Summer is usually associated with a period of declining sales… unless you’re an ice cream seller.
In fact, consumers are expected to spend more time away from home, which may mean that they are not as connected to their devices. In fact, globally, July is usually the least profitable month for e-commerce, with a difference of almost 30% in sales to December, which is usually the most successful.
But there’s no point in getting discouraged! There are ways to get around the effects of seasonality and take advantage of this slowdown to gain market share. After all, if it affects your industry as a whole, it will certainly affect your competitor, so in this period you have an opportunity to gain ground.
1 -Become fresher
“Change your look for the summer” is a phrase often heard in the weeks leading up to this season. And the truth is that this doesn’t just apply to people. In fact, it can apply to companies.
Presenting yourself with different colors, even if they are not too far from your visual identity, can make you stand out from your competition, making you more appealing to potential consumers, who will feel matched in mood and disposition for the bathing season.
In addition to colors, it’s also important to change the images on your website, where possible, to convey the good vibes that summer brings.
2 – Stay active on social media
“Put down your cell phone” is a phrase heard more and more often on our country’s beaches. Whether they’re kids or adults, many are warned about the amount of time they spend on their mobile devices.
This may be bad for family functionality, but good for business. After all, purchases may not be made, but there is room for a brand to gain exposure, and the best way to do this is through social networks, where many of the people to whom the “put down your cell phone” is directed spend part of their time.
That said, it’s very important to invest in your company’s social media strategy. After all, it’s not the fact that someone is warned that stops them from seeing anything. And the visual impact that is created can often create important (sometimes lasting) bonds with the customer.
Therefore, leave the value proposition associated with your company on the social networks and take care to publish at the recommended times for each one.
The ideal is to relate the content to the summer, but it’s not strictly necessary.
3 – Prepare yourself as best as you can
The slowdown in sales over the summer gives you time to review some of the strategies you have defined for your company. In this sense, you can take advantage of it to optimize and improve the way yorperate.
With more free time, you’ll be more open to implementing fundamental changes and thinking about what you can do from September onwards.
Once you’ve set the final goal, you can start preparing the product catalog and the communication around it in a more elaborate way, which could allow you to boost sales not in the summer you do it, but in all the summers that follow, and this is a strategy that can pay off in the long term.
The free time that the summer offers can also give you more time to monitor what has been done and define what can be improved and/or strengthened.
4 – Reach new audiences
Still from a long-term perspective, it could open up new markets, both geographically and in terms of age.
On a geographical level, it could create important relationships with countries in the Southern Hemisphere, which don’t have a bathing season and which could be important segments in the fight against seasonality.
At age level, you can embrace people of other ages or segment your product for niche markets.
5 – Create new content
Having content that can be useful to your audience can help establish relationships with them. In this sense, Inbound Marketing will be a good ally.
Creating blogposts about what you can do in summer, how to avoid sunburn or other topics related to this season will help you get closer to your customers, who will find these posts useful, creating a healthy and important association with your company.
6 – Try new things
Put yourself more on the consumer’s side, see what they see, do what they do, and assess whether the experience is good or not.
The time offered by the summer sales slowdown will allow you to optimize the potential customer’s experience with the site, from entry to shopping cart, checkout and after-sales follow-up.
Doing so could earn you long-term relationships with some customers.
You now have half a dozen reasons to make your company’s summer more efficient. Ecommerce sales may slow down, but that doesn’t have to be in proportion to your ambition.
