Ah, here comes Valentine's Day again... a day dedicated to love.
Yet, The National Retail Federation data indicates that only 52 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Valentine's Day this year...
Does that mean no celebration, no giftings, no candlelit dinners this Hearts' Day?
Here's the thing...
With Americans set to spend $23.9 billion this year... Valentine's Day remains one of the most profitable annual events for eCommerce brands.
No wonder, it offers great opportunities for eCommerce business owners! So this Valentine's Day, you need to learn some ecommerce holiday readiness techniques.
And you need to know how to handle the rush. So what's the plan?
Let's get started!
Here's How You Can Optimize Your Valentine’s Day Marketing Strategies...
1. Rethink Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is often seen as a holiday for couples only. For the longest time, single people were forgotten on Valentine's Day.
But not anymore! In recent years, trends in Valentine's Day shopping have greatly changed.
Single or not, everyone is pulling out their wallets to purchase Valentine's Day gifts... for their beloved family, friends (and even pets) on February 14th.
They are willing to spend and celebrate this special holiday of the hearts!
Just take a look at this graph regarding Valentine's Day spending...
(source)
This graph shows you the people your customers plan to give gifts to. And they are people from different demographics in all walks of life.
Always remember...
Regardless of your target audience, you can use this holiday to boost revenue and sales! Ensure that you craft your Valentine's Day marketing messages in a way that includes... EVERYONE.
This brings me to my second main point...
2. Remind People to LOVE Themselves
Holidays provide a great opportunity for people to remember themselves the most. So it's also a good idea to encourage single people to gift themselves with something special on Hearts' Day too.
Misfit's Valentine's Day marketing campaign reframes Valentine's Day as a celebration of self-love. Why not?
And take note... singleness should be viewed in a positive way. So it's a good thing to promote that!
The next point is golden...
3. Send Out Valentine's Day Emails
Email marketing that is Valentine's Day-themed is a good idea. It will remind your subscribers of the upcoming holiday.
You should be able to maintain customer engagement in your email. This is also the perfect time to run Valentine's Day promos.
Just make sure to have an engaging subject line and copy in your emails.
And emails should be scheduled ahead of time. This will ensure that your products stay at the forefront of your customers' minds... (without being too intrusive).
And don't forget...
You don't have to go nuts with your Valentine email design.
The design should be simple just like this email from Starbucks. They use a pale peach color for the background of this Valentine's Day email.
Straightforward and to the point, I think it works well with the rest of the message.
And I can say, the best Valentine's Day emails do not have to be complex or time-consuming. You can send your customers a heartfelt email message on this special day.
This will make them feel valued and well taken care of.
There's more. So keep reading...
4. Have Your Valentine's Day Social Media Campaign
It takes time, effort, and proper coordination to launch a successful Valentine's Day campaign.
Perhaps you're wondering if it's even worthwhile to invest resources in such a campaign. The simple answer is yes. In fact, it's more beneficial on your part as an ecommerce business owner.
I suggest that brands post more photos and create albums on Facebook. This is in order to increase engagement.
Also, engagement rates on Instagram are higher for videos... than for carousels and image posts. Take note of this.
If you want ideas and trending posts that you can copy, you can use Google search or popular Instagram hashtags.
Speaking of a social media campaign, #5 is a good idea...
5. Engage Social Media Users With A Contest
Social media is designed to encourage interaction. So creating content with that intention can connect you with your audience. And help you attract more visitors.
One way to do it is to create a social media contest. You will also gain an enormous amount of support from your followers if you provide a prize they will love.
Some ideas you can use:
- Sweet Treat Contest- Participants submit a photo of their favorite Valentine-themed sweet treats recipe.
- Best Love Letter Contest- Perhaps, you can get your fans to write a love letter about your products or their special someone, etc.
- Love Story Contest- You can ask fans how they met their significant other. Or how they got engaged.
You can also give incentives for sharing your content. Just be creative with your contests and give away promos.
You may find #6 essential so keep reading...
6. Provide Gift Guides
The weeks, even days preceding Valentine's Day are a great time to guide prospects... with helpful Valentine-themed gift guides.
Offering Valentine gift guides via pop-ups, emails, blogs or landing pages can help you position your products as great gifts. And it will help prospects make better buying decisions.
This is also an excellent opportunity for you to introduce your audience to your best-selling products. And to products they wouldn't normally consider.
You can't miss this one...
7. Offer Free Or Inexpensive Gift-Wrapping Service
Obviously, many Valentine's Day purchases will be given as gifts.
So your customers will appreciate it if they receive their products already wrapped. This way, you are removing another burden from their shoulders.
A free gift-wrapping service is a great way to gain some goodwill. Or making gift wrapping an affordable add-on can make a better experience.
Fortunately, Debutify has Gift Wrap Add-On. This will help your customers avoid the hassle and stress of gift-giving during the holiday season.
It will make customers more likely to return to your brand in the future. So, extend that extra mile to give this service.
Moving on...
8. Provide Affordable and Fast Delivery
Yet most holiday procrastinators want their gifts to arrive on time. So If you can offer fast delivery to last-minute shoppers... you're way ahead of your competitors.
Plus, these last-minute shoppers often end up buying more... and buying more expensive items. Do you know that...
Researchers recently found that 40% of consumers choose gifts for friends and family at the last minute.
So what does it mean? It means last-minute shoppers make up a significant market. Come to think of it... it's your chance to upsell. So take advantage of it!
So If you can offer fast delivery to last-minute shoppers... you're way ahead of your competitors. So take advantage! ?
The next point is so important...
9. Create a Sense of Urgency
What do you think about these lines?
- Looking for Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Gift?
- This is your last chance for Romance!
- This is Cupid's last call - remember your Valentine!
- Ends TONIGHT: FREE Delivery for Valentine’s Day!
Yes, you bet, all of these provide a sense of urgency! By creating a sense of urgency, you can increase buyer motivation.
It can influence their buying decision and ultimately... increase your revenue. Use these on your email subject lines, social media captions, or even your product blogs.
I suggest you try adding popups to product pages with a Cart Countdown Add-On, delivery dates, and an urgent call to action (CTA).
On that note, let me go to...
10. Make A Limited-Edition Product Available
What is it about limited offers that make them so appealing? Well, it happens to the best of us... Sometimes you want something you can't have. Right?
Apparently, people are more likely to perceive limited quantities as valuable and precious when they are scarce.
The power of limited-time offers is proven to create a sense of urgency. And remember... many online shoppers have FOMO (fear of missing out).
Leverage on this.
You can do the same to increase sales on your Valentine's Day offering. Offer products that are limited edition.
Take this Valentine's dog treat from Healthy Hound Bakery...
The next point is so important...
11. Appreciate Your Customers
Valentine's Day is also seen as a celebration of love and romance. With that in mind, show some love to your visitors and customers.
It is already common for online stores to use this day to show their appreciation to their customers. And then discreetly promote their products. Good idea, right?
You can offer Valentine discounts and promos.
In some cases, you can arrange to send small gifts or samples directly to customers with a personalized note.
It's almost time to wrap up so keep reading!
12. Optimize Your eCommerce For Mobile Shopping
By now, you should be used to optimizing your website for holiday mobile shopping. This is important and I cannot stress it enough.
Because it is estimated that half of all Valentine's Day ecommerce searches are conducted from mobile devices...
So make sure your Valentine's Day promotions work on a mobile device. So you don't lose your customers to a lousy mobile experience.
Speaking of mobile phones...
13. Make Use Of SMS
The best way to grab customers' attention is to send well-thought-out, relevant, and timely notification messages.
How do you do that?
- Announce Valentine's Day offers and discounts.
- Highlight upcoming Valentine's new arrivals.
- Remind subscribers of sales that are about to end.
- Provide price drop notices.
We're close to finishing so stay with me...
14. Run Valentine’s Day ad campaigns
We all know that shoppers will be searching for gift ideas. Make sure you show up high on their searches so you can grab their attention.
This is a great time to run a Valentine's ad campaign for your ecommerce business.
Is it worth it? Definitely!
Statista reported that Americans spent $27.4 billion on Valentine's Day last year, an increase of $6.7 billion from the previous year. Furthermore, 32% of survey respondents chose to shop online on Valentine's Day.
So A Valentine's Day campaign is an essential part of any ecommerce marketing campaign.
So that's it for today...
14 Marketing Strategies To Make Your Customers Fall In Love With Your Brand...
But wait! I have one last thing to say...
As a bonus, there's one more thing that you have to do and that is to... optimize your eCommerce site with Debutify.
Debutify is a powerful theme that will keep your eCommerce website running in excellent shape. And it allows you to showcase your brand better since it is highly customizable.
Debutify has the Upsell Bundles Add-On that lets customers buy bundle offers for their loved ones.
So make this Valentine's Day Work for your ecommerce site...
Try Debutify for Free Today and Have a Valentine's Day-Ready Ecommerce Site!
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