The January sales have traditionally been one of the highlights of the retail year. In previous years, such as 2021, U.S. businesses have seen a sharp increase in retail profits. This year, things are tougher for consumers, but we’re still expecting profits as this seasonal sale period goes on. But how do you play your cards right to ensure your Shopify store makes the most of this potentially lucrative period?
As one of the major opportunities for shoppers to get a bargain, there is lots of competition to entice shoppers to your Shopify store at this time of year. Retailers have been ‘bracing for tougher times’ in 2023, but there is plenty you can do to convert those clicks to purchases.
In this article, I begin by offering some reasons why participating in the January sales is a great idea for your Shopify business. Then, I explain the different ways you can implement sale offers to maximize your orders. With EasyGift and our new add-on Cartix, it couldn’t be more simple!
Why are the January sales great for maximizing Shopify store profit?
Some e-commerce business owners may be reluctant to use sales as they assume it loses them profit. However, a strong sales technique can boost sales—and therefore profit. With retail profits generally jumping in January, we know U.S. shoppers love a good sale. And what’s more, from 2017 ,the number of shoppers buying online in the sales has caught up and overtaken the number buying in-store. Maximizing the potential profit from this period is therefore essential.
January sales are not only good for e-commerce profits. Building loyalty with customers via offering discounts can convert into more sales long-term. If they know they can get a good deal from you, a customer is more likely to keep coming back.
Additionally, it’s a great opportunity to sell off any older stock to make way for shiny new products into the new year. Often, e-commerce businesses over-buy stock and then struggle to shift it, especially when they’re offering seasonal or trend items. January is the perfect time to give your warehouse a good shake-up and get rid of any old stock, whilst continuing to achieve financial returns from it.
These benefits do come with a disclaimer, however. There maybe times when offering sale discounts would not be profitable, or it might only attract sales in the short term. That’s why sales should be integrated into your broader business plan for the year with care, and January can be the ideal time to do so.
4 types of discounts to maximize January sales profits on your Shopify store
There are many ways you can implement offers when planningfor the January sales period. Our app, EasyGift, allows you to integrate offers onto your website seamlessly. In previous articles, we’ve suggested the best store promotions it can help you integrate. However, to make our app even more functional, we’ve added a brand new sales feature that can do all the heavy lifting for you!
Below are 4 simple discounts you can offer using the Get Sale with your Shopify store this January:
1. Percentage discounts: an easy January sales technique
Percentage discounts are the most basic, recognizable form of sales technique. These are simple to market as they give customers an obvious discount on products on your Shopify store.
Typically, retailers discount products anywhere between 5% and 50%. Keeping the discount percentage to increments of 5% or 10% is ideal, but the amount you choose will depend on several factors. Be conscious of how much discount you can offer before you lose profit on manufacturing or sourcing the product, and how much stock you have to sell.
Percentage discounts are great if you have lots of stock to clear quickly, especially when you want to refresh your inventory for the new year or changing seasons. With Get Sale, you can easily apply a percentage discount store-wide or on specific products.
2. Progressive discounts for encouraging bigger spending
Next up, progressive discounts can be great for incentivizing customers to buy more. This classic upselling technique is effective for generating higher basket spending and shifting more stock per transaction.
You can offer a progressive discount based on basket value. For example, 10% off a $30 spend, 20% off a $40 spend, and 30% off over $50. Alternatively, you can offer it based on the number of products bought. For example, 10% off 2 products, or 15% off 3 products.
The progress bars feature on Cartix is a great way to promote offers like this to browsers. You can also use the add-on to apply these value-specific discounts to the cart before the checkout page.
3. Loyalty discounts that extend past the January sales period
Generating loyalty amongst your customer base is a smart way to use the January sales on Shopify to grow future profits. Offering discounts to customers post-purchase is a great way to encourage them to come back.
Once an order is placed, an automated web page or email to the customer offering them 10%, 15%, or even 20% off their next purchase on your Shopify store can be effective. It shows shoppers you value their custom, and gives them a reason to come back for more as they know they’re getting a good deal.
4. Free shipping for a minimum cart value
Finally, smaller promotions like free shipping can be a good way to encourage purchasing even when you can’t offer bigger discounts.
Attaching free shipping to a minimum cart value—say $20 or$30—encourages customers to buy up to that threshold on the promise of a better offer. Often, they will then end up spending more than the required amount.
Auto-adding the discounted or free shipping to the cartbefore the purchase page is simple with Cartix, and makes the process seamlessfor you and your customers alike!
