text: Which items belong on the agenda in September? Trend specialist Gabriela Kaiser and e-commerce expert Peter Höschl share their ideas with us - both for online business and for the appealing design of your shop windows, product range compositions and sales areas.
  Now important for POS
  The time has come - the signs of Christmas can no longer be ignored – they are on the rise in the shops and the countdown has begun. Which items are still open on your Christmas checklist? Go through everything again.
  You don't have to switch to the full Christmas look & feel yet, of course. But you can already position yourself as a competent gift advisor and signal to your customers that you will slow down the often stressful Holiday season shopping and make it more beautiful than ever. Arouse their curiosity and whet their appetite for more by starting with your Christmas decorations in a discreet way and giving them a foretaste of the highlights of your range to come.
  ‘Perhaps you are already showing a Christmas theme that does not follow the traditional colour scheme because it is more neutral. Beautiful natural colours (as in the Christmasworld trend ""mystic+originate"), cosy surfaces and wintry motifs already bring a cosy atmosphere into the home.’
  Because when it starts to get grey and rainy outside and the days get shorter, it's all about how your customer can make himself comfortable and cosy within his four walls.
  This is especially the case in Europe. In warmer regions of the world, this aspect must be adjusted accordingly.
  It is always about increasing emotionality. When presenting products at POS, pick up on themes that literally warm the body and heart. What do your customers prefer to do at home? What story could you tell with it in your shop? You have certainly heard it many times: "Storytelling" in the presentation of your products is the be-all and end-all, because everyone likes stories and feels emotionally addressed by them.
  Now important for online trade
  At Christmas, people also buy online more than usual "with their eyes". That's why the image strategy in your own shop as well as on the marketplaces is extremely important. It is important to polish this data now. And for the content, you should commission content marketing for the selected articles.
  It is also advisable to run a stress test for logistics and returns management. At Christmas as well as before, shipping must reliably meet the promised deadlines.
  Get your structures and processes up to speed. Once the Christmas business has started, you will no longer have time and resources for these basic activities.
  ‘For new articles for the Christmas business, you should already create the necessary article listings in the shops and marketplaces such as Amazon & Co. This is the only way to ensure that they are "ready to go" in the Christmas business and can already achieve a certain positioning or number of ratings.’
  You should promote customer reviews early on - for example with a raffle on Facebook.
  It is also very important to optimise customer service now - this includes, for example, offering different shipping options, setting up notification of status changes in the shipping process, activating shipment tracking, staffing call centres, offering packaging services or allowing extended return periods for gifts.
  In focus: Finishing & maintaining product data
  - Check texts, images and video material & continuously optimise SEO
  - Pay attention to customer segmentation/desires of different target groups
  - Design Christmas SEM campaigns - also for Black Friday & Cyber Monday.
  - Integrate guidebook or gift finder function
  - Promote customer ratings early on & optimise customer service
  - Check logistics processes. Is the returns processing running smoothly?
  - Stock up on packaging materials, order gift wrappings
  Interested in the complete checklist?
  Then click here (PDF).
  The checklist is only available in German - if you are interested, please use online translator or contact us for support.
  The 2019 checklist from shopanbieter.de is considered an evergreen and provides online traders with a practical roadmap that lists the current steps to be taken month by month. You can find out what you should pay attention to in this exceptional year due to supply bottlenecks etc. in Peter Höschl's personal tip.
  In addition, you will find further interesting information, white papers, specialist articles and e-commerce guides at shopanbieter.de.
  Gabriela Kaiser - Trend Expert
  Gabriela Kaiser has been advising companies from industry and commerce since 2002. She gives lectures at international trade fairs and regularly publishes articles in various trade journals on the subject of trends, design and lifestyle. Apart from the specific seasonal trends, she always keeps an eye on the overriding megatrends, which she compares with the wishes and needs of the end customers. Learn more here
  Peter Höschl - E-Commerce Expert
  Industry companion from the very beginning with 25 years of practical experience. Main focus: Strategy, brand building and e-commerce controlling & analysis. As the operator of the e-commerce portal shopanbieter.de, he has already written several books, practical guides and over 1,000 professional articles and is in demand as a coach and speaker. In his opinion, the profit and turnover for online traders in e-commerce is buried above all in the area of controlling and analysis.
  shopanbieter.de is an information portal that provides operators of small and medium-sized online shops with up-to-date and concentrated information relevant to daily e-commerce: A comprehensive provider directory, a daily news service, background articles, free guides as well as interviews with specialised solution providers and service providers. To shopanbieter.de