A recent forecast by Nielsen estimates that online sales in the month of November and December are expected to be more than 98 billion USD. This is most likely to trigger a scramble amongst all the website owners, who are already reeling under the economic hardships.

With just 64 online shopping days left till Christmas, it is time to start rolling out your online marketing plans. If you don’t have one, you still have little time left to put together a workable plan. Having invested time and money to have an aesthetically pleasing and technically sound website, it is only natural to start capitalizing on your investments.

In this edition of the newsletter we will discuss online sales during Christmas, the worldwide economic downturn and ways to monetize on Christmas sales.

A recent survey done by CapGemini predicted that online sales in the UK will witness a 60% increase over last year, for the month of October, November and December. Another research done by IMRG concluded that more than 68% of the shoppers are likely to shop online this festive season, while 77% of the shoppers are planning to do more than half of their shopping online. Reason enough to put a smile on each and every online retailer’s face. The story across the Atlantic in not bad either. TNS is predicting that online sales in the United States will grow by 9% this Christmas season. This, some commentators say, could be attributed to the continuing cultural shift which has turned the religious season of glad tidings and goodwill into consumerist. This trend although will prove to be a blessing in disguise for retailers, especially for those who sell online

Christmas is a season of joy; family, friends and a fridge full of turkey, sandwiches and wine. This season is also time when most of the retailers (both online and offline) do brisk business, which in some cases, accounts for more than 40% of their yearly sales. Online retailers employ search engine optimization, Pay per click (PPC) campaign, banner ad campaigns, email marketing, amongst others to cash in on this multi billion dollar buying spree.

But with the bearish sentiments floating around, tightening credit situation and shaky consumer confidence; a small section of online retailers are wary. However there is a large section of online retailers who strongly believe that grim financial situation would have a minimal impact on online sales (if any) during Christmas. So are we really headed for a grinch Christmas?

Soaring gas prices is not the only reason that is fuelling e-commerce, there are other factors too and some of them are listed below.

• Ease of getting merchandise delivered directly to your home or office.
• Ability to shop at one’s leisure from home or office, 24*7.
• Availability of just about anything that customers require.
• Enhanced security measures to safeguard against fraud.
• Price, value and quality becoming synonymous with online shopping.

On top of all these, online shopping is being widely adopted by countless customers as a way to battle tough financial conditions, by availing discounts and deals being offered online. So while rest of the economy falters and stalls, the online retail market is set to grow at a healthy pace.

For online retailers like you, there cannot be a better time to leverage search engine marketing than now. With more people heading for online shopping, the revenue potential that it has on offer for you is bound to grow manifolds. In tough times like these when most of the online businesses would be contemplating on cutting down marketing budget, it is not only prudent but advisable to stay forth. Numerous researches have proven beyond doubt that marketing during lean times delivers more, both on and after the lean phase is over.

The inherent advantages of tracking ROI and higher returns make SEM the preferred tool. However, all these sales would not be cherry picking and would need a few well executed marketing initiatives.

1. Refine your keywords: Refining and updating keywords for organic as well as paid promotion (whichever is applicable) to reach out to a larger consumer base is all but necessary. Studying the latest keyword trends would help you broad base your online presence and thereby assist you in raking in more revenue.

2. Tune up website usability: Tuning up the website to ensure that customers can easily locate products/services is essential. Also the website should be ridden off broken links, errors, etc.; anything that can hamper the sales process.

3. Update website content: If the website still has the same content as when Santa last climbed down the chimney, it is time to make the necessary changes. Make sure to add descriptive headings and trigger words to persuade consumers to buy.

4. Cross sell: Cross-selling products/services by offering best sellers and products/services that other customers bought, are sure to tempt customers into buying more. It is similar to what 'Amazon' does.

5. Build trust: Judicious use of testimonials and assurance should be employed to build trust and boost confidence of customers. Besides this, making the return policy easily available, sending out automated mails to confirm receipt of order and offering alternate ordering modes will further enhance trust and facilitate buying decisions.

6. Create custom landing pages: Having landing pages specifically designed to target products that are likely to sell the most this Christmas season would not be a bad idea. The Nielsen research has projected that items that count towards necessities rather than novelties/luxuries are going to drive holiday sales this year.

The list of changes, by no means, is exhaustive but is enough to keep you busy over the next few weeks. However don’t confine yourself to these changes as there are several other things, which you can think of. Perform tests to establish what is working in your favor, but keep it short and cost effective.

Your online business is meant to make profit, and Christmas is a better time than any.

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