Vacation’s Over: Kickstart Your E-Commerce Strategies for the 2024 Holiday Selling Season

The summer is coming to an end, and for e-commerce businesses that means one thing—it’s time to gear up for the biggest selling season of the year. The holiday season is just around the corner, and if you want to capitalize on it, now is the time to plan. In 2024, consumer behaviour is more dynamic than ever, and businesses that start early will have a competitive edge.

Strategic Preparations for Peak E-Commerce Performance

Through years of experience,at MM Shopy Devs we’ve learned from the top performers in the market that large enterprise e-commerce businesses typically start preparing well in advance for the busiest months of the year. The optimal window for these preparations is usually between August and October, as by November, the website needs to be fully optimized and running smoothly. Key actions during this time include:

• Optimizing conversion rates.
• Fine-tuning conversion tracking and the data layer.
• Preparing your website template with all necessary functions and visual elements.
• Testing and debugging the store to resolve any potential issues.
• Expanding reach to new targeted audiences.
• Building excitement and engagement with your existing audience.

Key Dates to Know for the 2024 Holiday Season:

Halloween:
Thursday, October 31, 2024.
Countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and increasingly in many other countries.
E-commerce Focus: Costumes, candy, decorations, party supplies, entertainment (e.g., movie streaming, games).

Singles’ Day (11.11 Shopping Festival):
Monday, November 11, 2024.
Countries: China (mainly), and growing in global e-commerce platforms.
E-commerce Focus: Electronics, fashion, beauty products, gadgets, luxury goods, and general retail.

Thanksgiving:
Thursday, November 28, 2024.
Countries: United States (fourth Thursday in November).
E-commerce Focus: Food and beverages, meal delivery services, decorations, home goods.

Black Friday:
Friday, November 29, 2024.
Countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and many other countries (widely adopted globally as a shopping day).
E-commerce Focus: Electronics, home appliances, fashion, beauty, toys, and big-ticket items.

Cyber Monday:
Monday, December 2, 2024.
Countries: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Italy and globally in e-commerce.
E-commerce Focus: Electronics, tech gadgets, fashion, beauty products, software, and online subscriptions.

Green Monday:
Monday, December 9, 2024.
Countries: United States (e-commerce focused).
E-commerce Focus: Last-minute holiday gifts, electronics, home goods, fashion, toys.

Free Shipping Day:
Friday, December 13, 2024.
Countries: United States (participating retailers).
E-commerce Focus: All products that can be shipped, including fashion, gifts, electronics, and home goods.

Super Saturday (The last Saturday before Christmas):
Saturday, December 21, 2024.
Countries: United States, United Kingdom (for last-minute Christmas shoppers).
E-commerce Focus: Gifts, toys, fashion, beauty, last-minute electronics, holiday decorations.

Christmas:
Wednesday, December 25, 2024.
Countries: Worldwide, including countries with Christian populations.
E-commerce Focus: Gifts, toys, tech gadgets, beauty products, luxury items, food, and drink.

Boxing Day:
Thursday, December 26, 2024.
Countries: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth countries.
E-commerce Focus: Clearance sales, fashion, electronics, home goods, beauty products.

San Esteban (St. Stephen’s Day):
Thursday, December 26, 2024.
Countries: Spain (Catalonia, Balearic Islands), Italy, Hungary, Finland, and other parts of Europe.
E-commerce Focus: Travel deals, post-Christmas clearance sales, food and drink, gifts.

New Year’s Eve:
Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
Countries: Worldwide.
E-commerce Focus: Party supplies, alcohol, fashion (especially evening wear), food and drink, entertainment.

Reyes Magos (Epiphany/Three Kings’ Day):
Monday, January 6, 2025.
Countries: Spain, Latin America (Mexico, Puerto Rico), and parts of Europe (Italy, Austria, Poland).
E-commerce Focus: Toys, gifts, food and drink, holiday decorations.

Development in preparation for the holiday selling season

Timing is Key: Preparing for the Holiday E-Commerce Rush

The holiday season can be an incredibly busy time for e-commerce stores, but it’s not just the stores themselves that feel the pressure. Professions that support and work around e-commerce are also significantly affected. Proper planning and time management are essential for the following reasons:

• Allowing a time buffer for thorough testing and debugging before traffic peaks.
• Ensuring developers are available and have their time booked in advance.
• Giving your team the necessary time to create or update content and prepare the theme.

Effective preparation ensures a smooth and successful holiday season for all involved.

Key E-Commerce Improvements to Boost Performance

This topic could fill an entire article, as there are many crucial areas an e-commerce site should focus on throughout the year (see this article about the importance of regular UX updates). However, here are some specific ideas that can serve as examples for optimizing performance during peak times:

• Highlight elements like free shipping and discounts.
• Create dedicated sections to promote sales, promotions, and new collections.
• Implement loyalty programs to reward returning customers.
• Add wishlists, followed by targeted email campaigns using the data collected.
• Use strong calls to action, such as encouraging users to subscribe to the newsletter.
• Create hidden sections or exclusive deals available only to select users.
• Add urgency-building elements like countdown timers or flash sales.
• Make conversion-focused modifications, such as sticky “add to cart” buttons on product pages or product upsells.

These improvements can significantly enhance user experience and drive higher conversion rates during key periods.

Consult with Experts to Unlock New Opportunities

Bring together experts from various sectors—designers, developers, marketers, and more—and ask for their insights and suggestions. You might be surprised by the number of innovative ideas they offer. These professionals work with many stores and have a wealth of collective knowledge that can be an invaluable resource for your business. Tapping into their experience can open new horizons and help you discover strategies and improvements that may not have been on your radar.

Conversion Tracking and Data Layer

Shopify recently introduced significant changes with checkout extensibility and the implementation of customer events. These updates have also altered the structure of the data layer, which, if not properly configured, could lead to misfiring events in your Analytics. We’ve observed this issue with several clients, so we recommend double-checking with your marketing team to ensure everything is functioning correctly. If you encounter any problems, we can connect you with an expert in this field.

Bug Hunting

Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like, but it’s not as bad as it may seem. Start by asking your customer support team if they’ve received any reports of issues. Then review your analytics to see if there’s an alarming change in conversion metrics or user session times. After that, grab a cup of tea and gather a few colleagues or friends to simulate a real user experience in your store, going all the way to checkout. Make sure to test on various devices and browsers—Windows, Mac, iPhones, and Androids. You’ll be surprised at how useful this process can be, not only for uncovering hidden bugs but also for recognizing obstacles and identifying potential improvements.

Checkout and Payment Gateway

We’ve already published an in-depth article on this topic click here to read it. What we’d like to emphasize here is the importance of understanding which payment methods your audience prefers. Beyond the typical Visa and PayPal options, there are many other widely-used methods that you might not be offering. Adding them could have a significant impact on your checkout conversion rate and represent an easy win for your store.

Practical Example for Spain: Bizum

Bizum is a popular payment method in Spain that allows users to transfer money by simply knowing a phone number. Thanks to companies like Monei, Bizum has started appearing in e-commerce stores with seamless integration on Shopify. 

Data shows that on Cyber Monday 2023, a remarkable 36.8% of e-commerce users in Spain (when available) chose Bizum as their payment method, placing it second only to credit cards (48.8%). Apple Pay ranked fourth (6.76%), Click to Pay fifth (3.61%), and PayPal last (2.94%).
If your company is based in Spain, we highly recommend checking out Monei by clicking this link.

Final Thoughts

The holiday season may seem distant, but savvy Shopify merchants know that preparation starts now. By organizing your marketing strategies, implementing necessary development updates early, and leveraging Shopify’s ecosystem, you can set your store up for an exceptional holiday sales season in 2024. Remember, time is of the essence—start planning today so you’re not scrambling tomorrow. With the right strategies in place, your Shopify store will be ready to convert casual visitors into loyal customers.

Happy selling!