The Wise Men are more and more busy each year, and that’s why it is essential to facilitate their purchases and avoid difficulties for achieving a Christmas period with the best results.
It is estimated that this year Spaniards will spend an average of 611 euros during the Christmas season, 1.1% more than the previous year, reaffirming the Christmas campaign as one of the most important moments for sales of products and services. 40% of the budget will be allocated to gifts, where the biggest expenditure is made, followed by food, travel and leisure. Although Marketplaces will be the favourite sales channel according to surveys and the use of smartphones is becoming more important, the retail store remains as the option chosen by 77%, as they say they will make their purchases in stores. Therefore, we should pay attention to all sales channels, online and offline, for not losing any customer during this Christmas.
There are common points that should be taken into account for all channels, if you want to get the best results from the Christmas campaign:
- Ensure speed in purchases: with the increase of traffic in the stores, endless queues can be formed, leading the buyer even to give up and leave without buying the product. A fast payment system can speed up operations and reduce this waiting time, not only to avoid losing a sale, but also to avoid an unhappy customer. Something similar happens in online channels, where it is important to reduce the time needed for paying of the product, making the payment almost invisible, avoiding that the consumer has to provide more data than strictly necessary to complete the process.
- Offer maximum security in transactions: with the increase in the number of operations, cyber-attacks can proliferate and put at risk business and customer data, especially at the time of payment. To avoid this, it is important to have a payment gateway certified with the highest international security standards, such as PCI DSS. This will increase confidence among consumers, so that the only surprise this Christmas is that of their gifts.
- Gain long-term customers: Christmas is the perfect time to make yourself known to buyers who, if they have a good experience, can become long-term customers and develop a special bond with the brand if it is associated with «Christmas magic». This can be achieved with personalized attention in the physical store, simplicity offered in the online store, a fast and secure payment system or quality after-sales services.
- Allow maximum comfort: even if Christmas is a time of celebration, it can be a stressful period when shopping. In fact, 67% of people think that shopping online is less stressful than shopping offline, and this should be taken into account by merchants. Giving different online shopping possibilities, such as direct home delivery or the «Click and Collect» system to pick up the products at the store, can improve the experience, increase the wish list and, ultimately, achieve a more satisfied customer.
- Facilitate exchanges and returns: although we do not want to question the good taste of the Wise Men, the truth is that there may be some erroneous gifts, or excess lunches and dinners that change the size by magic. For these cases, it is necessary to have a clear refund policy, which includes advantages such as extending the refund period, until Wise Men day, so that the most advanced when making their purchases do not feel held back by not being able to return them on time, if the recipient does not like its gift.
The desire and at the same time the need to achieve consumer loyalty is increasingly high for brands, and the ways they achieve loyalty are varied. Therefore, from the Communication Department of Sipay Plus, Spanish payment gateway, they say that «it is essential to pay maximum attention to the needs and opportunities offered by both, the consumer and the merchant, to ensure the best shopping experience. For this, we must rely on technology, as it allows us to know and adapt the processes to each one of the consumers and offer them a unique experience that favors a long-term relationship”.