Key dates for sales in your business

Take advantage of them, not only to sell more, but also to build customer loyalty and long-term relationships.

Everyday is a new opportunity to gain a client, but that’s not always as easier, and we don’t always get the same sales volume. There are dates that every merchant should underline in the calendar, and today we make a summary of the most important. ¡Write them down!

  1. Back to school: at the end of August and the beginning of September, the holidays end, the children go back to school and the change of season invites to renew the wardrobe. These facts directly affect the purchasing behaviour of consumers, specially in the retail sector, where 55% of total sales take place. Within this sector, the largest volume of sales is in products related to beauty and fashion.
  2. Halloween: although it is not traditional in Spain, the truth is that it has more and more followers every year, specially among young people. Internet and online shops are the most used places to look for products on this date, and ecommerce sales account for 22.47% of the total. Therefore, merchants (specially those specialized in costumes, decoration, accessories and food) must have all their sales channels prepared to speed the purchase of these products, generally bought at the last minute.
  3. Valentine’s Day and Single’s Day: Love is always a good reason to celebrate, either towards others or ourselves. Therefore, during the famous Valentine’s Day the purchases of flowers, cosmetics or perfumery increases up to 100%, becoming the key day to make a gift to the couple. On the other hand, we also find Single’s Day. Although it is not yet a very popular event in Spain, we should not lose sight of this online shopping day from China. Last November 11th, Alibaba broke its record with 30,802 million euros during the day, and the phenomenon is getting stronger every year. It is an opportunity that online retailers can begin to take advantage of, and to offer the best experience on these dates with such a high volume of sales, they must have an optimized sales platform with a payment gateway that favors the checkout process.
  4. Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Spain is one of the countries with the highest growth during Black Friday, and although Cyber Monday is not yet consolidated, it is increasingly gaining weight in this week full of promotions and discounts. During 2018 ecommerce registered 21.1% more visits than the previous year, and the mobile was the device that grew the most for searching and buying products. It is a growing trend that merchants must take into account so that online stores have a fully responsive design and facilitate the purchases in the fastest and easiest way through all devices.
  5. Christmas: although this campaign already begins with Black Friday, a moment that many consumers take advantage of to buy the first gifts with a lower price, this has always been a big season for sales. The way of buying is also changing at this season, as one in 10 Spaniards in 2018 would have made, according to statistics, all their purchases online and 8 out of 10 would have done so with the mobile. It is no longer enough to sell in the traditional way, shops must adapt to the needs and tastes of their customers, following an omnicanal strategy that allows them to communicate, sell and make payments in the most convenient and reliable way for their consumers.
  6. Sales: winter sales begin in most of the shops on January 7th, the day after Three Wise Men, and summer sales officially begin on July 1st. It is important to define the price strategy for these dates, getting a push to give out all the products that have not been sold during the season. Many consumers make their purchases impulsively during these months, influenced by offers and low prices, so shops, both online and offline, must be prepared to maximize the speed in purchases and streamline all their processes. In this way, abandoned carts in ecommerce will be avoided, or the abandonment of the purchase due to long queues in the physical store.

Throughout the year there are fluctuations in the sales of businesses, and it is important to identify the events that most affect each sector. From the Communication Department of Sipay Plus, a company specialised in innovative payment solutions, they point out that “an appropriate payment gateway, which adapts the pay method to each customer and time of purchase, can increase the conversion rate and increase customer loyalty so that those who arrive because of promotions or one-time events, go back for the services quality and the faility to make the purchase”.

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