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Five ways to prepare your business for bumper holiday sales

  • Online retail set new records during last year's holiday season, and industry insiders expect sales volume to ramp up in the final quarter of 2021
  • PayPal’s “Ready for the Holidays” eBook includes tips that can help get your business ready for the holiday selling season

Paid Post:PayPal
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The holiday season is prime time for merchants to boost sales. Now is the time for online retailers to get ready for the holiday rush. Photo: Shutterstock

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The fourth quarter is typically the busiest time of the year for retailers. From October to the end of December, there are popular holidays worldwide, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, as well as more recent festive events like Singles’ Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. The holiday season is prime time for merchants to boost sales.

Covid-19 lockdowns have laid the foundation for new consumer behaviour and helped drive online sales to new heights. Online retail sales hit record levels during the 2020 holiday season, reaching US$1.1 trillion1. In just one holiday cycle, global retailers saw the equivalent of two years’ growth in e-commerce2. Pent-up consumer demand, coupled with a desire for normalcy and something to celebrate during the pandemic, also helped to promote sales. Looking ahead to this holiday season, sales are expected to continue expanding.

It is essential for businesses to start making preparations now to maximise sales during the holiday season. As an important partner of online merchants, PayPal offers the following five tips to help retailers get ready for the holiday rush:

• Remove friction from your website to maximise sales and reduce cart abandonment. Shoppers typically prefer fewer clicks and faster transactions. Any interruption to your customers’ purchasing experience will increase their frustration and the risk of cart abandonment. Research suggests that for every one-second delay, conversion drops by 7%3. Customers also want to be able to choose from a variety of payment options, such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), credit card or digital wallet checkout solutions.

Customers prefer to choose from a variety of payment options, such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), credit card or digital-wallet checkout solutions. Photo: Shutterstock
Customers prefer to choose from a variety of payment options, such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), credit card or digital-wallet checkout solutions. Photo: Shutterstock

 

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