Now is the time to learn from the ghost of Christmas past, to prepare for this year’s festive season.

Looking at last year's performance of your ecommerce store can help identify potential weak spots in this year's marketing activities and - equally important - in your ordering process.

Last Minute Tips
Boost your online sales at Christmas by observing these ecommerce fundamentals:

• Fixing any broken links & making good use of your 'page not found' message
• Using SEO / meta tags and product descriptions to help attract search engine traffic
• Optimising landing pages
• Integrating a working blog into your ecommerce store
• Your website being usable from a mobile device
• Clearly displaying your terms & conditions, shipping (including last posting) and returns policies
• Offering great customer service and irresistible deals

1. Foster Some Festive Fun
Making some minor tweaks to your website design to incorporate some festive elements can make a huge difference in both sharing some personality and presenting a great first impression for Christmas shoppers. You may want to consider extending this to your social media properties too.

2. Customise Your Marketing
It may seem obvious – but all too often is over looked. Be creative and consistent with your messages across your on line and off line promotions. Use social media and emails to your subscribers to send relevant messages with last minute deals and incentives.

3. Make Recommendations
Many shoppers don’t know where to start when looking for a present for Granny or Uncle Bob. Sharing gift ideas can point consumers in the right direction and create opportunities to increase their spend.

4. Offer Gift Certificates
Even after making your recommendations, there will still be a number of shoppers stumped with what to get that awkward to buy for relative. Offering gift certificates is an excellent option for these shoppers – while at the same time providing an instant sale for you as well as a future up-sell opportunity when the recipient of the gift certificate makes their purchase.

5. Go The Extra Mile
Finally, go that little further to stand out from the crowd. It's the stores that offer a little extra, such as gift wrapping, direct deliveries, two for one and three for two deals, wish lists and more that will win the sale over the store neglecting these customer focussed services.

However you choose to promote your business this Christmas, be sure to share some festive spirit and be prepared to go the extra mile in turning Christmas shoppers in to loyal customers. If you would like help preparing your last minute Christmas promotions, call us on 08450 740068 or contact us.