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10 Christmas Promotion Ideas in 2023
Karolina Kmita
Karolina Kmita
November 28, 2023
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10 Christmas Promotion Ideas for eCommerce

Frank Sinatra once sang, "Oh, the weather outside is frightful," but for brands preparing Christmas promotions, the holiday season is undeniably delightful. With the festive spirit in the air, they have a chance to outshine the competition by creating irresistible Christmas offers.

In this blog post, I will delve into the importance of Christmas promotions, how Voucherify can help you enhance your Christmas sales, and find inspiration in successful Christmas promo ideas in 2023.

Why are Christmas promotions so important?

Just like there's no Christmas without watching "Home Alone," there's no holiday season without sales promotions. Even with Christmas cheer in the air, the cost of living going up (inflation!) and people feeling the pinch of expenses, people in the U.S set a new record for online Black Friday spending in 2022, splurging a huge $9.1 billion.

Christmas spending in 2022 statistics compared to a previous year.

Christmas promotions get everyone in the festive mood, making people super excited to shop. Not only do these deals boost sales, but they also make customers love the brand even more, connecting it to their happy holiday moments, and making sure shoppers remember them long after Christmas is over.

10  best ideas for Christmas season ecommerce promotions

Let's get to the point – here are a couple of inspirations for Christmas marketing promotions in 2023:

  • 12 days of Christmas promo campaign
  • Reward your festive patrons
  • Christmas giveaways
  • Christmas bundles
  • Christmas gift cards
  • Limited Christmas collections
  • A free gift with a purchase
  • Support a good cause during Christmas
  • Free express shipping trigger for last-minute shoppers
  • Christmas marketing gamification

1. 12 days of Christmas promo campaign

Following the spirit of “12 days of Christmas” English carol, consider a fun twelve-day promotion to make sure people remember your brand. Think about offering special deals every day to create excitement and bring more visitors to your store. For instance, reveal new sale items each day to give customers a reason to come back.

Marks& Spencer 12 days of sparks Christmas promotion
Image source: Marks & Spencer

Last year, Marks & Spencer announced that the 12 Days of Sparks had returned with more holiday treats and special deals for its 16 million Sparks customers. They offered daily gifts like free festive treats and 20% off Christmas or a warm 15% off knitwear. The app also included fun contests, and you could even enter for a shot at winning an amazing trip to Canada worth over £12,000.

2. Reward your festive patrons

We all have those fantastic customers who've been with us through thick and thin. Think about rewarding your loyal "Festive Patrons" this year.  There are a few ways to do that. For example, you achieve that with your loyalty program just like Sephora did. During the Christmas season, their festive patrons got special discounts based on their loyalty level. For instance, Beauty Insiders got $15 off $50+, VIB members got $25 off, and VIB Rouge members got $50 off. The cool thing? No purchase required to get these gifts!

Sephora's Christmas loyalty rewards for Beauty Insider campaign
Image source: Sephora

But you might also achieve that with a standalone code. Let’s say you want to reward those who've made 5 or more purchases over the past year, with a generous 30% OFF as a heartfelt Christmas treat. For others who haven't reached that milestone, spread the holiday cheer with a delightful 15% OFF. With Voucherify's dynamic discount builder, launching such a campaign will be a piece of gingerbread cake.

3. Run a Christmas giveaway

By running a social media giveaway during the holiday season, your brand can generate excitement and engagement among your target audience. The festive context of Christmas provides an excellent backdrop for promotions, capturing the attention of potential customers. Whether it's a free product, a special discount, or a festive package, the giveaway creates a sense of goodwill and generosity associated with the brand, fostering a positive image.

Benefit Cosmetics Christmas giveaway
Image source: Benefit cosmetics instagram

Benefit Cosmetics gave away free holiday goodies on Instagram joining forces with other brands such as EGO UK and Sugarfina. To get them, people just had to follow certain accounts, like the post, and tag three friends. This got a lot of attention and more people checked out the post, learning about the brand. Running a giveaway is a cool way to get noticed, especially if you're a smaller brand, trying to get more exposure.

4. Christmas bundles

Bundle deals are a smart move for online stores at Christmas. They provide customers with a convenient and cost-effective way to purchase multiple items together. This not only simplifies the shopping process but also adds value, making customers feel like they're getting more for their money. What’s more, bundle deals can help retailers clear out inventory and increase average order value, benefiting both the customer and the brand.

Christmas BOGO deal by elf cosmetics
Image source: e.l.f Cosmetics

5. Christmas gift cards

More often than not, customers don’t have time to run around shopping malls wondering what to buy. That's where gift cards, both physical and electronic, kick in. They make Christmas shopping simpler and more thoughtful, and the person getting it can spend the money on what they really need.

Sephora's personalized Christmas gift cards
Image source: Sephora

Take, for example, Sephora's personalized Christmas gift cards. They add a touch of thoughtfulness to holiday gifting. Featuring customizable designs and messages, these cards allow customers to tailor their wishes to their loved ones, making the gift even more special.

Learn more: 13 examples of gift card campaigns done like a pro

6. Release a limited Christmas collection

Introducing a special Christmas collection for online stores is a great way to make people feel like they need to act quickly and that they're getting something unique. This encourages customers to check out the collection and buy things during the holiday season. When the collection fits the holiday theme, it adds to the festive feeling and makes shopping more special.

LEGO's Christmas campaign featuring a limited Christmas-themed collection
Image source: Lego

In 2022, the LEGO Group launched their 'biggest and most playful' holiday campaign featuring a Christmas-themed product collection. They created a Holiday Gifts page on the LEGO website just for Christmas shopping. This page had everything in one place, including details about special holiday deals, fun holiday do-it-yourself (DIY) ideas, holiday photos from customers playing with LEGO, and suggestions for personalized LEGO toy purchases.

7. A free gift with a purchase

Consider offering a free gift with each purchase to not only entice customers but also to create a memorable and joyful shopping experience. By infusing the spirit of giving into your brand strategy, you'll not only increase customer loyalty but also spread holiday cheer, making your brand the go-to choice for festive generosity.

Starbucks free red cup Christmas promotion
Image source: Starbucks instagram

Take inspiration from Starbucks. During the Christmas season, when you see Starbucks red cups swirling around, it means the holidays are around the corner! If a customer gets a drink at Starbucks during this season, they might give you a special reusable red cup with Christmas designs. What's more, in 2015, Starbucks started a fun contest called the Red Cup Contest, where customers could draw on their red cups, share the pictures on Instagram or Twitter with #RedCupContest, and have a chance to win cool prizes picked by Starbucks!

8. Support a good cause during Christmas

For lots of people, Christmas is more than just buying stuff. Some folks prefer making special memories instead of giving expensive gifts. They say no to the idea of buying a lot of things and focus on doing things that bring them closer to family and friends, showing the real meaning of the season. By spending on shared experiences and helping others through charities, they show kindness, togetherness, and care, going against the idea that Christmas is all about spending too much.

Aperol Spritz's Christmas campaign
Image source: Aperol Spritz

In December 2022, Aperol created three lively Greeting Cards in its usual colors for a new holiday campaign aimed at bringing people together during Christmas. Each card had a festive foil on the outside and a recipe for the "perfect" Aperol Spritz inside. If someone bought a "Spritzmas" card, they got a free pair of Aperol Spritz at any All Bar One place in England and Wales.

What’s more, money from the sale of each Merry Spritzmas card went to the hospitality charity The Drinks Trust, offering support to the hospitality workforce, both past and present, as the cost-of-living crisis continued.

9. Free express shipping for last-minute shoppers

Free express shipping is like a special gift for those who wait until the last minute to shop for Christmas! It helps make sure everyone gets their presents on time without extra costs. So, when stores offer free shipping during the Christmas sales, it's like a little holiday magic that makes the rush of last-minute shopping easier and more affordable for everyone.

Puma's free expedited shipping before Christmas
Image source: Puma

10. Gamify your Christmas offers

Using gamification during Christmas sales makes shopping more fun for customers. When stores have games and rewards, it makes the shopping experience playful and encourages people to join in. This helps brands sell more and makes customers happy during the holiday season.

Sephora's Christmas sales gamification strategy
Image source: MAC Cosmetics

Take a look at MAC Cosmetics. They released a super fun online game to add flavor to their Christmas promotions called "Falling Bubbles & Bows." All customers had to do was head over to MAC Cosmetics' website and start playing a game where they saw products falling like snowflakes. Each customer had three tries to catch a falling product by clicking on it. Once it popped like a bubble, it revealed an exclusive deal. It could be a cool 25% off, a buy-one-get-one-free offer, or even a chance to grab a product for free.

Summary

With Christmas right around the corner, it is the last moment to rethink your Christmas marketing ideas, set up your promotion campaigns, and boost your sales performance.

Here’s where Voucherify kicks in – as an API-first promotion engine that you can integrate with your e-commerce store easily. Our flexible validation rules let you create all the above-mentioned campaigns with no extra development.

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Ready to shine with your promos this Christmas?

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