How to maximise online sales at Christmas

There’s no easy way to say this, but in Marketingland, Christmas is here. And while it might be the most wonderful time of the year for sales, it can also be one of the most stressful. Have you got your marketing and promotions sorted, or is your festive to-do list getting a little out of hand?

Christmas is when you’ll sell the most, and it’s also a great opportunity to attract new customers and keep them coming back. Give people a lovely experience this year and they may well remember you when Christmas rolls around again. That's what we like to see.

To help you get organised, we’ve put together a checklist of things online sellers can do to maximise their sales this Christmas. So, grab a cuppa, have a read and see what you can tick off your list.

1. Get your SEO and keywords in order

Search terms can change quite a bit over the festive period as shoppers start hunting for gifts. That means it's a good idea to check your keyword research to see what people are looking for right now.

Here are a few tools to help you get started.

Google Trends

Google Trends shows you what's trending around your topic and which search terms people are using.

2. Place stocking fillers strategically

Stocking fillers are a big part of Christmas shopping, so make it easy for customers to find your smaller, more affordable products alongside your other items.

For example, someone buying a luxury £20 bath oil might be happy to add a £3.50 lip balm to their basket as well. It's a simple way to help customers tick another present off their list without having to hunt around your website.

Take a look at how your products are displayed. Could you place smaller items where customers are likely to spot them while browsing your other products?

A few well-placed stocking fillers could help shoppers find an extra gift or two, making their Christmas shopping a little easier in the process.

3. Make your email game strong

We know you're busy. Christmas can be a lot to juggle, and sending marketing emails might not be at the top of your to-do list. But this is precisely when shoppers are looking for gift ideas, and many of us are happy to hear from businesses that make the search a little easier.

Keep your emails simple and to the point. Show off your best-selling products, give people a reason to take a look and link directly to the relevant product pages.

Customer testimonials can help too. If someone has kindly shared their experience of buying from you, their words could help other shoppers decide whether your products are right for them.

Just make sure you're using genuine reviews and testimonials supplied by your customers. UK rules on fake and misleading reviews have been much stricter since April 2025, so it's worth making sure you're on the right side of the rules.

You don't need to send an email every other day, either. A useful gift guide, a reminder about Christmas delivery dates or a selection of your best-selling products could be enough to give your customers a helping hand.

4. Publish your cut-off dates

Nobody wants to discover that their Christmas presents won't arrive in time for the big day. Publishing your Christmas delivery cut-off dates helps customers plan their orders and gives them a reason to get their shopping done sooner rather than later.

Make your dates easy to find on your website. Most website platforms let you add a thin banner across the top of your pages, which is a handy place to put an important delivery reminder.

Before you publish anything, check your courier's last recommended delivery dates and use them to set your own cut-off dates. Make sure every date you share is accurate and gives you enough time to prepare and dispatch orders.

It's a small task that can save you and your customers a lot of last-minute stress. And let's face it, you've probably got enough to think about in December already.

5. Make your presence felt locally

Christmas is a lovely opportunity to remind people about the small businesses on their doorstep. Many shoppers like to buy locally because they want to support small businesses and help the planet.

Make sure your business is visible in local social media groups and online markets, and check that your website is optimised for local SEO. Our guide to local SEO can help you get started.

If you have a Google Business Profile, don't forget to add your Christmas and New Year opening hours as special hours. That way, customers can check when you're open before making a trip to see you.

A few small updates can help local shoppers find you when they're looking for presents, and make it easier for them to support your business over the festive period.

6. Plan your social media

Save yourself the stress and avoid letting your social content slip through lack of planning

Christmas is busy enough without having to think of something to post on social media every morning. If you can, plan your content now and create as much of it as possible in advance.

Scheduling tools let you prepare posts ahead of time, leaving you free to get on with running your business when things get hectic. Buffer has a free plan, and Meta Business Suite lets you schedule Facebook and Instagram posts for free.

It's also worth planning some posts that sell without using a link. Meta has started limiting some Facebook Pages to two posts containing external links a month unless they pay for a Meta One subscription. Posts that show off your products and explain how customers can order will still give people useful information without relying on clickable links in every post.

Think about the questions customers are likely to ask, the products you want to highlight and the reminders they'll need as Christmas approaches. You could create a mixture of product posts, gift ideas, behind-the-scenes content and delivery reminders.

Getting a head start now means you won't have to dream up a brilliant post while you're halfway through packing orders and wondering where you put the tape gun.

7. Festive banners and images

Don't forget to give your online presence a little festive makeover.

Your website is your shopfront, and just as a physical shop might put up its Christmas decorations, your website and social media can reflect the season too. A few festive touches can help your business feel welcoming and make it clear that you're ready for Christmas shoppers.

You don't need to redesign everything from scratch. Update your website banners, add some seasonal touches to your social media images and make sure your festive content feels consistent across your channels.

Tools such as Canva offer plenty of free images and templates to help you create your designs.

Just remember to keep things easy to read and make sure your festive decorations don't get in the way of the important information, such as product details, prices and delivery dates. It's all very well looking Christmassy, but customers still need to find what they're looking for.

Good luck.

Happy to help

And there we have it. A few practical ways to get your online marketing ready for Christmas without adding a hundred extra jobs to your to-do list.

You don't have to tackle everything at once. Work through the checklist, pick out the tasks that make the most sense for your business and get started. Even a few small changes could help you make the most of the festive shopping season.

If you have questions about any of these steps, join our Tiny Clinic Facebook group and ask us there. We'd love to hear what you're planning and help where we can.