Early eCommerce peak season prep: A checklist

Start eCommerce peak season prep months in advance

The peak sales period can be a hectic time for eCommerce retailers. Orders are flying out the door. Website traffic’s up. Customer enquiries are coming at you left, right, and centre. How well your team handles the pressure can depend on the plans you put in place months beforehand.

Planning for eCommerce peak season – which starts around the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and continues through to Christmas – should ideally begin in July.

This head start will give you plenty of time to review your business best practices, explore options for levelling up and work through any complex elements and processes.

So what do you need to do today to prepare for peak season? Here’s our snappy checklist, which also includes insights from five seasoned Australian eCommerce retailers.

1. Outline a clear and solid sales strategy

It’s one thing to announce a storewide sale. It’s another to develop a clear sales strategy that rewards loyal customers or offers a unique point of difference to set you apart from competitors. Think about what ‘sale’ means to your business and how you’ll deliver it.

For instance, online personalised gift shop CMC Gold launches a set of offers that keep customers engaged throughout the entire sale period.

“We always try to keep it interesting, so every few days over that period. we’ll send emails talking about different products and offers. We’ll do a sale but also a ‘golden ticket’ offer and a ‘win your order back’ offer,” says co-founder Maurice Sacco.

The persistence pays off. Maurice says, “We find that those who purchase during our sale period end up being the biggest spenders throughout their customer lifespan.”

Beth Wilson, founder of makeup brush cleaning brand Saint Jack Cosmetics, says Black Friday, being the biggest sale event of the year, demands a big offer. “If you don’t have a striking enough offer that’s better than what you’ve had throughout the year then you won’t get noticed,” she says.

“People are now using Black Friday as an opportunity to buy Christmas presents. But everyone has a finite amount of cash so whether they’re going to spend it with you or elsewhere will depend on how enticing your offer is.”

2. Strengthen your supply chain

With your strategy in hand, it’s time to turn your attention to your supply chain. As many eCommerce retailers would have experienced during the pandemic, supply chain issues can have a huge impact on your business. Shore up your supply chain resilience and if you’re not sure where your business stands, take this supply chain fitness check.

For Paul Coghlan, co-founder of skincare company Antidote Essentials, supply chain planning starts three months ahead of peak season. “We use several suppliers for our ingredients and packaging and there’s always a chance that an ingredient could be out of stock. This could have a massive impact across many of our products,” he says.

Having alternate suppliers available or using a multi-sourcing strategy will put your brand or business in a better position if a key product component is suddenly unavailable.

3. Brush up on packaging best practice

From boxes to fillers, you’ll need plenty of packaging to get you through peak season. Review last year’s sales, make realistic packaging projections for this year’s peak season and build in some buffer.

Natural health-food producer, Roogenic goes one step further by ordering a year’s worth of packaging at the beginning of each calendar year. Every few months, they order a specific amount based on their sales forecast.

“And because we have a local supplier, we’re able to get our boxes within days during the busy months,” says Roogenic’s Marketing Director, Jordan Bruno. “We’re really geared up to scale quickly and it’s never been a limitation for us.”

If you're using custom packaging, make sure you have a good lead time your order and keep Emma Kate Co's packaging best practice in mind.

"Making sure our product arrives safely is paramount. So our custom boxes specifically fit the shape and size of our product so that it's snug and safe inside the parcel. All of our boxes are matte laminated and non-reflective so it moves smoothly through Australia Post's machines," says founder, Emma Kate Codrington.

Also, ensure you don't overload your parcels or satchels because it could crease the labels. This makes the barcode harder to read and could cause delays.

Not sure what you need when it comes to packaging supplies? Get some great tips on packaging your online orders like a pro.

4. Get up to speed on manifesting best practice

For large businesses, timing is everything when it comes to manifesting.

Manifesting too early and your customer may get an unrealistic delivery expectation, which could lead to calls or emails asking why their product has been delayed even though it hasn't. Manifesting too late could cause delays or reduce the delivery options to your customers.

Kathmandu has multiple pickups every day during peak season and pays close attention to manifesting each order correctly.

Brett Fielding, Kathmandu's National Distribution Centre Manager says, "We manifest in line with the pickup times to ensure that it's accurate, live information being sent to our customers so they feel positive about receiving their delivery."

5. Triple-check staffing and inventory

As the end of the year draws closer, make sure you’ve got the right number of staff on hand to help, and ensure your inventory management system is in good order.

The team at Antidote Essentials, for instance, is fastidious about inventory management. Paul says, “We keep accurate records of our inventory and packaging all year round. This helps inform our planning for sale events.”

November is Roogenic’s biggest month and Jordan says peak planning starts in June with making sure inventory levels are sufficient. “There's a massive amount of work that goes into our manufacturing process with sales forecasts to make sure that we can cater towards the sales levels that we need.”

The Gourmet Pantry’s peak prep also starts in June with the packing of Christmas hampers, which gives the team plenty of time to monitor and adjust inventory.

“Our Supply and Logistics team meet each week to carefully plan what and when each component is required based on when each type of gift hamper will be constructed. Everything is carefully planned to ensure that everyone's delivery times are met,” says Managing Director, Andrew Richards.

6. Polish your customer service and communications

Peak season is when Roogenic gets the most revenue not just from returning customers but also from new ones. Naturally, they seize the opportunity to give these customers the best possible brand experience. This means putting deep thought into their sales and marketing strategies, and the post-purchase cycle.

“We make sure to give customers the right information on how to use our products or we offer gift cards and wrapping,” Jordan says. “If they’re gifting our products to a friend then we make sure that friend has the best experience as well because we want both of them to come back. This is how we really capitalise on peak season.”

Roogenic is also meticulous with their post-purchase communications. Customers are told in the order confirmation email if dispatch times are taking longer than usual because of higher sales volumes. Roogenic also tracks each order and, where necessary, sends customers an email update. This not only results in a positive customer experience but also less customer enquiries.

7. Strike for first time delivery

Make the last mile count by putting plans in place for a great delivery experience.

Talk to your delivery partner about what you can do to improve your first-time delivery rate. If you partner with Australia Post, consider offering more alternative delivery options, such as delivery to a Parcel Locker, Post Office or our other Collection Points.

It’s all about convenience and control. By giving customers more choice about where their parcel is delivered, which includes the ability to pick up their parcel from a secure location at a time that suits them, you’re doing your bit to improve the delivery experience.

Think about speed of delivery too. In the lead-up to Christmas, people want things fast. And, if you don’t offer express delivery options, you could lose customers – particularly younger ones. In fact, 67% of Gen Z and 57% of Gen Y would switch retailers if it meant faster shipping.¹

The Gourmet Pantry offers free Express Post on most hampers to ensure they are delivered in the quickest possible time.

Andrew says, “Partnering with a reliable delivery service like Australia Post is critical because during the peak trading period, they pick up from us twice per day – meaning that as soon as the orders are packed, they are on the journey to the end recipient as fast as possible.”

“Our platform and technology also keep the customer updated on the full journey, from order being received to being dispatched and delivered.”

Early preparation can turn eCommerce peak season challenges into opportunities. This checklist will help your business get ready to meet increased demand, deliver exceptional customer experiences and thrive throughout the busy season.

This article was originally published on 3 July 2023 and has been updated with new information.