Are you ready for the Christmas shopping season?

The growth in Christmas spending this year is expected to double over last years figures, with the growth in internet sales expected to be increased by at least 20%, and maybe as much as 50%.

A consumer survey reports that 56% of people said that they plan to start their shopping using the internet, and more than 60% said that they plan to start their Christmas shopping before the end of October!

So you need to be getting your business ready now for the Christmas season if you haven’t already done so, you don’t want to miss out on those sales.

If you have a website that you can edit easily yourself, you can make these changes immediately, and start your Christmas marketing campaign quickly. Then, if you have a mailing list, as soon as your site is ‘set up’ for the festive season you need to use your list to let your customers know.

Keeping in touch with your customers is the key to increasing your sales and this is, of course, especially true in the holiday season.

When so many smaller retailers are competing for consumer attention you need to reach out to your customers before somebody else beats you to it.

Many of your competitors are already sending their Christmas marketing emails out as you read this. As more than 60% of shoppers are buying early this year, you need to capture their attention by sending your marketing message out before the holiday rush starts.

Why not include an incentive? A special offer is always a good marketing tool, you could offer free postage, or buy 3 get one free, or send them a coupon code for your shopping cart that will give them a discount of some kind.

Did you know that more than 79% of consumers say that free postage is an important factor in deciding where to buy?

If you offer a discount or special offer, make it time sensitive, that is give the recipient a set time in which to use it. The fact is that if people do not respond soon after receiving your offer, then they probably won’t respond at all, so give them a good reason to buy now by limiting the time in which the discount or special offers is available.