If you’ve already read our piece about prepping for the holidays, you can see this post as Part 2: How to keep customers happy during the holidays.

No matter how much you love Christmas, gift shopping is stressful. The lines, the crowds, the empty shelves… it’s a lot to take in. Thankfully the mulled wine, twinkling street lights, and carolers’ noise make it that little bit easier.

Online shopping is a breath of fresh air for a lot of us — it’s easy, smooth, and can be done from the comfort of our couches — but it lacks the Christmassy feel you get when shopping offline.

As an E-Commerce business, the rush doesn’t stop at Black Friday: It’s your responsibility to add a little festive spirit to the shopping experience and keep your customers feeling happy and organized throughout the holiday season.

Keeping Online Customers Happy This Season

Be Accessible

With more store visits, you’ll inevitably have more questions to answer. Prep your customer service team so that they all provide consistent, professional, and personal feedback, or integrate a Chatbot to help with the rush.

Chatbots are a great way to keep customers happy, as they can access help 24/7 — perfect for those doing a bit of secret, last-minute gift shopping in the middle of the night.

You’ll need to handle all your email accounts, contact forms, and social media channels so that you don’t miss any messages from potential customers.

Once orders have been placed or even delivered, you should take time to email customers to see if they are happy with their order or if they need any more assistance. This level of service will score you repeat customers and brand loyalty that sees you into the New Year.

Say Thank You to Special Customers

If you’ve got some repeat customers that really stand out, send them a Christmas card to say thank you for their support. This super personal finishing touch is such a lovely surprise and will secure the customer’s loyalty to your brand. Who doesn’t love unexpected Christmas cards?

If you don’t want to send a physical card, send them an email with a personalized discount — gift them while they gift others.

Use Nice Packaging

We’ve previously mentioned the importance of using more sustainable packaging, which is so essential at Christmas. The festive period sees around 3 billion tons of extra packaging waste than other times of the year.

Using branded packaging, or packaging that’s nicer than usual is great for making customers feel extra special about their purchase. According to Dotcom Distribution, 61% of online shoppers get more excited about receiving branded packaging, and 44% of customers believe branded packaging makes the product feel worth the cost.

Similarly, 40% of people have a better perception of brands if the packaging is gift-like, which influences them to buy from the brand again.

Those are some great stats, and they make total sense. If you’re an online business, you can even offer a ‘this item is a gift’ button on your order forms, so you can make their order look even more special. You’re not only saving the customer a job but also saving the need for more wastage. The customer can gift your product without unpacking it, bin the wrapping, and re-wrap it.

First impressions go a long way, so if this is the customer’s first order, using nice packaging will really leave a lasting impression.

Clear Up Your Returns Policy

Unlike other times of the year, orders are more likely to be gifts rather than for personal use. That means there’s a chance the receiver might not actually like the gift or need it in a different color, size, or style.

You’ll need to make sure your returns policy is clear and accessible. Make sure it’s easy to find on your site, and allow for a larger return window. January will likely be a busy month for returns, so ensure your returns policy is clear from the get-go to avoid disgruntled customers in the new year.

Offer Self Service: FAQ Pages, Order Tracking, Return Resolutions

It’s a busy time of year, so try to make as much as you can self-service. Allow customers to answer their own queries by planning out an FAQ page. Keep customers in the loop about their delivery by providing them a tracking number they can use themselves. Enable them to return items without having to ring or email.

ReturnGO is the perfect addition to your business’s holiday period. While you’re focusing on making your customers feel special and accommodated, our AI return resolution system can help customers looking to return items. ReturnGO will offer customers store credits to cancel their return request, so you have less to worry about. Customers can use the service without contacting your customer service team and can choose from a number of solutions that work for them.

That’s How to Keep Customers Happy!

So, there you have it. These are just a few ways of keeping your customers happy during the busiest time of the year. It’s easy to get caught up in discounts, marketing, and business strategy, but what matters is the customer. Customers are open-minded at Christmas and are much more open to switching their loyalty to new brands that offer the best service.