The new year presents new opportunities for attracting, engaging, and retaining customers. Make a renewed effort and create new channels to re-energise your January sales strategy in 2023.
Each month since April 2022, consumers have spent less on retail than the same month last year, with overall retail sales down 3.3% from 2021. The Centre for Retail Research forecasts a further decline of 3.0% in retail sales in 2023, as Britain’s economy is forecast to shrink by 1.4%.
Online sales typically drop significantly in the months following the busy November and December holiday season. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be the case. In this article, we’ll look at some strategies businesses can use to reverse this trend and avoid the dreaded first-quarter slump.
January dates to note
Online retailers can take advantage of a number of days each year to attract more visitors and, hopefully, some new customers. Online retailers should pay attention to the following January dates:
1 January 2023 – New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day is often viewed as the perfect time for a fresh start and setting goals. As a result, consumers will purchase items to help them achieve their New Year’s resolutions. In January, consumers try different life changes like Veganuary or Dry January, so start off the new year with deals that promote health and wellness, organisation, and security.
6 January – National Shortbread Day
Every year on January 6th, National Shortbread Day is celebrated worldwide. Scotland’s crumbly cookies are celebrated on this day because they are renowned for their royal popularity and cultural significance.
16 January – Blue Monday
A combination of post-Christmas blues, cold nights, and unpaid credit card bills have made the third Monday of January the most depressing day of the year.
Even though there’s no science behind this statement, online stores don’t want to ignore it. You can give out some discount codes on Blue Monday to cheer up visitors and help them get through the day.
22nd January – Chinese New Year
Each Chinese year has a zodiac animal assigned to it – 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. Chinese New Year (CNY), also known as Spring Festival in China, is a time for family members to gather, exchange gifts, and treat themselves.
26th January – Australia Day
On Australia Day, people head to beaches and enjoy barbecues as part of the country’s national celebration. Before the celebrations, run targeted campaigns that offer discounts to international customers.
How to prepare for the January sales
The following ideas and tactics will help you avoid the January slump and increase customer engagement.
1. Get rid of old inventory
It is likely that whether or not you sold many products during the holiday season, you will have items that didn’t sell well, or you might simply have excess stock. Now is the time to get rid of them – cater to price-sensitive customers with a January clearance sale. Offer bigger discounts to customers who purchase more items. Learn more about our inventory management system here.
2. Use data insights
This is an excellent time to provide personalised product recommendations to your customers if you have data on their preferences. You can set up a bespoke “New Year” promotion if you sell health and fitness products, digital devices, books, office supplies, or home furnishings.
Imagine yourself in your customers’ shoes, and think about how your product could help them reach their goals in 2023. Drive traffic to your online store by advertising your post-holiday sales via email and social media. Check out our data analytics tool TRU Insight here.
3. Go international
Most online stores experience a spike in customers during November and December, particularly new customers. Consider retargeting international customers, such as ads and personalised emails, focusing on categories or products they expressed interest in but didn’t purchase during the holiday season.
4. Take advantage of wishlists
You can convert holiday traffic into sales with campaigns that use the buy-it-later and wish-list features that customers use during the holiday season. You will probably have many customers with gift cards or money from returned gifts to spend on items from your store now, even though they may have yet to have extra money to spend at the end of the year.
5. Find the right payments partner
eCommerce businesses need help choosing the most suitable payment gateway to meet their needs. A steady growth trajectory will be supported by a payments partner that offers a range of products and services to support January sales and beyond.
The TRU Connect eCommerce payment solution from Trust Payments is flexible and powerful, giving your customers the tools they need to drive sales and grow their business.
It will help you expand your payment options with the ability to accept credit, debit, mobile and a broad range of alternative payment types and currencies.
Let us take care of your payments – find out more today.
