Merchandising for Holiday Sales

The future of holiday marketing comes down to a new equation. And most brands aren’t solving for it. When I look at how consumer behavior has shifted, the holiday path to purchase no longer resembles a funnel. It is an intricate mix of: Searching  Scrolling Streaming Shopping  …happening all at once. Last season, 64% of U.S. shoppers blended these behaviors, moving across tabs, apps, and platforms constantly. On average, people now engage with over 130 mobile touchpoints every day. That complexity is changing how purchases happen. Spontaneous holiday buys dropped from 30% to 26% year over year, while researched purchases went up. And 61% of shoppers now say they are more choiceful with how they spend, largely due to economic uncertainty. Google calls this the “new value equation.” To feel confident, today’s shoppers validate their decisions on three fronts: 1. The right price – Nearly half will actively compare prices and wait for promotions. 2. Product confidence – 66% say quality and durability matter most, with YouTube now ranked the #1 source for product reviews. 3. Purchase convenience – 92% of in-store visits begin with an online search, and checkout friction can instantly kill momentum. Holiday success will depend on showing up across the 4S behaviors with accurate product data, trusted creator content, and frictionless purchase experiences. Strategies around this value equation will convert cautious researchers into confident buyers. Those who adapt to the new value equation will capture more market share and build lasting trust when it matters most.

You're probably focusing on the wrong things re: "Cyber 5"/"Holiday"/Black Friday Cyber Monday. Especially if your brand is doing <$100M online. Here are 5 things worth focusing on as we approach Holiday 2023: 1. Sense check your plan. Was last year's offer profitable? Did you consider it successful? How many of your BFCM customers came back to buy again? When you pull those numbers, does this year's plan still make sense? You don't need to offer a deeper discount every year, just a compelling one. 2. Build awareness now. Your primary BFCM audience is going to be people who are aware of your brand, but haven't prioritized the purchase yet. What are you doing to build awareness now? And specifically, what are you doing to build a qualified cookie pool in the 30-60 days leading up to Holiday? 3. Turn your team into bug hunters. A functioning website is always important, but it can become a huge missed opportunity during BFCM. Start a "bug hunt" 30-45 days out. Offer good prizes for the team members who spot the most bugs, and then line up resources to fix them before the big day. 4. Close the loop w/ops. If BFCM is a peak period–especially if you're forecasting unprecedented volume–make sure you have the capacity to fulfill those orders. If daily order volume is even 20-30% above average for a sustained period you'll start to form a backlog in the warehouse. And a backlog in the warehouse quickly leads to a backlog with CX. Talk through your forecast with your fulfillment team and make sure you're covered. 5. Put your blinders on. If you're doing under $100M/year in eCom sales, macro trends usually don't matter. The exception = a cataclysmic event like the 2008 financial crisis, but pundits can't predict that. Similarly–offers that national competitors are running don't matter. If you're a $25M brand selling workout gear, Nike's BFCM offer isn't impact you. Don't react to competitors that are much bigger than you are. What does matter: the offers your wholesale partners are running on your product, and the extent to which you'll be battling it out on Google.

Want to make more while discounting LESS during BFCM? Sounds impossible right? It’s not.  Here are 5 KEY learnings to help you increase sales and margin during Black Friday 🧵 Recently I sat down with Ned MacPherson of Power Digital Marketing to discuss Q4 discounting… What he said surprised me. It’s NOT just about giving your steepest discount and calling it a day. He shared 5 tactics that will help guard your margins while still driving major revenue: 1) Customer Segmentation & Personalization Treat unique customer groups differently during BFCM to maximize engagement and sales. Each group has different needs and behaviors, so a one-size-fits-all approach can miss opportunities.   → Use scarcity tactics for recently acquired customers → Show new customers your hero products, but keep the discount low  → Offer personalized bundles or exclusive product launches for Dormant Customers 2) Product Launches Announce new products during BFCM to create excitement. This gives customers a reason to shop beyond discounts, making your brand stand out amidst the discount chaos. → Introduce a limited-edition product or exclusive bundles. → Launch products that align with holiday needs (e.g., “Perfect Gifts for the Season – Only Available This Weekend!”). 3) Progress Bar Show customers how close they are to unlocking perks (e.g., free shipping or free gifts) as they add items to their cart. This encourages higher order values by gamifying the checkout process. → “Add $10 more to your cart to unlock a free holiday candle!” → You’re $20 away from free shipping – keep shopping to save!” 4) Evergreen Discounting Keep existing offers consistent during the season, but change their branding for the sale. This matters because customers are more influenced by the perception of a sale rather than the specific offer. Many of your customers will also be new and probably not aware that the offer isn’t fresh. → Keep your “20% off 3 items” offer active year-round, but during BFCM, label it as the “Black Friday Special.” → Use consistent offers across holidays (e.g., “Holiday Sale,” “Summer Blowout”), so customers still feel like they're getting a deal. 5) Retention Strategies Post-BFCM (BONUS) Something a lot of brands overlook - keeping new and returning customers engaged with follow-up offers after their initial purchase. The first 30-60 days post-purchase are critical for encouraging repeat buying. What you can do: → Send an email offering “Exclusive Access to Our Holiday Collection” to customers who purchased during BFCM. → Use loyalty incentives (e.g., “Earn double points on your next purchase before the New Year!”). Takeaway - You don’t have to cut your margin to the bone during BFCM because you’re desperate to juice your topline sales numbers. To drive revenue AND margin you can: → Segment and personalize your customers → Use product launches strategically → Implement a Progress Bar → Run evergreen discounts → Retain customers post-BFCM

After navigating 7 Black Fridays, I’m gearing up for my 8th in just under 100 days… The biggest lesson I’ve learned? Start preparing sooner than you think. I begin my planning 3-4 months in advance, and there’s a critical reason why—keep reading to find out. Black Friday isn’t what it used to be. Pre-pandemic, it was all about those four intense days from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. But now? Many brands are running sales all November long. The old playbook has been tossed out. To help you get ahead, here are 12 strategies to prepare for your Black Friday, November, and holiday sales: 1) Get your numbers in order. Understand what your costs were last year and what your costs are going into the sale. Are they up or down? Build out a predictive model so you can make sure you're going to be profitable 2) Make sure your inventory on your acquisition products and other best sellers will be healthy by the time your sales start (this is why you start now) 3) Create a product exclusive to your Black Friday offering. Maybe its a gift with purchase or something they can only buy during that time. This will be fun to promote before the sale starts (this is why you start now) 4) Keep your sale simple. You're competing with a lot of people. Also, we've done a lot of research and the average American doesn't think a sale under 30% is a great Black Friday sale. Do what you want with that info... 5) Get ready to communicate daily with your lists. Use proper segmentation. Remember we built lists to eventually get people to buy. Don't be afraid of people unsubscribing. 6) Match your email/sms opt-in offers with what your BFCM sales are going to be 7) Build up your ad creative repository, test ads, double down on winners 8) Seed product get their distribution, but more importantly get their content to use as ad content (this is why you start now) 9) Start surveying your customers using a post-purchase survey platform like Bestie AI. Learning more about your customers whey they shop with you, why they almost didnt shop with you, how they hear about you, etc is critical to winning over BFCM (this is why you start now) 10) Don't just decrease spend before sale season just because you see performance dip... Look at your Cohort report in Shopify and see if new customers in Aug, Sept, Oct tend to go ham in November (this is why you start now) 11) Build out landing pages that showcase your best selling products and the offer you're giving out 12) Think about doing a double sale. The brands we saw perform the best last year did two sales. One at the beginning of the month and one during BFCM. And there are more. If you listen to this week's most recent episode of the Unstoppable Marketer we dive deeper into each one of these plus add a few more things you can do to crush Q4!

Every year we say holiday shoppers are starting earlier. And every year they do. This year, it’s not even a joke: More than a quarter of Prime Day shoppers told us they were buying holiday gifts in July. Holiday 2025 won’t be business as usual in other ways either. I’d focus on three imperatives coming out of Tinuiti’s Holiday Shopping Trends study: 1. Redefine Value. Price still matters, but free shipping now rivals discounts as a purchase driver. Tariffs mean shoppers are looking harder at “value,” not just price tags but quality, longevity, and speed. That’s a full-business challenge, not just a marketing one. 2. Design for AI-first shopping. With more than half of shoppers using tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, brand presence in AI research will shape consideration long before checkout. One way Tinuiti is helping brands: AI SEO. Shaping content and technical signals so brands get included in Google AI Overviews, Copilot, Perplexity, and others. If you’re not briefing the AI agent that speaks on your behalf, you’re not in the consideration set. 3. Make Social Your Discovery Engine. Social is now the #1 product discovery channel for holiday. Inspiration is happening on TikTok, Instagram & Facebook, not just on Google or Amazon. Discovery strategy & social strategy can’t be separate anymore. And here’s the thing: it may be too late to line up big celebrity or creator influencers for holiday, but it’s not too late to get scrappy with creators who are already posting content in your space. Tinuiti helps brands identify the right creators, build authentic content with them, and amplify it so it drives discovery and sales. This is a time for being proactive & not waiting for the traditional holiday season to start. The data is clear: shoppers are starting earlier, shopping online more & using new tools to make their decisions. Are you ready to meet them there? #ecommerce #retail #holiday2025 #marketing #measurement https://lnkd.in/eAK4iHAs

🛍️ 🎄 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁: 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘-𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 Blue Yonder Research’s 2024 Consumer Holiday Survey reveals how global economic challenges and growing interest in sustainability are reshaping consumer spending habits. The survey, which included over 4,000 respondents across the U.S., UK, France, and Germany, highlights the following key trends: 📌 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲: Despite inflation concerns, 44% of consumers plan to spend more this holiday season. Gen Z is the biggest spender, with 62% planning to increase their holiday budget. 📌 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿: 60% of consumers will shop online for gifts, with Millennials (64%) most likely to do so. Superstores are also a top choice, especially in the U.S., where 75% of shoppers will visit these one-stop shops. ⁣ 📌 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀: Nearly half of shoppers (48%) are worried about shipping costs, with 42% concerned about delays. Efficient order fulfillment and real-time inventory visibility will be crucial for retailers. 📌 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲́𝗰𝗼𝗿: Consumers are prioritizing sustainability in holiday décor. Nearly 50% plan to purchase reusable décor, with #French and #German shoppers most focused on #sustainable options. Wayne Snyder, VP of Retail Industry Strategy at Blue Yonder Research, notes that retailers who adapt to these shifting preferences, including prioritizing sustainability and optimizing order fulfillment, will likely see success this holiday season. https://lnkd.in/g9yu2jQv #RetailTrends #ConsumerInsights #Sustainability #Ecommerce #HolidayShopping2024 #executivesearch

Here are my 10 favorite BFCM offers that aren't discounts. Over the past 20 years, I’ve tried a ton of different strategies to incentivize purchases without resorting to discounts. Here are my top ten high-perceived-value, low-cost ways to drive conversions: 1) Free Gift with Purchase 2) Bundle and Volume Deals 3) Service Upgrades 4) Free Consulting Call 5) Free Info Product or Ebook 6) Expedited Shipping 7) Free Gift Wrapping 8) Bounce Back Offers 9) Entry in Giveaways and Sweepstakes 10) Thank-you notes The “what” + my advice on each: 1) Free Gift with Purchase: Offer a high-perceived-value, low-cost item for free with the purchase of your top products. It’s a classic, and it works. 2) Bundles and Volume Deals: Think “Buy Two and Save” offers. You’re not just increasing order value. You’re also cutting down on shipping costs by bundling items together. Pass some of those savings on to the customer. 3) Service Upgrades: For higher-ticket items, consider offering a free installation call, extended warranty, or expedited shipping. These add-ons can boost conversions without killing your margins. 4) Free Consulting Call: Especially effective for info products or SaaS, offer a limited number of free coaching calls or implementation sessions. Set up an autoresponder with a Calendly link post-purchase—perfect for bootstrappers. 5) Free Info Product or Ebook: Zero marginal cost, high perceived value. Bundle your existing content into an ebook and offer it as a freebie with a purchase. 6) Expedited Shipping: Similar idea, but with a sense of urgency. Great for holiday seasons when customers want their orders fast. 7) Free Gift Wrapping: Adds a nice touch during the holidays, making it easier for customers to buy gifts. 8) Bounce Back Offers: Encourage additional purchases with a “Spend $250, get $50 off your next order” type of deal. Make sure to remind customers before the deadline. 9) Entry in Giveaways and Sweepstakes: Surprising, but true—“Enter to win a $100 gift certificate” can convert just as well as “20% off your first purchase.” What can you offer that’s so compelling it drives conversions? 10) Thank-you notes: We just published data on this! Ben Perkins from &Collar sent thank-you notes to VIP customers, just thanking them for being great. No CTA, no discount code. They led to over $200k in full-margin revenue. I’d love to hear if you’ve got any others to add to the list.

Amazon Sellers: Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t as distinct as they used to be—but that’s a good thing. When done right, Cyber Monday can create urgency and drive shoppers who missed out on Black Friday back to your store. Here’s how to smoothly transition from Black Friday to Cyber Monday and maximize your sales: 𝟭. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆: Move overstocked items from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, repackaging them into exclusive deals. This reduces excess inventory while keeping your Cyber Monday offers fresh and enticing. 𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 Black Friday left breadcrumbs. Use them: > Target ads at visitors who didn’t convert. > Focus on cart abandoners and last-minute shoppers with urgent, scarcity-driven messaging. > Refresh your ad copy to emphasize “last chance” vibes. 𝟯. 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 Your data is gold. Here’s how to mine it: > Analyze which products performed best and why. > Spot the underperformers and learn from customer feedback. Use these insights to optimize Cyber Monday offerings. → Optimize listings: Ensure your descriptions, images, and prices are on point. → Create personalized bundles: Use recommendations to create personalized product bundles based on Black Friday browsing behavior. → Double down on winners: Highlight Black Friday’s best-sellers with limited-time Cyber Monday discounts. Remember, every big sales event brings more competition.  If your only hook is a low price, customers will leave as quickly as they came. Instead, deliver a shopping experience they’ll remember—and come back for: high-quality products, seamless navigation, and personalized touches. Satisfied customers bring their friends. That’s your edge. More detailed tactics are in the cheat sheet below. Check it out!

Here comes Black Friday, the ultimate "pull forward" promotion. Have you ever noticed a sales dip BEFORE a big promotion? Then a surge on the big day...followed by a drop. That is the "pull effect". When customers predict a big sale, they'll often PULL FORWARD a purchase they already intended to make. When running big sales... 1. Watch your profitability. - Sales may be up, but your margin can take a big hit. - You've concentrated most of your orders in a single, high-discount/low-margin day. 2. How should you measure success? - Measure performance across a longer window. - It's easy to celebrate one day's win, but TRUE SUCCESS encompasses the weeks before and after the sale. 3. Protect your brand. - Constant sales condition customers to wait for discounts. - Over time, this shifts their perception of your brand's value...and good luck getting that value (and margin) back. Tips to avoid this during Cyber Week (and Holiday) 1. Diversify Your Deals Instead of blanket discounts (eg. 30% Off)... - Consider bundling products or offering loyalty-based incentives. - Mix in different promo types (BOGO, GWP, Buy-More-Save-More) 2. Educate While Promoting - Use promotions as a way to introduce new products. - Customers get value, and you broaden your range into new categories. 3. Limited Time Offers - Create short, unexpected promotional windows. - Keeps things fresh and less predictable. Promotions are an excellent new customer acquisition tool. But it's all about the strategy behind them. Keep things balanced and protect your brand (and profitability) this Q4. #ecommerce #promotions #blackfriday

DTC brands — want to absolutely crush Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales this year? The key to maximizing your revenue starts and ends with clear user journeys. And taking a minimal approach to BFCM will just hinder your potential. Instead of creating a quick “Discounts” category for your sale and leaving everything else the same… Or only spinning up a quick landing page for the Holidays and calling it “good”... Focus on creating very thoughtful and guided user journeys for the two users who are most likely to visit your site during the big days of the year: 1. Users shopping for holiday gifts 2. Customers looking for BIG annual sales Here are what high-converting journeys for these two users look like. GIFTING user journeys start with ads and press about how your products make a great gift for XYZ users. The proposition has to be intriguing and trusted (i.e., validation that your products are a “top” gift). Once you hook them in, your eCommerce and web funnel needs to narrow their journey into the right products. Limited product discovery and/or a lot of handholding will help a user say, “Yes, this seems like the perfect gift for XYZ!” Finally, take them through a seamless checkout experience with a few key components, like: Express checkout options, on-time delivery, a no-hassle returns process, gift message/note, gift card (if possible), and gift wrapping. These may seem like small, trivial details, but extra touches like these encourage customers to convert faster than anything else you can do — because your store becomes a “one-stop shop” for gift buying! SALE user journeys start with ads, emails, and social content that hype your annual sale all the way leading up to the event with sporadic (yet planned by you) drops before the big day. Just like great marketing sold Barbie as the must-see movie in 2023, the same has to be done to get the word out about THE sale from your brand. Once the sale-seeking user comes to your site, your funnel should guide them towards collections and products that are on sale and content about what makes your products some of the best they can buy this season. This could be showcasing product benefits, highlighting how your products are limited in quantity, or how the deal the user is getting on your site won't return anytime soon. You really can’t overhype the urgency of your BFCM sale. So turn up the volume! From the discovery phase, you should create a checkout flow with upsells that unlock free gifts and/or additional benefits. BFCM 2023 is approaching fast. If you’re serious about making the most of it and coming out strong, start putting these journeys in place TODAY. And let me know if you want any advice on how to set them up! #ecommerce #shopify #blackfriday #dtc #customerexperience