Is Black Friday panic ruining your Thursdays? Walmart Marketplace, a leading US retailer, attracted over 517 million visitors in the 2023 festive season. Stats reveal that a large portion of shoppers—ranging from 47% to 76%—now expect personalized interactions with brands, making it crucial for sellers to tailor their offers and marketing strategies. Additionally, with 75% of consumers planning to participate in October and November promotional events (a notable increase from 61% in 2023), the demand for deals and timely offers is stronger than ever. To make record-breaking sales this festive season, sellers need to stay ahead of trends, optimize their stores, and prepare for the influx of eager holiday shoppers.
Let’s reduce that festive season prep panic with some proven-to-work tips for Walmart sellers.
Setting the Stage for Holiday Season 2024
As per research, U.S. consumers will spend a record $240.8 billion online during the 2024 holiday season. This means that overall sales of products and eCommerce website visits also increase during the festive season. This poses a pivotal opportunity for Walmart sellers like you to boost your eCommerce revenue and expand. Plan things now and offer hot deals to customers to encourage them to buy from you.
The buying pattern also sees a drift during festivals, and a significant portion of sales comes from last-minute buyers. Hence, preparing for every possible scenario from the beginning will help if you process things smoothly before the festivals knock. The duration between October to December is crucial in boosting Walmart sales as it comprises many festivals, like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas.
How to Boost Walmart Sales this Festive Season 2024?
Several things need to be planned well in advance so that you are ready to make this festive season an opportunity for growth and make record-breaking sales on Walmart.
Here’s a list of pointers that are as essential as they get:
- Improve Website Loading Time
- Mobile Optimization for Website
- Shipping Enhancements
- Round O’Clock Customer Support
- Utilize Social Commerce
- Recover Abandoned Carts
- Sent Discounted Emails
- Run Time-Bound Offers
- Keep Enough Inventory
1. Improve Website Loading Time
Website loading time plays a crucial role in driving conversions. If customers are interested in a product but your site loads slowly, it can create a poor shopping experience. Nearly 70% of users say that a retailer’s site speed affects their willingness to buy. In fact, 1 in 4 visitors will abandon a site that takes more than 4 seconds to load, and every 1-second delay reduces user satisfaction by 16%. Additionally, 64% of dissatisfied shoppers are unlikely to return to a slow website. Prioritizing your website’s performance is essential to keep shoppers engaged and boost sales.
Must Read – Is your website optimized for the 2024 Holiday Season?
2. Mobile Optimization for Website
Make sure you optimize your web pages for mobile devices, as a significant portion of shopping now occurs through mobile platforms. In fact, mobile spending is expected to reach $128.1 billion in the 2024 holiday season alone, highlighting the importance of mobile-friendly experiences. Ensuring your website is well-optimized for mobile visibility and performs smoothly is crucial to capturing this growing segment of shoppers. Websites that are fast, responsive, and easy to navigate on mobile devices will drive more conversions and improve the overall customer experience.
(Source – Adobe Experience Cloud)
3. Shipping Enhancements
As shipping plays a crucial role in online shopping, you must consider what needs to be done to offer exceptional shipping services to prospective customers. Offer Free 2 Day Shipping or 3 Day Shipping to improve buy Box prominence and ship products faster. Also, you can use Walmart’s custom Shipping templates to improve your performance. If you rely on a single carrier, it’s time to build relations with others to deal with the high traffic during the festive season. It will help deliver products to the customers on time.
4. Round O’Clock Customer Support
As the number of customers reaches its peak during the festive season, it becomes critical to provide 24/7 customer support to ensure the queries are handled the soonest and resolved immediately.
5. Utilize Social Commerce
Social Commerce is increasing with each passing day. Customers also shop online from various social commerce platforms, so you need to make your presence there. According to research, 82% of consumers use social media for product research. So work actively on social media channels this festive season.
6. Recover Abandoned Carts
According to studies by Baymard Institute, 70% is the cart abandonment rate. This means 70% of shoppers don’t make an active purchase decision when they visit an online marketplace like Walmart. The 2024 festive season is the best time to bring back those buyers by offering them enticing deals on the products they left in their carts. Remind them about the products they have in their cart from time to time and offer discounts on those abandoned products.
7. Send Discount Emails
Now is the right time to start sending emails to your prospective customers. List the potential customers you want to target and remind them of your hot deals this festive season. Give them Discount codes that they can apply when shopping from your website. This way, you can create a list of those returning through your email marketing and whom you can target during the other times of the year.
Here’s a template idea to help you craft emails that convert!
8. Run Time-Bound Offers
Time-bound offers create a sense of urgency in potential customers. Run them. Push your products with time-bound offers. To induce purchase, you can incorporate timers to display the time left in an offer expiry. This way, you can sell more quickly and make record-breaking sales on Walmart this festive season of 2024.
9. Keep Enough Inventory
Maintaining sufficient inventory to meet and fulfill orders during the festive season is essential. Reviewing your current sales analytics and last year’s figures will help you determine the right inventory levels to keep on hand throughout the season. To avoid stockouts, consider using inventory automation tools that set threshold limits and ensure timely updates. CedCommerce’s Walmart Integration can assist with this by offering features such as real-time inventory synchronization, bulk updates, and automated notifications, helping you efficiently manage your stock and keep up with the festive shopping rush.
Bonus Tips: How to Nail Your Festive Season 2024 on Walmart Marketplace
As the 2024 festive season approaches, standing out in a crowded marketplace requires more than just the basics. Here are some bonus tips to take your Walmart store to the next level and ensure you’re primed for record-breaking sales:
1. Personalize the Shopping Experience
Shoppers expect more personalized interactions than ever before, with 47% to 76% seeking brands that tailor their offers and communication. Use personalized product recommendations, customized email campaigns, and tailored promotions to create an engaging experience that keeps customers coming back.
2. Optimize Your Use of Walmart Advertising
Leverage Walmart’s advertising tools like Sponsored Products and Display Ads to maximize your product visibility. Use targeted ad campaigns to get your products in front of the right audience during key shopping periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Adjust your ad spend dynamically to capture last-minute buyers in December.
Know more about advertising using the Walmart Connect program!
3. Partner with Influencers
Influencer marketing is a powerful way to build trust and promote your brand. Partner with micro-influencers or niche content creators who resonate with your target audience. Have them showcase your holiday products in action, review them, or create gift guides featuring your best sellers.
4. Leverage Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS)
Utilize Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) to ensure fast, reliable shipping that meets the expectations of today’s shoppers. With Walmart+ members expecting free and fast shipping, using WFS can help you get products to customers quickly and increase customer satisfaction.
5. Capitalize on Social Commerce
With more consumers shopping through social media platforms, use social commerce to reach new audiences. Promote your Walmart listings on social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Engage with customers through shoppable posts, holiday-themed content, and direct links to your products.
6. Create Limited-Edition or Holiday-Themed Products
Boost excitement around your store by offering limited-edition or holiday-themed products. From festive packaging to seasonal gift bundles, exclusive items can drive urgency and encourage buyers to act quickly.
7. Offer Flexible Payment Options
Today’s consumers value flexibility. Offering multiple payment options, such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions or financing options, can increase conversion rates. It allows customers to make larger purchases and spread payments over time, particularly during high-spending periods like the holidays.
Wrapping Up
The above practices can help boost your Walmart sales during the coming festive season. As the online traffic increases significantly during the festivals, you need to prepare your online store now to avoid the last-minute hassles to make the most out of the festive season and get record-breaking sales on Walmart this festive season 2024.
For further help, you can also reach out to the experts from CedCommerce. Being Walmart’s official channel integration partner, you will get round o’clock expert support from CedCommerce. The experts will guide you on following SEO-friendly practices to increase your online visibility on Walmart and sell efficiently on Walmart, one of the top marketplaces in the US.
“Have A Great Festive Season!”