The holiday season is starting, and retailers in the health and wellness sector need to prepare for a busy time ahead. Consumer sentiment is high, and Deloitte predicts that people are ready to spend 8% more than last year’s season (which already broke records).
If you want to make the most of a good retail season, especially in online retail, where you often retain a high degree of input in how things go, it’s important to start preparing ahead of time. Here are a few tips for selling online during the upcoming holiday season.
1. Hone Your Message Now
What are you going to promote this year? What will be bundled? What will be above the fold on your website?
If you’re unsure where to focus your message, we recommend starting with studying trends. In the past year, health trends have included things like at-home health, biomonitoring, and wearables. Consider future trend predictions for 2025 for the sector, too. For instance, gut health, healthy aging, and intermittent fasting are all likely to be popular areas of the health and wellness industry this year.
Where can your brand help consumers with these interests? How can these focal points influence your marketing messaging? Taking the time to answer these questions can help you lay the groundwork for an effective promotional campaign that captures consumers’ attention in the months ahead.
2. Get Your Website Ready
If you sell online and your website is slow, inefficient, or difficult to navigate, it can be detrimental to your sales. Think of a brick-and-mortar equivalent. Would you leave a storefront with doors that stick or lay out your isles in a confusing, ad-hoc manner? Of course not! The same principle applies to your online retail spaces.
Make sure your e-commerce site has clear calls to action (CTAs). Gauge site speed, consider navigation issues, and test your pricing strategies and shopping carts — especially if you’re using codes and deal links. Try running your site through an optimization checker to see how it scores.
3. Prep Your Social Channels
Your social media is a critical extension of your online presence. You may not close sales there, but you can gain important brand awareness and push deals and promotions out to a larger crowd.
Try to generate social proof, too. Ask your followers to share posts. Engage with comments (including criticism) in a professional and positive manner.
In addition, make sure you have a schedule in place. Consider when you’re going to post, what you’ll post, and where you’ll post it ahead of time to maximize the impact of each piece of content.
Prepping for the 2024 Holiday Season as a Retailer
There are endless ways you can prepare for the holiday season as a retailer. Some of these are obvious, like sending out emails or creating holiday discounts and deals. If you’re selling online, though, don’t underestimate the impact that these three tips can have on your overall success in the months ahead.
Prepare targeted and informed messaging ahead of time. Clean up and optimize your website. Prep your social channels for maximum effect.
If you’re struggling to bring your online marketing strategy together or need help expanding your reach online, book a free consultation with TruLife Distribution. Our team of experts has decades of marketing and distribution experience that we can put to work to help your brand pop across the online landscape, even during a busy season like the holidays.
