When approaching the last quarter of the year, we all know we’re approaching the busiest retail season with BFCM, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Year-end sales. Those few yet crazy shopping months are a critical time for e-commerce businesses to establish and grow their online stores.
To succeed during this festive season, Shopify merchants need to leverage the power of data-driven insights. There is no question about it.
Your Shopify store generates a treasure trove of information that, when analyzed effectively, can guide an effective holiday selling strategy. This article will explore how to turn your Shopify store data into actionable insights for a successful holiday sales season.
One of the most valuable sources of information is your store's historical data from past holiday seasons. By examining previous years' performance, you can identify trends, peak selling periods, and customer behaviors.
Think about the following questions while digging up what you got from the last sales:
Knowing your best friends is the first step in getting them to buy more. Analyzing customer profiles reveals valuable insights into customer demographics. With this knowledge in hand, you have the power to tailor offers and loyalty rewards to specific customer segments, thereby boosting their likelihood of making more purchases during this festive season.
Moreover, understanding your customer demographics enables you to craft a well-defined approach for targeting look-alike audiences, ultimately driving more sales. For instance, if a significant portion of your shoppers falls within Gen Z, considering advertising on platforms like TikTok becomes a brilliant idea. This approach allows you to capture the attention of more Gen Z customers, increasing your potential for holiday season success.
Determining which products performed exceptionally well during previous holidays is pivotal in preparing for the upcoming season. By identifying the products that excelled during previous holidays, you can ensure your inventory is stocked with the right items and devise effective promotional strategies.
Take a close look at the most popular search terms from past holiday seasons; they provide valuable insights into your customers' preferences. With this knowledge, you can create appealing product packages or implement product recommendation widgets to enhance sales and expedite deals.
However, don't just focus on your bestsellers. It's equally crucial to evaluate which products didn't perform well during the previous year. If you still have a surplus of slow-moving items on your shelves, it's time to consider offering them at a significant discount or even using them as free gifts to incentivize purchases. This strategic approach ensures you optimize your holiday inventory and maximize your sales potential.
To maximize your holiday sales, it's crucial to prioritize the conversion of your website visitors into paying customers. A deep understanding of their online behavior is an excellent help here. While the first question focuses on strategies to increase sales from existing customers, this question is aimed at guiding first-time visitors to complete their initial purchase.
💡💡💡Here are some recommended actions based on this data:
We have mentioned Google Analytics 4 (GA4) earlier. In this part, let's put it in the limelight because you can extract tons of juicy data from the new and free 4th generation of Google Analytics.
If you are unfamiliar with GA4, read on:
Google Analytics 4 vs. Universal Analytics: How Google Analytics 4 Improves Tracking
How To Implement Google Analytics 4 for E-commerce on Shopify Stores
GA4 offers a myriad of reports to help use analyze the good and bad of your online store. Therefore, it can be a little overwhelming to look at in the first place. Below are some of our suggestions:
Shopify offers its own set of analytics tools that can provide valuable insights into your store's performance. Here's how to use them effectively:
The reports you can access in Shopify vary based on your subscription plan. The Overview dashboard, finance reports, and product analytics are available to all users. However, depending on your specific Shopify plan, you might have access to additional report types.
If you are using Boost AI Search & Discovery, check out our Analytics Dashboard. We have some tips for you to turn these insights and reports into actionable strategies this sales season.
Use the "Total filter clicks" and "Top filter option value" data in the Collection Analytics tab to identify which collections customers engage with the most.
Redesign your navigation menu to prominently feature the most preferred collections while hiding less popular ones in a dropdown menu to avoid overwhelming customers.
Analyze the "Top filter option values" list to understand which product attributes are most attractive to customers. Place the most clicked values at the top of the filter tree for better user experience.
Examine the "Top search terms" metric to discover your store's most frequently searched keywords. Use this data to boost sales by creating redirects, highlighting relevant products, and optimizing marketing campaigns.
An example from Protein Package demonstrates how they prepared for Black Friday by redirecting shoppers to the Black Friday promotion collection based on top search terms.
Explore the "Top search terms with no result" metric to identify products or brands that customers are searching for but not found on your site. Consider stocking these products to meet demand. You can also use synonyms and suitable suggestions to reduce "No search result" cases and keep shoppers engaged on your site.
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A/B testing involves creating two versions of a web page or marketing campaign and comparing their performance to determine which is more effective. Use this strategy to optimize your holiday offerings:
Armed with data from your past performance, Google Analytics, and Shopify Analytics, you can now make informed decisions about your holiday inventory and avoid overstocking:
Your Shopify store data is a goldmine of information that can help you create a winning holiday selling strategy. Still, holiday shopping trends can change rapidly. Continuously monitor your data throughout the holiday season and be prepared to make adjustments as needed. It's also a great idea to keep an eye on your competitors and the overall trends and predictions for BFCM 2023.
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