Easter consumer spending is at an all-time high. In 2017, Easter spending reached record-breaking numbers totaling $18.4 billion, so it’s safe to say that consumers aren’t afraid to drop some money (to the tune of $150 each) on chocolate bunnies and Easter baskets. With nearly 8 in 10 people celebrating Easter, this is one holiday retailers don’t want to ignore. Here are some of our favorite Easter marketing tips sure to help your store find its golden egg.
Three Ways to Drive Easter Retail Sales This Spring
1) Host an Easter Egg Discount Hunt
In-Store
Easter egg hunts can be fun in a field of grass, but also as a way to engage both your in-store and online customers. If your retail store has a brick-and-mortar storefront, consider hosting an egg hunt by inviting your customers to come to your store to search for hidden eggs.
To help spread the word of the hunt, create an event on Facebook (and be sure to promote it). You can also use your advocacy marketing program to build attention and buzz for the event. You should encourage your advocates to invite friends to the event to help create opportunities for your brand to form meaningful relationships with potential new customers.
It’s up to you what to hide in the eggs, but our advice is to appeal to attending adults (by offering promotional pricing and discounts/gift cards) and their children by rewarding both when an egg is found.
As a best practice, consider filling the eggs with tokens that can be redeemed for discounts, gift cards, prizes, or candy. This helps avoid any of the negative repercussions that come with an empty egg.
Pro Tip: Don’t have an advocacy marketing program? No problem! With a little over four months until the Holiday, your retail brand has the time it takes to launch and grow a successful advocacy marketing program. Check out our 90-day launch guide for more information on how to start your advocacy marketing program today.
Online
You don’t need a big backyard or even a storefront to host an Easter egg hunt. All you need is a little clever website design. Did you know that conversion rates surge nearly 20%+ in the days leading up to Easter? People are online and they’re ready to buy.
Many retail brands are tuning into the fun of the Easter holiday by hiding small “eggs” on their website for shoppers to find. Not only does this help to create excitement and encourage engagement amongst your customers, but it can also increase web traffic as your customers turn to their social networks to share the location of certain eggs.
As with the in-store hunt, it’s up to your brand to decide what to include in the hidden “eggs” some of our favorite ideas include:
- Discounts and promotional pricing
- Gift with purchases
- Gift cards
- Unique product bundles
Be sure to include a shareable link as part of the “egg” finding experience so that your lucky hunters can boast about their discovery on their social media platforms.
2) Easter Basket Bundles
They say you shouldn’t put all your (Easter) eggs in one basket, but there are always exceptions to the rules! Many retailers offer product bundles during the holiday shopping season. News flash though, product bundles aren’t just for holidays!
Take a page from December and create fun product bundles that’ll have your Easter customers clamoring to buy from your retail store.
These bundles should include a mix of fan favorite and best seller products perfect for a family of buyers. You can create different bundles for the different people in your customer’s life including bundles for:
- Him
- Her
- Pet
- Grandma
- Grandkids
- Teacher
- Spouses
Bundled products are a great way for your retail brand to increase its average cart price without increasing advertising costs. Just be sure that the price of the bundle comes out to be less than if the products were purchased individually. Entice your customer to spend a bit more than they were planning by creating an opportunity they can’t pass up.
3) Gift Wrap — Easter Style
Here’s another tactic that can be applied to both brick-and-mortar and online retail brands. Offer your Easter shoppers free gift wrapping (or for a nominal fee) as part of their Easter shopping experience!
While some people might be great at picking the basket contents, many people struggle with making a beautiful, photo-ready gift basket at home. Not only can your retail brand aid them in their quest for the “perfect” basket, but it can do so while creating social-bragging opportunities.
Go nuts with the cellophane, pastel ribbons, and faux grass to create an Instagram-worthy gift basket. Then encourage your customers and advocates to share their baskets online. You can even layer on a social contest to reward customers that tag your store in the post or use a predetermined hashtag in their copy.
One quick note, if you’re going to offer gift wrapping, be sure to get the word out early and let your customers know! Easter gift wrapping is a rare (but welcomed) value add-on. Use it to your retail store’s full advantage to drive customers to your store in the weeks before Easter.
Hop Into Greatness
Get your brand hoppin’ with the help of SocialToaster. Our award-winning advocacy marketing platform has helped big and small brands alike drive sales during the Easter holiday.
Don’t miss out. Contact us today to schedule a free demo!
