Are You Ready To Sell Online This Holiday Season?

Selling online isn’t just trendy, it’s one of best ways to grow your business right now. Whether you run a local shop, provide services or sell handmade goods, selling online helps you reach more customers and stay competitive.

In 2023, the United States ecommerce sales reached $1.12 trillion, making up 22% of all retail sales. That number is expected to reach nearly $2 trillion by 2029. Mobile shopping is also booming. In fact, mobile devices were responsible for 49.3% of all online sales in the first half of 2024, according to Adobe Analytics.

You don’t need a tech background or a big marketing budget to get yourself started with selling online. This 4-step guide outlines the basics with examples to help you launch your online store with confidence.

Step 1: Choose What To Sell

Start by deciding what products or services you want to offer online. Think about:

• What your customers already love
• What’s easy to ship or deliver
• What makes your business stand out

Example: If you own a bakery, you might sell cookie gift boxes or baking kits. If you’re a fitness coach, you could offer virtual training sessions or downloadable workout plans.

You can sell physical items, digital downloads or services. Focus on what solves a problem or brings joy to your audience.

Step 2: Pick Your Selling Platform

When it comes to selecting a selling platform, you have two main options:

• Your own website: This gives you full control over branding, pricing, and customer experience. Platforms like Shopify, Wix and Squarespace make it easy to build a store without coding. Be sure
• Online marketplaces: Sites like Amazon, Etsy and eBay already have millions of shoppers. They’re great for getting started quickly, but they charge fees and limit customization.

Example: A jewelry maker might start on Etsy to reach a built-in audience, then build a Shopify site to grow their brand.

Invest in tools like Shopify, Magento or Big Commerce so you can set up your own storefront on your website that will integrate with your on-premise point-of-sale system. Be sure to confirm that your ecommerce application can integrate with your inventory and accounting systems.

Visitors should be encouraged to go to your website first, rather than the big players mentioned above. Your website design should be easy to navigate and encourage the consumer to shop easily without having to hunt for what they’re looking for. This will likely earn you the highest margins.

Step 3: Set Up Your Online Store

Once you’ve picked a platform, it’s time to build your store. You’ll need:

• Clear product photos: Use good lighting and show different angles.
• Simple descriptions: Explain what the product is, why it’s useful, and how to use it.
• Pricing and shipping info: Be upfront about costs and delivery times.
• Payment options: Use trusted services like PayPal, Stripe, or Square.

Example: A candle shop might list scent notes, burn time, and shipping details. Photos should show the candle lit and packaged.

Make sure your website is mobile-friendly since most consumers are using their mobile devices to shop and browse online. Keep in mind that many small businesses use both their own website and online marketplaces to reach more customers. The more channels for your products to be promoted this holiday season, the better.

Step 4: Market Your Products

Now that your store is live, you’re ready to start selling for the holiday season! First, you need to spread the word about your business. Try these strategies:

• Social media: Share updates, run promotions, and connect with followers.
• Email marketing: Send newsletters, product launches, and special offers.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Use keywords so your site shows up in Google searches.
• Online ads: Platforms like Facebook and Google let you target specific audiences.

Example: A pet supply store might post dog treat recipes on Instagram, send a monthly email with new products, and run ads for holiday bundles.

Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. Consistency and creativity can go a long way even with a small marketing budget. It would be worth your time to create a small marketing budget that you can use to advertise that your online shop is open for business. Simply putting products on the web doesn’t guarantee traffic. If you’re on one of the bigger platforms, you can leverage the marketing tools provided.

Facebook, for example, will let you mass communicate to your followers by Messenger and then use AI tools to automatically respond to requests and drive visitors back to your page. Amazon has its own internal advertising tools, as does eBay. If you’re selling independently, you’ll likely need to invest in Google’s online advertising products. You will definitely want to invest in re-targeting tools from Google, AdRoll or Criteo so that when people leave your site, they’re enticed to return through banner ads on other sites they visit.

Step 5: Manage Orders and Customer Service

Once orders start coming in, you’ll need a system (and likely a person) ready to handle them smoothly:

• Use order tracking tools to stay organized.
• Respond quickly to customer questions.
• Handle returns and refunds politely and professionally.

Example: A clothing boutique might use Shopify’s dashboard to track orders and respond to sizing questions via email.

Great customer service builds trust and keeps people coming back. And unless you want to spend all day managing your online storefront, another person assigned to just managing this could make it even better. That could be a seasonal employee, intern, part-time help or even an independent contractor. Setting up a site on Amazon, for example, takes time and expertise. So does setting up an ecommerce platform that works from your website. Understanding margins, pricing, ad campaigns and user traffic is something that requires constant monitoring, tweaking and planning.

Step 6: Keep Improving

Selling online is an ongoing process. Keep an eye on:

• What products are selling best
• Where your traffic is coming from
• What customers are saying

Example: A home decor shop might notice that wall art sells better than pillows, so they add more prints and run a promotion.

Use this info to tweak your store, try new marketing ideas and grow your business. Stay curious and open to change—it’s the key to long-term success. Don’t think of this as just your holiday campaign, think about how selling online can be a part of your permanent strategy.

Your investments should be made with a long-term approach because, if done right, your online channels will continue to provide a significant amount of your revenues — and profits —for years to come.