responds to visitor questions, such as a FAQ, to let them know about it.

6. Create gift bundles and consider a pre-Christmas sale

The first step in creating a fantastic bundle is to consider which products go well together. There are excellent methods you can use to achieve this.

Analyse items that actual customers have actually purchased in the past. You might also consider what clients are most likely to need or want when receiving an expensive item. Finally, think about any products that would be required in sets.


A pre-Christmas sale is always a great way to boost your sales – it’s the time of year when people are looking to spend and are looking for the best deal! If there is ever a time to make the most of a sale offer, right now is the optimal time! If you would rather not offer a straight discount, consider a Buy One, Get One Free offer, a free gift card with purchase, complimentary gift wrapping, free express shipping, or whatever you like!

It’s time to pull up your big girl pants!

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