As the weather heats up and people flock to the beach, many businesses brace themselves for that notorious eCommerce summer slump. When gross sales drop by as much as 30%, it can be a challenging time. And with current economic uncertainty, it’s especially important to get ahead of these concerns.
Fortunately, there are strategies that can turn the tide and transform the summer slowdown into a season of opportunity. With the right approach to these summer marketing campaign ideas, you can position your business for success.
1. Run a Big Summer Sale
It’s a well-documented phenomenon that people shop more during sales, so make summer sales something your customers can expect every year. These sales are also great for clearing out old inventory before the holiday season.
Build excitement by promoting the sale on your site with banners, your homepage’s hero section, and teasers. Make messaging more relevant by using dynamic widgets customized to categories each visitor is viewing or has viewed previously.
2. Refresh Your Offers
Don’t just run the same sales; shake things up! 86% of users experience “banner blindness”, so take this opportunity to refresh promotional messaging, banners, and pop-ups on your site. While you’re at it, treat each summer campaign as an experiment. A/B test discount amounts, messaging, pop-up designs, and placements on your site to see what works best. Not only will your conversions increase, but you’ll also gain valuable data for future use.
3. Get Repeat Customers with Personalization
According to Shopify, 71% of consumers expect a personal experience, and 49% say it turns them in repeat buyers. So if you’re not already collecting consumer-consented data to make personalized recommendations, use the summer to build a solid personalization strategy. With a possible cookieless future by the end of 2023, there’s no better time to make this move.
4. Summer Giveaways + Sweepstakes
Who doesn’t dream of a summer getaway? (Or let’s get real, even a free t-shirt is exciting!) Win new customers with a summer giveaway! Most successful giveaways run 90 days, so a summer-long contest is a perfect time to grow your audience.
Giveaways have a 34% conversion rate, and a third of participants are willing to receive marketing information in exchange for entry. And if participants refer their friends, you’ll grow your customer base even more.
5. Ramp up Your Segmentation
Is your segmentation stale or nonexistent? Focus on building (or revamping) your segments this summer. Use quizzes, surveys, forms, sweepstakes, and preference centers to collect zero-party data that can help you build segments that provide customers with relevant, targeted promotions.
One way to start seeing results right away is personalized quiz result emails. Andie Swim drove $70k in just 8 months from their personalized quiz results emails, integrating Digioh and Klaviyo.
6. Summer Holidays & Events
Consumers expect major sales on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day, so include them in your summer marketing strategy.
If it fits your audience, “Grads & Dads” season is the perfect time to launch a gift guide quiz to help shoppers find Graduation or Father’s Day gifts. The online concierge experience goes a long way to build faith in your brand and makes shopping easy—something you want customers to remember when they shop this holiday season.
7. Summer-Specific Products
Another way to boost summer sales is seasonal products. Promote swimwear, beach towels, sunglasses, sunscreens, outdoor furniture, grills, patio accessories, or portable coolers. Create targeted marketing campaigns across channels that appeal to specific segments based on demographic data, user history, preferences, or other collected data.
Since these items are more relevant in the summer, try creating a sense of urgency. Add a countdown timer to your website banners, or use limited stock notifications on your product pages to nudge hesitant shoppers over the finish line.
8. Summer Influencer Marketing
Hubspot reports that 89% of marketers engaging in influencer marketing will increase or maintain their investment next year. Since 33% of Gen Zers have bought products recommended by an influencer in the past three months, that’s no surprise.
Enhance your summer influencer campaigns with targeted on-site messaging based on the referral source or a custom URL. Aligning your on-site messaging with the influencer's content establishes a sense of continuity. This personalized approach strengthens the connection between the influencer's endorsement and your brand, leading to increased brand loyalty.
9. Retarget Shoppers with Summer-Themed Ads
While there are many reasons for cart abandonment, it doesn’t mean those shoppers are lost forever. Retargeting ads are 10x more likely to convert than regular display ads, making them a great way to recover carts this summer.
However, effective retargeting campaigns require consumer-consented data. By collecting zero-party data through surveys, quizzes, or interactive content, you can personalize your retargeting campaigns with highly-relevant offers. First-party data gathered from your website analytics can also provide customer behavior and engagement insights for retargeting. By combining these types of data, you can create hyper-focused summer campaigns that maximize retargeting conversions.
10. Try (and Test) New Things!
If you’re considering a product recommendation quiz, or even just running some A/B tests, now is the time! Fine-tune your headlines, CTAs, graphics, deals, designs, and other site elements. This data will better prepare you for the upcoming holiday season.
Make Waves with Your Summer Marketing Strategy
Instead of dreading the summer sales slump, use these tips to grow your list, boost conversions, and build brand loyalty. With Digioh, you can power your summer marketing campaigns with zero-party data collection, targeted onsite promotions, website personalization, and more. If you’re ready to dive in, book a demo!
