Mastering the Rush: Your Ultimate Peak Season Checklist for Success

Are You Prepared for Peak Season?

Summer, sun, and sand may still be here, but we’ve all seen the pumpkins and Santa hats already make their way to stores. Most consumers chuckle at the early onslaught of holiday products, but for marketers? It’s a sign that they need to shore up their peak season campaigns sooner rather than later. 

The to-do list can seem never ending when preparing for peak season, but have no fear—below is a comprehensive checklist to ensure you’ve got all your ducks in a row.

Cater to Cost-Conscious Consumers With Value Messaging

In the midst of global economic woes, many consumers are tightening their budgets and holding their wallets close. In order for customers to part with their hard-earned cash, they need to be certain that they’re gaining true value from their purchases.

This is where outstanding marketing that highlights your brand’s unique value comes into play. And contrary to popular belief, promotions and discounts are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to persuasive value-based messaging

Do the Math for Customers

Why say an item is 10% off when you know that customers will be saving $30 just by purchasing today? Summing up exact savings will motivate customers to purchase far more quickly. Keep promotional language clear and concise, and don’t make your customers whip out their calculators.

Lenovo does just that in their Black Friday Doorbuster campaign. They showed the total number of dollars saved through their sale if recipients purchased that week. 

Cut Through the Promotional Noise

During peak season, every single brand is shouting their discounts from the rooftops. If marketers want to stand out from the sea of price drops, they need to prioritize personalization within each promotion. Blend behavioral data recommendations with products that are predicted to resonate with customers based on their unique preferences and habits for an irresistible email.  

Highlight Flexible Payment Offerings

For some customers, not offering buy-now-pay-later options is akin to only paying in cash when the machines are down. It’s enough of an inconvenience for them to take their business elsewhere. Be sure to offer those cost-conscious customers the payment flexibility they need to preserve their business.

Provide Value Beyond Discounts

Low prices are only one piece of the puzzle for customers that are looking to save. To set your brand apart from the rest, supplement your prices with additional value. This can be a tangible add-on like free shipping, or showing off your brand’s product quality via social proof. 

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Bookshop is all about adding that social buzz. They paired the number of views from fellow readers to confirm to customers why this trending book was the story they needed to delve into next. With this simple add-on, the team saw a significant increase in lift.

Plan Early and Support Last-Minute Shoppers

While marketers are already planning end-of-year campaigns in the heat of summer, not everyone is thinking that far ahead. Yet, peak season shopping should be easy even for the most procrastinating shopper and marketers need to ensure that convenience-focused campaigns are included, especially near the tail end of peak season. 

Test and Optimize Before Peak Season

Holiday campaigns may not be out the door yet, but the time is now for marketers to learn more about customer intent. A/B testing is one of the key methods to understanding how customers want to receive messaging.

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Origins saw an impressive 57% lift in CTR by implementing A/B testing. When measuring text only versus images and text, the brand saw that the latter performed far better with their audience. Because of this A/B test, they were able to send the more appealing version to the rest of their file, maximizing results.

Extend and Enhance Retargeting Activities

Christmas in July, anyone? While most customers aren’t in holiday mode yet, marketers do know that the peak season buying cycle is extending year-over year. So start data collection plays like polls early to understand customers’ intent, setting you up for retargeting success later in the season.

Don’t Neglect Last Minute Shoppers

Another way to mitigate last-minute shopping scrambles is through automated banners. Banners that highlight shipping cut-off times or offer buy-online, pick-up-in-store options are true gift-savers.

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Click and collect? Yes, please. Aiding the purchasing process by making it as speedy and easy as possible is just what customers in a rush need.

Prioritize a Comprehensive Omni-Channel Strategy

You’ve heard it before, and you’re going to hear it again: mobile shopping is critical to your business, especially during high-volume seasons like the holidays. Additionally, an optimized mCommerce presence must perfectly blend with traditional email and in-store experiences for a smooth purchasing journey that customers love.

Drive Store to Door

Depending on the action, customers prefer a different channel. Product research? That’s an online-first task. Returning a gift or hoping to try on a pair of shoes? You’ll probably need to go in-store. This is why the omni-channel approach is so crucial to marketers, and why your messaging needs to support various channels simultaneously.

One quick way is to simply add live maps. Take a page from Kathmandu’s book and add the customer’s nearest store location at the footer of flash sales emails.

Tap Into Social Commerce

From TikTok Shop to Instagram ads, customers are purchasing from social media more than ever. While continuing to grow your social media presence is an obvious step, a quick win that marketers can implement is simply bringing the social commerce straight to customers’ inboxes. Website data sources can display trending products, user-generated-content (UGC) can highlight product value, and social proof can prove an item’s track record.

Optimize Your App Strategy

A key element in a top-tier mobile experience is your branded app. This is customers’ hub to quickly search products, track loyalty points, and keep track of purchases. To craft a convenient experience, use a mobile SDK; leveraging mobile-specific data and using deep linking to ensure relevant landing pages with every tap.

HSN is the perfect example of a winning mobile app experience. To remind customers of the items they left behind, HSN added a rich push to their strategy, reaching over 300k unique users when the campaign launched.

Reach Peak Engagement This Season

Successful marketers are making this list and checking it twice. With these strategies on hand, you’ll be sure to boost key metrics throughout peak season. Looking for more tactics and brand inspiration? Check out the related resources below, or see Movable Ink in action for yourself.