Black Friday will barely be behind you when it’ll be time to turn your attention to that last-minute dash for holiday gift sales—the increasingly important Super Saturday. Look at 6 Ways Super Saturday Can Boost Your Holiday Sales.
It’s a highly competitive time of year, and no doubt many retailers will be eyeing an extra sales kick while shoppers hunt for the best deals. So let’s talk about Super Saturday and what it means for you as a retailer. What is Super Saturday in retail?For retailers and their customers, Super Saturday is the last Saturday before Christmas Eve. For businesses, it represents the final big push to maximize sales during the crucial holiday season. And for shoppers, it’s one of the last chances they have to finish off their shopping list. “It’s a really important day for retailers as it serves as the close to the holiday shopping season that begins on Black Friday,” says Jacqueline Snyder, product startup expert, fashion designer, and co-founder of small business coaching platform and popular podcast, The Product Boss. “This tends to be a huge day for foot traffic to brick-and-mortar retailers as it is oftentimes too late to buy gifts online and it is a perfect opportunity to put seasonal merchandise on sale. It’s the last big push for retailers before post-Christmas markdowns,” says Jacqueline. While its proximity to record-breaking days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday might put off retailers from investing additional resources to lure customers, Super Saturday is proving to be a critical day for business owners who want to end the year with a bang. In 2019, Super Saturday retail sales reached $34.4 billion, beating 2018 numbers by 7% and even besting the retail behemoth, Black Friday, by 10%. While Super Saturday foot traffic hadn’t quite recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, it was still the second busiest shopping day in the U.S., beating 2020 numbers by 19.4%. Why is it called Super Saturday?Super Saturday is also called Panic Saturday. Both names focus on the energy of the day: super sales, and panicked last-minute shoppers. When is Super Saturday 2022?This year it falls a full week before Christmas on December 17, so with rush shipping, online sales still can make it to customers by Christmas Day. What are the important holiday shopping days in 2022?Super Saturday is part of a spread of holiday shopping days:
Online vs. in-store Super Saturday sales“Super Saturday typically drives large in-store traffic as customers are rushing to pick up last-minute gifts,” says Hillary Senko Cullum, a retail advisor, with 15 years of experience working with global brands like Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana, and Gucci. “It will be very important for brands and retailers to adjust their fulfillment offerings to ensure customers still have the ease and flexibility to access the product,” she adds. Whether or not any given Super Saturday will also boost online shopping for SMB retailers depends on where it falls. The closer Christmas Eve is, the less likely it is shoppers will get their gifts in time. This year, there’s enough time between Super Saturday and Christmas Eve for last-minute packages to arrive if online shoppers can get expedited shipping. That means you should be prepared—your online store should be updated and you should allow for next-day delivery if possible. 6 proven tactics to boost your Super Saturday salesThis holiday season the key to boosting sales is clear and concise communication. Hillary recommends retailers be crystal clear with their customers on:
It’s also now vital to make sure your online presence represents your retail brand and includes all available inventory. “The omnichannel experience is even more important as customers will be switching between online and stores. Making sure all inventory is available to be sold through all channels is key and will provide great benefits,” says Hillary. “Start educating your customer base via emails and acquiring new customers via paid ads at least a few months before the event. Then, you can nurture the relationship, talk about your story, and when the big day comes, you can ask your loyal followers and customers for support.” — Dr. Pooneh Ramezani, Co-Founder of Dr. Brite.Here’s what else retailers can do to make the most of Super Saturday this year. 1. Offer curbside pickup and same-day local deliveryRetailers can offer alternative ways to shop on Super Saturday to meet changing demands, suggests Jacqueline at the Product Boss. “Meet those last-minute needs by offering curbside pickup and same-day local delivery. Lean into meeting the needs of local customers,” says Jacqueline. While Super Saturday 2022 falls early enough for some last-minute eCommerce purchases to arrive in time, offering curbside pickup helps mitigate anxieties local shoppers might have about overloaded post offices. “You will be servicing your customer through more channels so flexibility and preparation is the key. Be ready to meet your customer where they are, whether that is online, at the curbside or if they want to come in and shop in person.” — Hillary Senko Cullum, Wholesale and Retail Consultant, at HSC Advisors.2. Excel at shipping times and costsMore shoppers will likely opt to come in-store this year, but with a week between Super Saturday 2022 and Christmas, don’t count eCommerce out. “Many customers will opt to complete the entire purchase journey online and will expect the product to be shipped and to arrive in time for Christmas. Retailers need to have very clear communication about their shipping options to ensure customer service does not falter,” says Jacqueline. If you can, provide free shipping too. That’s the suggestion of Jonathan Frey, CMO of Urban Bikes Direct. “Shipping costs are one of the most common causes of shopping cart abandonment. Offering free shipping effectively solves the issue. If free shipping just isn’t on the cards, consider framing your Super Saturday sales offer in a way that customers will perceive as offsetting shipping rates,” says Jonathan. “For example, you might offer a discount that matches or exceeds the cost of shipping. In any case, make any shipping or additional costs clear relatively early in the buyer’s journey. If shoppers know about them ahead of time, they will be much less likely to abandon their carts,” adds Jonathan.
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