Shopify Marketing in October

October marks the end of summer and traditionally also sees the end of the quieter retail months. While nothing about this year has been traditional, many people are still unable or unwilling to do their shopping in person, meaning online sales could see a huge uplift in the next few months running up to Christmas. We’re sharing a few tips and things to think about as you navigate the season ahead.

Amazon Prime Day (13th-14th October)

With Bezos facing recent backlash over his pandemic profits, Prime Day could be different this year as consumers think twice about supporting a retail giant vs. small businesses that genuinely appreciate and need their custom. Consider setting up your own deals or discounts for the same dates and sending out a few reminder emails in advance to highlight them. And of course, if you’re also selling your products through Amazon, make sure you check all product titles and descriptions are accurate and optimized, and you’re using your best product photography if you want to stand out from the competition.

Refresh your photography

Keeping your photography fresh is a great way to sustain or generate new interest in your products. If you can tie in the change of season in your props, backdrops, or colour scheme, even better! If studio photography isn’t an option right now depending on government guidelines where you live, reaching out to your community to create content for you can be a great alternative where possible. You can scout users tagging your products on social media, or reach out to influencers you might have already worked with. Make sure to give them a few guidelines to keep all the photography consistent, and consider reimbursing them with gifted product, store credit or an appropriate set rate. 

Halloween

This holiday gets bigger and more lucrative each year, so it’s always worth taking a look at your marketing and product offering to see if there are opportunities to capitalise on it, even if you don’t traditionally sell the usual ‘spooky’ fare. Are there seasonal products that you could offer temporarily? Try to align them to your current offering as much as possible so you aren’t diluting your brand, you can even create a separate landing page for them if you don’t want to upset your shop design. If it doesn’t make sense to offer anything new, get creative with your Shopify design elements and social media content to incorporate the holiday, Halloween is generally a lighthearted time of year and a great opportunity to bring a smile to your customers’ faces.

The C Word

No, not that one, we’re talking about Christmas. While there’s still a lot of uncertainty in the air, it’s never too early to start preparing for the biggest holiday of the year. The super-organised among us start buying gifts in the summer, and many others won’t be far behind. With foregin travel almost certainly off the cards this holiday season, many consumers will be sending Christmas gifts off to friends and family abroad much earlier than usual to make sure they get there for the big day. And of course, with everyone being much more budget-conscious this year than ever before, deals and discounts will be top priority for many. Consider bringing forward a few of your festive promotions to the end of the month when thoughts of Halloween turn to Christmas.