Christmas is another prime opportunity to drive significant merchandise sales, but it requires a different approach from Black Friday. While Black Friday is all about discounts and doorbuster deals, Christmas shopping is driven by the urgency of gift-giving and the hard deadline of getting products delivered in time for the holiday.
Understanding the Christmas Shopping Mindset
Christmas is a buying frenzy. Fans and families are out in full force, purchasing gifts for themselves and others. The key difference from Black Friday? Discounts aren’t the main draw. Instead, it’s about ensuring that products arrive in time for Christmas, making timing everything.
Promotion Timing: A Tale of Two Strategies
When it comes to Christmas promotions, timing is everything, and your strategy will depend on whether or not you’re running a Black Friday campaign.
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For Creators with a Black Friday Promotion:
If you have a Black Friday promotion, your Christmas promotions should kick off immediately after Cyber Monday. Black Friday sales are your top priority, so we want to keep the focus there until it wraps up. Starting your Christmas promotions right after Cyber Monday ensures you keep the momentum going while giving your audience a reason to keep shopping. -
For Creators Without a Black Friday Promotion:
If you’re not planning anything special for Black Friday but have holiday merch in mind, aim to release it during the last week of November. This timing allows you to tap into the Black Friday shopping period while still highlighting your holiday offerings. You can even consider running a simple discount or leveraging the “Black Friday Special” strategy to maximize exposure.
In both scenarios, it’s critical to remember that most products need to be purchased 7-10 days before Christmas to ensure they arrive on time. As this window approaches, it’s crucial to ramp up the urgency in your promotions.
Utilizing Shipping Deadlines to Drive Sales
The shipping deadlines leading up to Christmas are more than just a date on the calendar—they’re powerful tools for driving last-minute sales. By clearly communicating these deadlines to your audience, you can tap into the urgency that naturally comes with holiday shopping.
What to do:
- Start promoting well before the shipping deadline, reminding your audience regularly as the date approaches.
- Use messaging like “Order by [deadline] to ensure delivery before Christmas!” to create urgency.
- Continue promoting right up until the deadline, and don’t be afraid to extend those promotions past it.
Keep Your Products Available Beyond the Deadline
A common mistake we’ve seen is creators turning off their products or ending promotions right after the Christmas shipping deadline. Here’s the truth: buyers will keep purchasing, even if they know they won’t receive the product in time for Christmas.
Our Experience: Many of our creators have seen strong sales even after the shipping deadline has passed. Fans are still excited about your products, and often, they’re buying for themselves once the gift-giving pressure is off. Don’t miss out on these sales by shutting things down too early.
What to do:
- Keep your holiday products active through the end of the year, and even into January.
- If you've done a lot of promotion up until this point, you likely can ease off the gas through the end of the year. Now it's time to plan for the next year.
Final Thoughts
The Christmas season is a unique and powerful time to drive merchandise sales, but it requires careful planning and a focus on timing rather than discounts. By understanding the urgency of the season, using shipping deadlines to your advantage, and keeping your store open beyond Christmas, you can maximize your sales during this critical period.
If you have any questions or need advice on your Christmas strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help you make this holiday season your most successful yet!