The holiday season is an important time for many businesses, and it comes with its own unique challenges. We recommend some extra preparations for this seasonal spending so you won’t miss out.

The last few years have seen some big changes to customers’ spending habits and budgeting. According to a survey conducted in June 2022, just 25% intend to spend more over the holiday season in 2022 than in 2021.¹

Although the holidays could come with some challenges, there are ways you can prepare to help maximize your sales. Read on for our holiday sales tips

Offer a range of flexible payment options

Over the holiday season you may have to process more transactions than usual, so it’s a great idea to review your payment solutions so you’re ready for the busier period. We suggest offering your customers a range of flexible in-store and e-commerce payment options to make the sales process more convenient. This can include accepting:

• Payments online: Because your online transaction volume may increase over the holidays, we recommend making sure that your server and payment gateway can handle the increased traffic.
• Digital wallets in-store: Digital wallets on customers’ phones have become the norm. Avoid missing out on seasonal sales by using a payment solution that can accept them.
• Buy now, pay later payments: This payment method can encourage customers to spend more by paying off a larger holiday purchase in instalments.
• Virtual terminal: You can take secure card payments over the phone using a virtual terminal, allowing customers to pick up the purchase in-store when it’s convenient for them. This can help reduce queues.
• Mobile card terminals: Your staff can carry the mobile card terminals around and take payments anywhere in your store. This can potentially reduce holiday queues by allowing you to take payments anywhere on your premises.

These aren’t the only ways you can make your payment options more accessible, but by focusing on payment flexibility during the holiday season, you could reduce your risk of missing out on a sale at the point of sale itself.

Worldpay from FIS® can help you streamline your payment processing, allowing you to accept payment by your customers’ preferred methods.

Reward customers with loyalty programs

Value for money is the number one priority among the UK’s holiday shoppers in 2022.² Introducing a customer loyalty program could help you retain customers and encourage them to return to you during the holiday season.

The type of loyalty program that will work best for you might depend on the product or service you’re selling, but here are four types of common customer loyalty programs you can consider:

• Point loyalty: Points earned from purchases can be exchanged for rewards or credit.
• Tiered loyalty: Grouping customers into tiers based on how much they buy from you with different rewards for each tier.
• Paid loyalty: Providing premium services with benefits.
• Value loyalty: Donating a percentage of each purchase to a charity.

Update your website and social media channels

Some businesses might not have the budget for a big holiday marketing campaign but updating your website and sharing your offers across social media as you prepare for the busier sales periods can help bring in sales over the holiday season and prevent lost opportunities.

One in three customers will leave a brand they love after just one negative experience,³ and with the additional pressures of holiday season shopping, we recommend avoiding negative customer experiences wherever possible.

If, for example, you change your open hours over the Christmas period, we suggest sharing this information online as soon as possible. You can also use social media platforms to promote holiday deals as well as your loyalty program if you’ve introduced one.

Personalize the shopping experience

During the holiday season, it’s important to personalize your customers’ shopping experiences. You can do this by targeting your customers based on their payment history.

Omnichannel payment solutions can help you create a smooth, simple and personalized experience for your customers by offering one blended experience across all the shopping channels you offer.

Not only does this help your customers, but it also helps you get a better idea of your customers’ preferences, allowing you to send them information on offers, products and services during the holiday season that may be more likely to appeal to them.

Reference

¹"Christmas spend trends 2022”, p7, eBay, https://www.ebayads.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/eBay_Ads_Christmas_Report_2022_F.pdf (August 2022)

²"Christmas spend trends 2022”, p9, eBay, https://www.ebayads.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/eBay_Ads_Christmas_Report_2022_F.pdf (August 2022)

³"Five steps to turn retail transactions into smarter connected experiences”, p5, Worldpay from FIS, https://offers.worldpayglobal.com/rs/850-JOA-856/images/5_steps_to_turn_retail_transactions_into_smarter_connected_experiences.pdf