Shopify Wholesale and B2B: Tips To Prepare for Holiday Sales

Did you prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales? If you think you still have a lot of time, this is entirely wrong thinking. Don’t let other stores take all your potential customers just because you are not prepared for your Shopify store for holiday sales.

No matter how big or small your e-commerce store is, holiday sales can help you increase your revenue a lot as long as you follow it systematically. Therefore, this article aims to prepare everything best, optimizing from the minor things to ensure your customers have the best experience.

Besides, if your website needs the help of the best Shopify B2B apps for holiday sales, this is the time to do it. Let’s walk through the process to prepare for the busiest shopping season of the year.

Impressive Numbers Of Holiday Sales On Shopify

When do you think is the most appropriate time to implement discount campaigns and increase sales for the store? Many figures prove that the demand for shoppers is many times higher during the holiday season than usual. To verify that you need to prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales, check out Shopify’s statistics from last year.

According to Shopify statistics, merchants on its e-commerce platform set a new high for holiday sales, generating $5.1 billion over the holiday weekend, especially between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This was a 76 percent increase year on year.

Secondly, the remarkable thing is that Shopify did not just record a record number during the festival. However, even before that, e-commerce stores on this platform recorded increased sales. Specifically, Shopify said that the shopping season began earlier this year than in prior years, with sales rising in the 19 days running up to Cyber Monday. Furthermore, sales increased by an astonishing 84 percent during the last week of November, compared to the previous year.

Besides, between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, more than 44 million consumers worldwide made purchases from Shopify merchants, a 50 percent increase year over year. Significantly, sales over the weekend peaked at noon on Black Friday, with sales topping $102 million during the one hour.

Overall, with the heat in this golden time, here is an excellent opportunity for B2B businesses to increase revenue and find potential customers. There’s no reason to pass up the chance to prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales.

When Should You Start Preparing Your Shopify Wholesale Business For Holiday Sales?

Many people often think that they will prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales when the date is near to ensure their strategy is not copied. However, as mentioned above, customers start shopping before the holiday even starts. Specifically, 31% of US shoppers said they’ll start shopping for the holidays before the end of October, far before Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts go up.

More importantly, there are plenty of days where you can get discounts spread throughout the year during the holiday sales. For example, some opportunities include Black November, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Cyber Week, Free Shipping Day, Super Saturday, and Boxing Day. So if you don’t prepare your Shopify store for holiday sales early, how will you deal with ongoing campaigns?

In addition, deals are generally available around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But the Covid epidemic pushed more customers online last year. As a result, stores began reducing prices in early November – if not sooner. And this time, at the end of October, is the ideal period when you need to start preparing your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales.

Website Prep Checklist For Holiday Sales 

Monitor Your Site Uptime To Avoid Crashes

We all know that big sales come with “chaos,” with a massive amount of traffic to your website every hour. Therefore, these traffic surges can slow or even crash your eCommerce store. If this is an unavoidable case, then you need to be more arranged for your Shopify store.

Even, according to Business Insider, JCrew could have lost up to $700,000 over the five hours of technological troubles on Black Friday last year.

Therefore, do tests to ensure that your commerce platform can manage the busiest shopping days and hours. The average speed goal you need to aim for is 99% and higher to handle the busy holiday season. Especially when wholesale customers are buying large orders, if outages occur, it is really a significant inconvenience for them and the management of your store.

If you notice any signs that your site is experiencing downtime, check out these tips to improve your site.

Speed Up Your Pages For Higher Conversions On Mobile 

The truth is, it’s rare for a website to crash, but it’s widespread to get complaints from customers because of slow website speed. Moreover, your website speed needs to be optimal for both desktop and mobile.

As the popularity of mobile shopping grows, it is critical to prioritize quick page performance. On Black Friday, Shopify mobile sales accounted for 67% of total sales, while desktop sales accounted for 33% in 2020. In fact, mobile accounted for 69 percent of Black Friday sales, while desktop accounted for 31 percent.

Therefore, to prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales, minor changes in this area can make a significant difference. A two-second increase in page speed can increase conversions by 66%. 

You can use Google’s PageSpeed ​​Insights to test your website speed. In addition, some factors such as CSS and JavaScript can slow down your website; so if you are integrating them in the store, be incredibly attentive.

Furthermore, you can check out the top Shopify apps for page speed optimization to remove factors that slow down your site for added peace of mind. 

Optimize Your Site’s Navigation

Navigation affects the customer experience a lot. In other words, up to 80% of customers abandon their shopping cart because of a lousy navigation experience. 

Focus initially on the header, which is seen by 99.99 percent of your visitors. The importance of simplicity, colors, and clear titles cannot be overstated. In addition, your header should have the main navigation, a site search bar, a shopping button. You should also add any other pertinent information like free shipping details, promotional codes, or best-selling items.

Additionally, make data-driven decisions based on Google Analytics or Shopify Plus insights that pinpoint your objectives. For example, if many customers are seeking your shop locations, include that information in the header.

>>> Immediately refer to the Dealer & Store Locator app if you want to add a store location to your website without any effort. 

Last but not least, to prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales, don’t forget to direct wholesale customers to secret links (B2B secret store) with B2B Login & Lock Access. Specifically, the app helps you navigate customers to hidden product pages. The products won’t show up until your wholesale customers have access. This is perfect for stores that have both wholesale and individual customers.

In such large auctions, you won’t have time to do these things manually. Therefore, this app is the perfect choice to help you without any coding knowledge.

>>> DOWNLOAD NOW: B2B Login & Lock Access

Prepare Your Shopify Wholesale Campaigns For Holiday Sales 

If you’re preparing your website to ensure your wholesale customers have the best holiday sales experience, then this section is where you’ll find strategies to help you increase sales. 

To prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales well, start following the checklist below now!

Jump Start Your Inventory

This holiday season, your power is in your inventory. You might lose a lot of money if you don’t deliver holiday products to merchants on time. The best way to prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales this year is to rely on last year’s statistics. Of course, you should still have backup plans when maybe this year’s discount season will have more customers.

Therefore, examine your prior year’s sales figures to see which products performed better than others during this time. Moreover, you should also prepare your Shopify store for holiday sales to track this year’s purchases to develop a strategy for the following year. 

Besides, getting goods out as soon as possible is critical. As a B2B sales professional, you set the foundation for successful holiday sales. If your products aren’t supplied to stores quickly and on schedule, there will be issues when customers flood into the stores. To avoid this, use the best Shopify fulfillment apps to streamline the purchasing and shipping processes, and customers can also simply track the status of their orders.

Create Special E-Catalogs

In your list to prepare your Shopify b2b business for holiday sales, you can’t skip creating holiday e-categories based on seasonal bestsellers. Along with that, just like what I mentioned above, for better customer navigation, set up quick paths to these product pages to save time for wholesale customers. Best of all, creating a seasonal collection of products that customers are searching for will encourage customers to order quickly.

Besides, the best way to create catalogs that attract wholesale customers is to use discounts such as custom pricing, quantity breaks, or bundles. However, you should save maximum time by using B2B/Wholesale Solution by BSS with compelling automatic features instead of doing them manually in this busy time.

The app allows you to set product prices quickly based on customer/customer tags or tier discounts based on the number of products in the order. Plus, you’re completely free to customize how the discount will appear by a specific amount, fixed percentage, or buy-X-get-Y values.

Also, the app gives you this feature without requiring any coding knowledge. With quantity breaks features, the app also allows you to design tiered pricing tables on product pages and cart pages to encourage customers to buy more to receive better deals.

To organize your Shopify store for holiday sales, you can also add bundle kits with B2B Customer Portal/ Net Terms. Everything from syncing inventory to fulfilling bundle orders is done automatically by the app. So you can use multiple promotional rules for wholesale customers simultaneously. Best of all, this app integrates with the above B2B apps to save time for customers and yourself.

Furthermore, to attract the customers’ eyes at a glance, use the Product Labels & Badges by BSS app to add multiple tags to one product. When visitors see the labels and go to the product page, they are more inclined to buy right away. With the pre-designed Library, you can easily select the available sticker templates quickly.

Automate Holiday Sales Events To Save Time

The goal of preparing your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales is to make the time of the event more streamlined and less burdensome for you. Therefore to save time for customers and yourself, it is necessary to use the Shopify B2B apps for holiday sales.

In this case, B2B/Wholesale Solution by BSS will help you automatically schedule, execute, and track sales, product releases, inventory restocking, and content modifications. You can offload that task and set up notifications with a backend automation solution. There is no requirement for coding skills, and you do not have to guess which automation to construct.

Besides the automatic product pricing features, the app also provides other advanced automated features. These features will help you efficiently manage your b2b store. For instance, B2B/Wholesale Solution by BSS automatically adds a customer tag from the beginning according to the rules you set or automatically reduces taxes for qualified customers.

Finally, discounts instantly loaded to a customer’s cart without remembering a promo code make purchases considerably more accessible.

Make The Checkout Experience Quick And Painless

Wholesale customers will be pressed for time throughout the holidays as they strive to complete all of their holiday shopping. Every second you can give back gives them more reason to appreciate your brand.

So to prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales, what’s one way to go about it? Allow customers to bypass the cart and checkout without leaving the product page they’re on.

To prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales, B2B Customer Portal/ Net Terms will help you create a fast checkout experience with the Quick Order feature. Among Shopify B2B apps for holiday sales, this tool, in particular, enables your customers to examine the entire product catalog on a single-page order form. They can also quickly add multiple items to their cart and checkout directly from the quick order page.

Besides, the application also offers a unique feature, allowing your wholesale customers to pay later. Specifically, it will enable specific customers (tagged customers) to create outstanding orders directly from their shopping cart. You can then customize the length of time the customer has to pay. For example, Net15/30/45/60/90. Best of all, an intuitive dashboard makes it easier than ever to manage the Net Term of customer orders.

Overall, you can provide an excellent customer experience in holiday shopping with just one app, making your store stand out from the crowd. Don’t forget to try out the app’s valuable tools, which can be accessed with a single click.

Personalize Your Messages

The next step to prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales is to personalize your messages. Specifically, the message here includes email marketing and a custom message asking customers to log in. 

Let’s talk about email marketing first. When it comes to prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales, everyone knows that it is necessary to use email marketing to make customers aware of the store’s program. But how to use it properly? If you don’t provide actual value to your prospects, your email will most likely be lost in the shuffle. That is why personalization is so crucial. Emails that are tailored to the customer’s preferences are more likely to be read.

Among Shopify B2B apps for holiday sales, you can refer to the 10 Best Shopify Apps For Email Marketing if you don’t want to do it manually.

Secure Your Pricing Strategy Wisely

Besides, as a B2B business, especially in such big holiday sales, it is essential to secure a pricing strategy.  Instead of displaying the price when visitors enter the product page, e-commerce store owners can preserve their pricing strategy by masking the price. Customers will need to log in to see the pricing, contact you, or follow the rules you set to determine the cost.

B2B Login & Lock Access is a great way to prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales that help you hide price with a custom message. Your custom message forms can take the form of registration forms, newsletter subscriptions, or specific codes.

In other words, the app provides access restrictions under Login/Custom Content. This feature helps you both collect customer emails to implement marketing strategies and ensure only qualified customers can access product pages for wholesale with great deals.

Besides, keep in mind that your customers are preoccupied with their in-store preparations. Therefore, it’s better to avoid a typical marketing campaign when the time isn’t quite right. To plan your Shopify store for holiday sales, include the holiday theme, but make the message brief, to the point, and valuable. Make the bottom line as evident as possible, and keep the call-to-action (CTA) as essential as possible.

After-Sales Checklist For Holiday Sales

To prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales, it is about the work to do for the event and a process that includes from before the event to after the sale. So, after the sale ends, you still need to do the following steps:

Focus On Engaging And Converting High-Intent Shoppers

First, holiday sales are an opportunity to help you increase sales and the perfect opportunity for you to build relationships with potential customers. To avoid wasting time and find the right audience to care for, begin by categorizing your high-intent audience into three major groups: customer advocates and devoted fans; first buyers; and cart abandonment.

Then, for each high-intent audience, create marketing and customer experiences. Consider rewarding your supporters and admirers with a special gift. For example, use B2B Login & Lock Access and individually provide them the access code to experience hot items refreshed before they are available to your broader audience.

Besides, this is also an excellent opportunity for you to promote rewards and subscription programs to turn new customers into your loyal customers. Moreover, to prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales, you can consider implementing a win-back campaign for prior buyers and cart abandoners to convert them fast and efficiently.

Track Campaign Effectiveness

The last step to prepare your Shopify B2B business for holiday sales is to track campaign performance. The holidays are a perfect time to promote timely promotions and more potent items. But this will not be profitable in the long run. So, first and foremost, be sure that the incentives you establish make economic sense for your company.

Also, use Shopify’s built-in analytics or Google Analytics to analyze your store metrics during holiday sales. From there, you will learn from what works and what doesn’t. This will help a lot to prepare your Shopify store for holiday sales for the following events or next year. 

In addition, you can also ask for feedback from customers to improve your store better. A small suggestion is to email a discount code to customers and ask them for some comments about the product and what they are not satisfied with this shopping experience.

Finally, take notes this year as you prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales and document your results. These profiles will serve as a baseline for next year’s season, allowing you to discover what is working well for your firm and enabling you to get more done.

Conclusion: Prepare Your Shopify B2B Business For Holiday Sales

Remember that to prepare your Shopify wholesale business for holiday sales; you need a thorough scheduling process with each task. So it would help if you did right now. The above checklist is the essential thing you need to do to prepare your Shopify store for holiday sales. But you can ultimately be more creative.

Besides, you should definitely not neglect the use of Shopify b2b apps for holiday sales to increase the effectiveness of your campaign. With a large number of orders every day and many things to prepare, it is essential to simplify the process with automation tools. Don’t let your store fall behind others just because you spend a lot of time doing everything alone.

BSS Commerce Shopify hopes that with this article, you’ll be able to prepare and make the busiest and most productive holiday season ever.