(Getty)
With the holiday shopping season coming to an end, most businesses have directed their focus to the new year. This was an important shopping season for small business owners, as recent studies report that holiday are expected to rise 4.8% from 2023. Now that the holidays are over, business owners are looking for ways to increase post-holiday sales to help them start 2024 on the right foot.
So, how can you help your business keep the holiday momentum going into the new year? A good place to start is with the highly important after-Christmas sales events.
When do post-holiday sales start?
Most businesses start offering post-holiday discounts the last week of December and continue them through the first week of January. This is because, according to Forbes, retailers should expect to see holiday shoppers continuing to take advantage of sales and promotions.
While the holiday shopping season typically ends on December 31, your holiday sales don’t have to. Instead, you can keep the momentum going throughout the first quarter by highlighting different holidays. This is a great way to drive additional sales after the holidays and well into the new year.
So, which holidays should you highlight? Here are a few worth considering:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Chinese New Year
- Groundhog Day
- Presidents' Day
Of course, there are also dozens of non-traditional holidays that you can take advantage of to boost your post-holiday sales, including:
- Global Family Day
- World Day of Peace
- World Introvert Day (great for encouraging ecommerce sales)
- Peculiar People Day
- National Clean Your Desk Day
- Organize Your Home Day
- Get to Know Your Customer Day
These are only a handful of the non-traditional holidays that take place in January that you can use to your advantage to maximize your post-holiday sales.
The key to success when offering holiday sales is finding fun ways to celebrate your audience and create excitement around your brand. This will help you build customer loyalty and expand your customer base.
4 ways to continue your post-holiday sales for a better 2024
The holiday season may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean you should let your post-holiday sales dwindle. Continuing the holiday momentum throughout the first quarter not only helps you build a stronger connection with your customers, but it also sets the stage for an even better start to 2024.
Need help getting ready for the post-holiday sale season? Here are four tactics worth considering:
Host a New Year's celebration
One of the best ways to build on your holiday sales momentum is to host a New Year's celebration. This is a great way to showcase your brand and give your customers a chance to shop your products at a discount.
You can use this opportunity to not only encourage your audience to shop for your products or services but also to remind them that you're grateful for their business and are excited to serve them in the new year by offering special discounts on products or services that wouldn’t typically go on sale.
Make use of relevant non-traditional holidays
Offering discounts during non-traditional holidays is a great way to make your brand stand out. Don’t be deterred if some of these holidays sound goofy; they are an effective way to capture your customers’ attention and build your post-holiday sales, especially if they are relevant to your business.
For instance, if you're a home improvement brand, you can take advantage of "organize your home day" by discounting certain items that will help your customers get organized.
These non-traditional holidays are an excellent way to highlight who you are as a company and what you have to offer your customers.
Create targeted offers
Creating highly targeted offers is another way to increase your post-holiday sales. By making the offers available for only a limited time, you can create a sense of urgency and encourage your audience to take advantage of your current sales.
Targeted offers could include referral offers, product bundles, and bonus products. Remember, the more targeted your offers are, the more likely your customers will respond to them.
Share your sales on the right channels
One of the biggest mistakes that e-commerce businesses make during the post-holiday season is not promoting the discounts they are offering on the proper digital channels.
If you're not sharing your sales on social media, email, and your website, then you're missing out on a significant opportunity to build on your momentum from the holiday season.
Put your offers in front of your audience to compel them to shop with you. If you're not sure how to get started or where your customers are spending most of their time online, then a good jumping-off point is email marketing messaging.
Kick-off 2024 with help from the BBB
Now that you've made it through the holiday season, it’s time to kick off the new year with a bang by building on your holiday momentum.
Need more tips to help you start 2024 off on the right foot? Then check out the BBB® business news feed for more excellent resources!
For more information
Visit BBB's Biz HQ for more business resources and tips.