Over the past few months, the globe has seen one of the most unique holiday seasons in the past 100 years. While all predictions were indicative of a very busy and profitable season in the world of eCommerce, the next three months are sure to offer something on the opposite spectrum. Months from January to March are always considered to be the slowest in terms of sales in eCommerce. Adding Covid-19 to the mix, experts predict some tough challenges from the economy in 2021. Thus, what can you do about the slowest eCommerce sale months of 2021 on Google Shopping? Explore further to find some tips to keep sales afloat in the slowest eCommerce months, learn what to do post-holiday season sales, and upgrade your multi-channel selling strategy this offseason with Google Shopping in 2021.
A Quick Recap of Holiday Season 2020
The global pandemic presented a fairly difficult challenge to the society where people celebrated all big festivities without their families and neighbours as they were compelled to practice social distancing for obvious safety reasons. It is safe to say that Covid-19 has all of us redefining what it means to live in this society. Amidst all of this, eCommerce has proven to be one of the biggest friends offering a huge semblance of normalcy.
Billions of people across the globe shopped online for not just gifts but also for their household requirements during the festive season while ensuring the safety of their family and friends.
Here is a quick recap of the eCommerce Holiday Season.
- Recent Stats released by Google declares that the maximum population is absolutely against shopping in-store due to the high risks of the Covid-19. Even for the products such as Apparels that people prefer to see in real before purchasing saw a rise this year. Keywords such as “best affordable” raised by 60% YoY, “fashion online shopping” increased by 600%. “Available near me” increased by 100%, “curbside pickup” by 3000%, “online clothing store by 100%, “support local businesses” by 20,2000%, etc. All of this goes onto prove that eCommerce Businesses, with very little effort, can do marvel despite the challenges of a declining economy.
- According to a report released by Mastercard SpendingPlus, in the year 2020 eCommerce saw an increase of about 49% as compared to 2019 during the typical Christmas shopping period (75 Days, October 11 to December 24) whereas the total holiday season saw an increase of 47.2%.
- With more shopping, more and more brands participated enthusiastically in listing only the best and most in-demand products. An astounding number of funds went into advertising for the products, leading to a very high ROI in Ads for the marketplaces. Walmart touched Ads revenue increase as high as 127% in the mid festive season.
- Together, Black Friday and Cyber Monday revenue hiked by 154% YoY. Most of the credit for this increase can be given to Google Ads, Search, and Shopping, which when used together as a collective strategy leads to massive success.
As time rolls, more and more reports are being released and you can return for more insights into how the Shopping Season 2020 sailed through.
Traditionally the Slowest eCommerce Months on Google Shopping
January, February, and March are considered the toughest months in eCommerce. They fall right after the months-long Holiday season and right before the Easter Holidays.
Every year, Shoppers engage in massive shopping sprees during the last three months of the year, and shopping is the last thing on their minds as the new year starts.
As a matter of fact, the sales dip as low as 30% during the Summer months. While pockets are recovering from the holiday season, so are people’s bodies. They get all conscious about their healths after having rich carbs and fats during the past three months.
Also, after the month-long break, people get back to work or college and they no longer spend much time browsing through online stores.
Apart from that, essentials aside, there is not much cause for shopping during these months.
Tips to Sail through a ‘Post-Season Sale’ Period
Just because the world says January to March is the slowest for eCommerce and the stats prove it, don’t let it be the end of your strategy, especially while selling on Google Shopping. You can redefine your profits even during the lowest sales period of the year with some of these tips.
Upgrade your Store Post-Holiday Season Sale Real Quick!
Holiday Season is way in the past, quickly shed the holiday skin of your Online Store and choose a new theme and design. Come up with something very creative and fun but new and unique.
Have something in light shades, less dramatic as opposed to what most shops have during the holiday season. A mellow soothing theme accompanied with products and sales which encourage people to consider them as the next logical thing post Holiday season is a great idea.
Renew Product Description, Images, and Keywords
If you went all out this Holiday Season and upgraded any or all of the Product information for the Holiday Season, consider changing them back once again.
Now that the holiday season is over, any Product information including Description, Name or with Christmas or say New Year specific Keywords or any other changes in the image to get the audience in the right mood for the holiday spending, then it is high time to get rid of those. Set your listings back to normal days with keywords that work well all the time and not just specific to a particular season.
Change the Product Images to high-quality pictures that clearly depict the product in the best light possible. Make sure the images are as real as possible. Don’t set expectations that exceed the quality of the product to avoid disappointments and returns.
Research Keywords for better SEO and connect with customers without a worry.
Now while selling on make sure that you update your “Buy on Google” Listings, Free Listings, and Shopping Ads with the new Product Description and Images that you update on your store.
A unified experience across all the platforms leads to a complete Omni-channel experience to customers, giving your brand recognition and empowerment.
Run Contests, Giveaways, Exciting Sales or Loyalty Programs
Just because the festivities are over, doesn’t mean that all reasons for celebrations are over. You can make things exciting and give people a reason to shop. Run Contests for customers offering them exciting deals and free products as a trophy.
Spin the Wheel happens to be one of the most popular contests that shoppers engage in while visiting stores or you can use some absolutely easy games that take up one minute or less. Make sure the trophies are all worth it so that people don’t get really disappointed and leave. The wins, in fact, should encourage them to shop further.
Or you can run simple Off-Season Sales such as clearance sale, last chance sale, etc.
Most popular stores run Save Salary sales or Spoil yourself/ Gift yourself Sales. There are so many easy ways to bring more and more traffic to the store, increase views for the Free Listings and “Buy on Google” Products, and inadvertently earn increasing sales. Most fantastic thing is that when you replicate the sales from your store on “Buy on Google” pages, the listings get endorsed with Promotion Badges which improves the visibility of Listings and CTR.
Additionally, it gives you great content for running Google Ads adding to the CTR.
You can also run email campaigns to promote the products using these sales. Email Campaigns are also great in dealing with Cart Abandonments.
Loyalty Programs and Cashbacks are incentives on another level. When people get “money” in return for shopping, nothing could be more
Enforce Social Media Marketing
Get into Social Media Marketing with all your might. Run multi-channel social promotions that are unified together and are in sync with your landing page. All Posts must go with the general vibe of your store. Many times, the social promotions depict products that are not actually available in the store, and they catch the customer’s attention. The customer clicks on the link only to find that product missing. This acts as a negative clickbait which only disappoints the customer. Always offer substance to your promotions, so that the customers have no reason to not trust you.
Recognize your customer’s needs and frame of mind to sell what they want
Slow sales do not mean zero sales. Learn what your customers want during the slow seasons and offer them exactly that. Run research and create collections of what most people buy in the month of January, February, and March.
January
For example, most people are hyper-alert about their health after holidays, so exercise equipment and healthy foods are on top of their lists. These also align with the trend of new year resolutions where people target losing weight.
If you plan to run some kind of sales, target Toys, Gift Wraps, and gifting materials, holiday decorations, and winter/ holiday gear. People often stock on these items post-holidays in the hope of getting them at low cost.
Another popular sale during the month of January is the “White Sale” where linens such as sheets, towels, and other soft furnishings are sold.
Televisions are another popular commodity before the Super Bowl which is falling on February 7, 2021.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s day falls on January 18. Which is a date to remember as the most popular stores run sales during this week. Hence, people expect to get products at low prices and great discounts.
Products for Renovations such as Carpeting and Flooring are popular with the onset of the new year.
Professional apparel and accessories such as Suits and Office Bags are also popular. This is because mostly, people love to begin the new year with a fashion statement.
February
Another one of the Slowest eCommerce sale months on Google Shopping is February. Clearance sales on Furniture from last season is a great idea in the month of February. Especially so, as all the new lines are launched as the Spring Collection by the month of March. This renders the old collections less preferable to shop once new models arrive.
Mattresses are one of the bestsellers during President Day sales. Additionally, Gifting items such as Jewelries, Chocolates, Perfumes, Candles, Gift Cards, Scarves, etc.; are popular during Valentine’s week. During this week, Cellphones and Tablets are also in high demand. People like to gift these to their loved ones nowadays.
March
Another one of the Slowest eCommerce sale months on google shopping is March. It also marks the onset of Spring. And this officially becomes the time for people to shop for Spring and Summer goods. All the famous Apparels and Furniture manufacturers launch the Spring Collection during this period. These are actually the most sort after products online during this time.
Luggage and Frozen Foods are absolute popular items.
Jewellery and Gift Cards are popular during Mother’s Day Week. Home Cleaning Supplies and Garden Tools are also in demand during Spring Season.
St. Patrick’s Day falls on March 17 is a great time to run sales, just make sure you sell something green.
Rethink and Upgrade your Multi-Channel Sales in Offseason
Now Google has made it absolutely easy for sellers to go after a strong well thought out Multi-Channel Sale strategy. This is possible with its multitude of eCommerce Programs and a range of other programs that aid in selling online.
If you have a store on any of the popular frameworks including Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, OpenCart, Prestashop, etc.; then you can easily upload your inventory to Google Merchant Center. With this, you can participate in Free Listing on Google Shopping Program. Or if you don’t have an online store, even then you can sell directly on the “Buy on Google” program. Or you can club the two strategies hassle-free and sell on both endpoints.
Never has it been easier to upscale the visibility of products online as it is now. All you need to do is make use of Free Listings and Sponsored Listings through Google Ads.
Need a smart Business Strategy and formulae, to sell with Google services, consider getting in touch with the experts.
Leave comments if you have a query, an issue, or a suggestion to share.