Let's get your e-store holiday ready

If you are looking for small business tips to help your e-store thrive during the holiday season, you should know that you are definitely not alone. With *stats on online shopping doubling during 2020 and continuing to grow throughout 2021, numerous entrepreneurial Canadians have started e-store based small businesses, selling everything from cosmetics to custom coffee tumblers, hair accessories, candles, jewelry and much more. 

For many new entrepreneurs, 2021 will mark the first year that their small business will experience the rush of the holiday season.  Likely an exciting and possibly daunting experience all at once. With that in mind, we have put together a list of tips that can help new small businesses survive and thrive during this hectic, shopping season.

1. Turn Smaller Items into Gift Sets

small business tips

A great way to appeal to gift shoppers is to create curated product packs.
Select a few smaller or lower cost items from your stock and pair them in a way that creates a themed basket or pack. Think wellness gifts, gourmet treats, cosmetic and hair combos, and more. Unify the items in your gift basket or box with coordinating labels or tags.

Curated gifts sets are a great choice for shoppers looking to buy corporate gifts, gifts for a group, and gifts for people who are hard to shop for.

2.  Consider a special holiday item

small business tips

Oftentimes, holiday shoppers like to purchase a little something for themselves in amongst their gift shopping, and special edition holiday items can sometimes satisfy that want.

Adding a holiday item does not necessarily mean creating a brand new product. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of adding a festive label or tag  to something that may have a bit of sparkle, a festive scent, or things that may come in holiday colours. For example, a vanilla sugar scrub can easily become a holiday sugar cookie scrub, while a selection of hair accessories in holiday colours can be combined to create a special holiday bundle.  

3. Include Holiday Gift Tags or Labels

small business tips

Since many of your customers will be giving their orders as holiday gifts, lighten their load by including a few festive, pre-printed gift tags or gift labels to their order. You can design and print tags (strings included) and labels using a variety of holiday templates, then add a few or even a full sheet to your customers’ orders.

4. Offer a special holiday promotion

small business tips

Entice shoppers with value adding promotions like buy one get one deals, gift with purchase opportunities and last-minute, time-limited deals.

This is a good way to bring new customers to your e-store, so be sure to create some printed promotional postcards  announcing your holiday special. Now is the time to talk to shoppers who may be more inclined to shop online during the holiday season.

5. Stock and Organize Your Shipping Station

small business tips

Whether you run your small business from your living room, a home office, or outside of the home, now is the time to get your shipping station in tiptop condition.

  • Keep all of your shipping supplies stocked up
  • Build out several shipping boxes rather than leaving them flat
  • Add your tissue paper, crinkle, and bubble wrap to easily accessible trays
  • Definitely get a shipping tape dispenser (if you don’t already have one)
  • Stock up on shipping labels
  • Organize preprinted thank you cards, promo cards, business cards, and any labels that you include in your packaging into paper clipped bundles. Ensure that the bundles include one of every card and add-on that you use. This way, instead of assembling your add-ins for every shipment, you will only need to grab a bundle!

Let Avery help your e-store get holiday ready, with premium quality labels, cards and professional printing services!

*As reported by CBC.ca