Tis the season of gift giving. And, with 47% of Brits planning to buy thoughtful gifts for friends and family this year, eCommerce brands can boost sales and profits by tapping into this savvy seasonal trend. Providing plenty of opportunities for shoppers to explore gift options and add last-minute pressies to their cart is a surefire way to make more sales and increase customer loyalty levels along the way.
According to eBay’s Peak Season Spend Trends 2023 report, 48% of shoppers plan to spend a lot of time browsing their options before making any festive gift purchases this year. Help them make the right choice with these powerful gifting techniques this peak season.
Why tap into the gift-giving market
Boost customer loyalty: If you make it easy for customers to buy gifts their family and friends love, there’s a good chance they’ll come back again in the future.
Seven techniques to boost gift giving this peak season
1. Explore multiple delivery options and carrier services
When a customer is purchasing gifts, they have more to consider than if they were purchasing for themselves. The more delivery options and carrier services you have available to your customers, the more likely you are to secure sales.
For example, a customer buying a gift for a loved one abroad will most likely want to avail of international tracked. As the gift may be a surprise for the recipient, the customer may want to avail of a a timed delivery such as Saturday / Sunday timed delivery , when they know the recipient will be home. Connecting to a delivery management provider like Scurri can help you maximise the amount of carrier services available to you.
Offering flexibility at check-out is also a plus. For example, digital frames provider Aura Frames lets customers ship products from the same order to different addresses at checkout. This is great for last-minute shoppers who need a present delivered ASAP or those who want to send gifts to friends and family who live further afield.
2. Add gift wrapping or gift box options
Take one step out of the gift giving process by gift-wrapping orders for shoppers or enabling them to buy a gift box. You can offer a simple giftwrapping add-on, or you can offer gift boxes in various shapes and sizes with tiered pricing. This creates a much slicker process for customers while giving you an extra boost in revenue with each sale.
Fashion retailer Of Mercer lets shoppers add a gift box to their order for a small fee. Luxury biscuit creator and Scurri customer Biscuiteers also offer a stylish signature gift box which can be purchased and filled with gifts of your choice, for a truly memorably gifting experience.
3. Give shoppers the option to add a message
Shoppers sending presents further afield might like the chance to add a personalised message to the order. You can add a notes box at the checkout where shoppers can write their own message. Outdoor Voices offers a free gift note with all orders, and upsells a gift box service.
4. Create seasonal gift bundles
Encourage extra sales by bundling together your festive bestsellers into one handy package. Alternatively, you can give shoppers the opportunity to create their own personalised bundle by adding products they want from your catalogue. This is a great way for shoppers to buy multiple gifts at once while increasing your average order value at the same time.
Every year, Sephora creates a series of gift sets and bundles that make the perfect Christmas gift.
Scurri customer The Perfume Shop even offer engraving on selected products, providing the customer the opportunity to purchase a keep-forever bottle made extra special by the customer. That’s taking personalised gifting to the next level!
5. Cross-sell and upsell products
Upselling can increase revenue by 10-30% and is 68% more affordable than acquiring a new customer. This is because a customer has already chosen to purchase something from you, so what’s one more item in their cart?
Add an upsell option to checkout – this can either be a gift or a giftwrapping service. Optimising your eCommerce store to make this as easy as possible always helps. For example, plant-based food outlet Daring lets shoppers “quick add” recommended items at checkout to boost their order.
You can even promote other products after the purchase by using Scurri Track Plus to send highly relevant up-sell and cross-sellopportunities within branded tracking emails, thereby boosting repeat purchases.
6. Create a dedicated gifts catalogue on your website
It’s difficult to know where to start when it comes to Christmas shopping. But, with many shoppers starting early in November, you can help them out by creating a dedicated page on your website that’s filled with gift ideas. This might be all the inspiration they need to get started.
Take Sugarfina, for example. The brand has a “gift shop” on-site where shoppers can browse gifts in different categories, like “gifts that wow” or “gifts for him”.
7. Share holiday gift guides
Holiday gift guides give shoppers the chance to explore more of your product catalogue than they might have otherwise. The best part is, you can create guides to match different segments of your audience to make it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for and increase product visibility.
Chanel has published a series of creative gift guides targeting different personalities, including “trend seekers”, “makeup muses”, and “skincare experts”.
Scurri customer Fairfax & Favor also provide a comprehensive gift guide – enabling customers to browse for gifts based on price range, staple gifts and their tailored gift recommendations.