It’s imperative that your website — and your strategies for capturing online sales — is ready for the holiday rush.
Is your website optimized to capture holiday sales? If not, you could lose sales.
More than half (51%) of florists who responded to the Society of American Florists’ survey about 2022 winter holidays sales reported an increase in sales on their websites, outpacing phone (21%) and walk-in (26 %) orders.
That’s why it’s imperative that your website — and your strategies for capturing online sales — is ready for the holiday rush. During SAF’s October Idea Exchange, a monthly virtual gathering for florists to share best practices, several progressive florists shared strategies for driving customers online and increasing conversions. (Looking for more holiday help? Join SAF for the next Idea Exchange on Nov. 8. Click here for more information.)
- Push the “Extras”
Add ons can generate a nice bump in revenue, so it’s important to make sure you have extras, and that your site is featuring them at checkout. At McNamara Florist in Indianapolis, staff noticed that last-minute orders often included significant add ons. “People are ordering $100 arrangements, and then adding on an $100 gift basket to go with it, or even an option for tapered candles or chocolate,” says Erin Bruno, AAF. “Those add ons are crazy at the holidays!”
- Create A Sense of Urgency
Some florists have successfully increased sales by creating a sense of urgency in marketing or on their sites. For instance, one florist featured three arrangements in email campaigns, and marked one “sold out” to signal that product was selling fast. Rachel Martin of Ballard Blossom in Seattle uses that tactic on her website. Rather than taking sold out product off the site, she marks it as “sold out.” “I want people to understand that they took too long to order,” she says.
- Offer Incentives for Ordering Online
Would you rather pay employees to staff the phone to answer questions and manually input orders, or have them on the sales floor or in the design room? At Watanabe Floral in Honolulu, Monty Pereira creates a financial incentive for customers to order online. “If we’re going to have to answer the phone, or you’re going to walk in and take the staff’s time, you’re going to pay full price,” he says. “If you complete your order online, you’re going to save, because the more orders that we can get through without having to impact our staff, the more valuable that is.”
- Appeal to Shoppers with Deals
Make sure your website appeals to holiday shoppers — especially those hungry for a deal.
At Tillie’s Flower Shop in Wichita, Kansas, the website has a page for the week’s specials. “People are always looking for a deal,” says co-owner Jen Barnard, AAF. “So, I place things on there with a red flash to kind of convert those sales as well try to help move product.”
- Refine Product Offerings
Martin keeps a close eye on her site to see what’s selling, what’s not, and what people are searching for on her site. For instance, this summer she noticed an uptick in searches for anniversary roses. “So, then I was like, do I specifically need to have a product that is anniversary roses on my website?” She suggests tailoring products and homepages to how customers are searching.
- Go After Abandoned Carts
Abandoned cart email campaigns can pay off, and many sites can send those emails automatically. “It’s automated, so why not do it?” Martin says. There’s one caveat: Make sure that whatever product was in their cart is still for sale or suggest that the customer come back to check out a designer’s choice arrangement (which is always available!).
Amanda Jedlinsky is the managing editor of SAF NOW.
