12 holiday promotion ideas to grow your end-of-year sales

By Zach Links|5 min read|Updated Oct 10, 2024

The holiday season is crucial for businesses to boost sales. With consumers ready to spend, it's the perfect time for creative promotional strategies. But standing out in the crowded holiday marketplace can be challenging.

Effective holiday promotions drive sales and foster customer loyalty. They offer unique incentives and memorable experiences, attracting new customers and encouraging repeat business.

Holiday sales are big business. This year, consumers are expected to spend a record $241 billion online, up 8.4% from 2023.

In this article, we'll explore 12 effective holiday promotion ideas to help you maximize your end-of-year sales.

From early bird offers to social media contests, these strategies are designed to drive conversions during the busiest shopping season.

Early bird offers create urgency and kickstart holiday shopping. They provide exclusive deals or limited-edition products before peak season, attracting early shoppers and spreading out sales volume.

Consider tiered discounts that decrease over time. Start with 30% off in early November, then 20% in late November, and 10% in December. This incentivizes early purchases while still rewarding later shoppers. Another plus: Early bird offers help to manage inventory and reduce last-minute rushes.

Show appreciation to boost brand loyalty. Implement a holiday loyalty program with special rewards or bonus points. This incentivizes spending and creates positive brand associations.

Consider donating a portion of holiday sales to charity. A recent study found that 87% of consumers would buy from companies supporting causes they care about. This can boost sales and enhance your brand reputation.

Offering a free gift with purchase is a powerful way to increase average order value and provide added value to customers. According to one study, 90% of consumers say free add-ons influence their buying decisions.

Choose gifts that complement your main products or showcase new items in your lineup. This can introduce customers to products they might not have considered otherwise. Still, be strategic about the gift threshold — set it high enough to boost sales but not so high that it deters purchases.

Free gift wrapping and messaging attracts time-strapped shoppers — just ask Nordstrom and Williams-Sonoma. This convenience sets you apart from competitors. It enhances the customer experience with minimal effort.

Offer eco-friendly options for environmentally conscious consumers. You can even use custom wrapping paper with your logo for extra brand visibility.

While discounts are a common holiday promotion tactic, they can be highly effective when implemented strategically. And 64% of consumers say that they wait for sales before buying.

Consider tiered discounts based on purchase amount. For example, 10% off orders over $50, 15% off over $100, and 20% off over $150. You can also focus on perceived value by offering bundle deals and limited-time offers.

Leverage your existing customers through referral programs. Offer incentives for both the referrer and the new customer to boost your customer base and sales.

Referrals are incredibly powerful. According to research, referred customers are 200% more likely to spend than non-referred customers. They also convert 5x faster than customers acquired through other means and carry a 4x higher lifetime value.

Make the referral process as simple as possible. Using a platform like Tremendous makes it easy to send rewards at scale and ensures timely reward delivery for your customers.

Free shipping motivates online shoppers. According to one study, 90% of US consumers are more likely to shop online with free shipping. Offer it on all orders during peak days or above a certain amount.

Factor shipping costs into pricing or set a minimum purchase threshold. Leverage free shipping as a limited-time promotion to create urgency.

Gift guide content

Create holiday gift guides to help customers navigate your offerings—segment by recipient type or price point. Host your gift guides on your company website and optimize for relevant SEO keywords. This will drive organic traffic to your site as a result. Take a look at our Employee Holiday Gift Ideas as an example.

Amazon’s annual holiday gift guides — segmented by categories like "Gifts for Her" or "Tech Gifts Under $100" — simplify shopping for millions of customers. These guides boost sales and improve product discovery, helping shoppers find items they might have otherwise missed in Amazon's vast catalog.

Promote your guides across multiple channels to reach as many of your customers as possible. You could also partner with influencers to maximize your reach and acquire new customers.

Leverage "shop local" sentiment for local businesses. Partner with other nearby businesses for gift bundles or cross-promotions to tap into a broader local customer base.

You can also participate in events like Small Business Saturday. An American Express survey found that ~60% of customers who were aware of Small Business Saturday shopped at mom-and-pop stores that day.

Boost engagement with social media contests. Create themed contests encouraging user-generated content. Offer attractive prizes to incentivize participation.

Remember, contests and sweepstakes are one of the most cost-effective ways to acquire customers since you can pool your funds into one prize, rather than scores of small ones. And people love a good contest — every year, roughly 55 million Americans enter some type of sweepstakes.

Create memorable experiences with holiday-themed events. In-store events are a great way to drive foot traffic, but you may have an even better ROI with low-cost virtual events.

Consider events like a holiday shopping night with exclusive discounts, a gift-wrapping workshop, or a virtual cooking class featuring holiday recipes. These events can help build community around your brand.

Offer gift cards as rewards for high-value purchases. For example, give a $20 gift card for every $100 spent. This boosts current sales and drives future visits.

Expiration dates can drive a sense of urgency, but you may see more long-term value with gift cards that remain valid after the holiday season. According to one study, 74% of consumers spend more than the gift card value when redeeming.

Holiday marketing can make or break your end-of-year sales, but some campaigns rise above the rest, driving long-term revenue and brand recognition.

Kohl's hit it out of the park during the 2017 holiday season. They reported a 6.9% increase in sales at stores open at least one year for the combined November and December period. This impressive growth outpaced competitors like Target and JC Penney, who saw a more modest 3.4% bump.

The success wasn't a fluke. It was the result of several well-executed promotional strategies.

Kohl's created a Holiday Gift List, curating popular gift items across various price points. This made it easier for customers to find suitable presents, simplifying the often stressful holiday shopping experience.

Targeted promotions also played a role in Kohl's success. They offered strategic discounts and deals throughout the season, encouraging customers to come back and capitalize on new opportunities to save.

The combination of these strategies created a compelling shopping experience. Customers found gift-buying easier, enjoyed ongoing deals, and were incentivized to return. This holistic approach to holiday promotions set Kohl's apart in a crowded retail landscape.

Launched in 1997, Starbucks' Red Cup Campaign has grown from a simple promotion to a cultural phenomenon. The concept is straightforward but incredibly effective: customers who order a handcrafted holiday beverage on Red Cup Day get a free reusable cup.

Customers can bring the cup back to their local Starbucks for future purchases. They receive a small discount on their beverage, plus 25 bonus Starbucks Rewards stars. This creates an ongoing incentive for repeat visits throughout the holiday season and beyond.

Red Cup Day delivers results year after year. In 2022, Red Cup Day was Starbucks' highest sales day ever in company history. It's a testament to the power of combining a free gift with ongoing rewards.

The impact on customer loyalty is equally impressive. The campaign has led to millions of new Starbucks Rewards loyalty program sign-ups.

The promotion is also extremely cost-effective. The reusable cup is an inexpensive item, yet it drives significant sales and customer loyalty. It's a prime example of how a small investment in the right promotion can pay dividends many times over.

The Red Cup Campaign also taps into the holiday spirit of giving and sustainability. The reusable nature of the cup appeals to eco-conscious consumers. And the act of giving a free gift with purchase creates positive associations with the brand during the giving season.

It's a perfect example of how a small freebie can generate outsized returns. An inexpensive cup drives sales, loyalty, and buzz year after year.

Holiday promotions are a great way to boost EOY sales and foster customer loyalty. From early bird offers to social media contests, there are numerous strategies businesses can employ to stand out during the busy holiday season. The key is to create promotions that provide value to customers while aligning with your brand and business goals.

Remember to start planning your holiday promotions early, measure their effectiveness, and be prepared to adjust your strategies as needed. Even without a multi-million dollar budget, you leverage holiday promotions to boost your bottom line just like Kohl's and Starbucks.

As we've seen, referral programs and incentives can be particularly powerful during the holiday season. They tap into the gift-giving spirit and can turn your existing customers into brand advocates. Implementing a well-designed rewards system can significantly amplify the impact of your holiday promotions, driving both immediate sales and long-term customer loyalty.

Ready to supercharge your holiday promotions with seamless reward distribution? Sign up for Tremendous today or book a demo to see how our platform can amplify your holiday marketing efforts.