There are lots of quick ways you can tap into the Christmas rush market and have a fantastic end to the year in terms of sales, even without heavily discounting. Just look for opportunities to apply scarcity and urgency, boost trust, increase desire, and keep users engaged with shopping on your site. Here we go…
1. Make sure you have a countdown timer for Christmas delivery
This tip really applies when you are getting to crunch time, about 14 days or less before delivery in time for Christmas ends. Highlighting the urgency of getting the product they want before the big day will help encourage those last minuet shoppers to pull the trigger.
2. Highlight low availability or popularity
In the first tip we were using urgency, this time we will be using scarcity (a lack of something) to fuel decision making. Scarcity is good because you don’t have to wait until near the deadline to apply it.
It’s important to use this technique genuinely (people see right through outlandish claims), but highlighting that there are only XX left and/or that the product is in XX baskets can encourage users to act by triggering loss aversion (a fear of missing out).
3. Talk about your products making a great gift in the product descriptions
This one may take a little time, and you might need to reverse it if your products are not typically bought as gifts all year round, but it could be the difference between a sale and a user exiting your site.
People want reassurance that they are making a good gift decision, so telling them who the product makes a good gift for and why will help tap into their motivations and potentially convince them to buy.
4. If your products are specifically ‘Christmassy’, show them in a festive scene
I always talk about showing products in situ or in use to really demonstrate their value and maximise their appeal. When it comes to overtly Christmassy items like festive pyjamas, reindeer slippers, or beauty gift sets it may help to show them surrounded by boxed presents, Christmas trees and the like. This helps users imagine gifting or using the products around Christmas time.
5. Add Wishlist functionality
For those indecisive shoppers a Wishlist can be a great tool. Wishlists are good because they help users focus on buying gifts or Christmas treats from your site specifically as they compare their choices (as appose to comparing across different sites).
Plus, they are a fab opportunity for you to ask for an email address too (so the user doesn’t risk losing access to their Wishlist once they leave the site).
6. Drive home trust and persuasion factors
Users are likely shopping more broadly at this time of year, using sites they may have otherwise not visited. As with anything new, there is always an increased sense of risk, so it’s important you help put these new users’ minds at ease.
Clearly show ratings and reviews
Product ratings should be at the top of the page, acting as an immediate source of social proof. Product reviews should be easily accessible by clicking on the product rating.
If you don’t have product reviews for many of your items, opt for showing reviews of the store overall on the product page. Just make it clear that these are not for the particular product to avoid looking misleading. For example, you could add a heading ‘What customers say about us’.
Bullet point reasons to buy
You are going to be competing with lots of other retailers who are potentially selling something similar to you at this time of year. That’s why it’s important to bullet point reasons to buy from your company in particular on product pages.
For example:
- Can you offer free gift wrapping?
- Can you talk about the sale supporting a small business?
- Can you mention how many customers you’ve served?
- What about how long you’ve been established for?
- Can you provide an extended returns window that goes into the new year?
Use a banner displaying your store rating and reasons to buy at the top of your site
I want you to combine the last two points into a third way to build trust and persuasion. Add a rotating banner at the top of your site that includes your store rating and reasons to buy.
The rationale? Showing your store rating in addition to product ratings can be a powerful way to boost trust. Plus, not everyone will land on your product pages, so getting that social proof and those reasons to buy in fast is key.
Wrap up
Did you like these 6 quick tips? If you did, you might find value in one of our CRO Mini-Audits or Full CRO Audits. They provide lots of tips and tricks like this, only they are specific to your site. Interested? Click the button below to chat to us about getting a free consultation.
Hi, I’m Charlotte. I love writing about user psychology and tips I’ve picked up from leading user research and CRO projects. Get in touch if you’d like to work with me to improve the user experience on your site or click here to learn more about your future CRO team.