Christmas is celebrated worldwide towards the end of the year, on 25th December. While the northern hemisphere celebrates it during the cold winter months, countries like Australia and New Zealand celebrate it during the warm summer.
Christmas in July, a tradition that’s gaining fast momentum in Australia, mimics the festival and celebration during the winter season. Australian retailers can boost sales in the first quarter of the year when shopping typically kicks off towards the end of the quarter before the peak sales season kicks in.
This comprehensive guide examines how Australian retailers can leverage the season of joy, gifting, and winter to cater to seasonal demand and encourage customers to shop online.
We’ll explore marketing, fulfillment, and product selection methods, giving you the know-how and resources to have a successful Christmas in July 2024.
History Of Christmas In July In Australia
While Christmas traditionally falls in the heart of summer in Australia, many Aussies celebrate a “second Christmas” in July – Christmas in July! Christmas in July is typically celebrated on the 25th of July every year. The exact origin of this festive tradition remains unclear, but theories point to the late 1970s or early 1980s.
One popular story attributes the spark to a group of Irish tourists visiting the snowy Blue Mountains in July. Delighted by the wintery scene, they convinced a local hotel owner to host a “Yulefest” party with Christmas decorations and festive cheer. This unique event garnered attention and potentially inspired similar celebrations across Australia.
For Australian retailers, Christmas in July presents a great sales opportunity. It allows them to use the festive spirit and gift-giving sentiment associated with Christmas. This injects a welcome boost to winter sales, traditionally a slower period than the holiday rush at the end of the year.
Christmas in July promotions often feature winter-themed products alongside traditional Christmas items at slashed prices, creating a unique shopping experience for consumers.
Overview of Christmas In July Sales in Australia
Christmas in July 2022
According to Australia Post, online retail sales in Australia grew by 11.3% in the July 2022 quarter (which often includes CIJ activity). This suggests a potentially strong performance for CIJ in 2022 and a linear increase in sales for the upcoming year as well. After a period of sales slump, Australian shoppers tend to capitalize on sales during July and August, indicating the increased sales potential and demand during the holiday.
Christmas in July 2023
Christmas in July sales experienced a steady growth for Australian sellers in 2023 as well. With product categories such as apparel and fashion and health and beauty still maintaining their position at the top, one can conclude that the 2023 Christmas in July sales was a success similar to the year before.
What Sellers can expect in July 2024?
Much like Christmas in July 2023 and Christmas in July 2022, this year has seen a sustainable growth when it comes to sales volume. With categories such as health and beauty, and fashion and apparel gaining significant traction, this sales season can be predicted to be a great revenue boost for Aussie sellers. With Christmas in July sales expected to happen before the Peak sales period, fashion and apparel, Books, Print and Stationery, Hobbies and recreational goods, health and beauty are industries to watch out for. In 2022, fashion and apparel saw a 108% uplift in sales during peak sales periond and health and beauty saw a 81% growth in comparison to a non-sales shopping period!
Additionally, according to an AusPost study, in Q1 2023, around 5.7 million households shopped online. This also means that 4.3% more households shopped online when compared to Q1 of the previous year.
This surge in online spending improves the potential for sellers to leverage this day to its best potential and boost sales.
5 Ways To Prep Your Online Store For The Christmas in July Sale
Sales season is right around the corner! To ensure your online store enjoys a boost in sales volume, preparation is key. Here are 5 essential ways to get your store ready for a successful Christmas in July sale:
1. Identify Seasonal Products and Forecast Demand for the Christmas in July Sale
Before any sale, it is important to identify what products will likely sell during the winter in Australia. Looking at your inventory helps you surface products that are closer to their shelf-life expiry, old stock that may not sell beyond the winter, and potential best sellers.
Sellers can use these insights to:
- Finalize product line up for sale
- Choose the markup for each product ahead of the sale
- Create bundles exclusive to the Christmas in July sales to attract more shoppers and increase sales concersions.
2. Inventory Stocking and Allocation ahead of the sales day
Stock Up: Analyze past sales data to predict which products will be most popular during the sale. Increase inventory levels for these high-demand items to avoid stockouts that can cripple sales momentum.
Predict the Unpredictable: Allocate a buffer of additional inventory for unexpected bestsellers. Consider offering pre-orders for highly anticipated items to gauge demand and manage stock effectively.
3. Multi-Channel Management to attract holiday shoppers
One Platform: Integrate your online store on top Australian sales channels (website, social media platforms, marketplaces) into a single management system. This allows you to monitor inventory levels, update pricing, and seamlessly track sales performance across all platforms.
Effortless Updates: Syncing your inventory across platforms ensures you never oversell a product. This can potentially eliminate customer frustration and potential damage to your brand reputation.
4. Promotions to Build the Christmas in July Sale Hype
Spread the Word: Create excitement about the pre-sale through targeted email marketing campaigns, social media promotions, and influencer partnerships. Create a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and early-bird discounts.
Abandoned Cart Nudge: Don’t let abandoned carts by shoppers during their previous runs hold you back. Promote your Christmas in July sales through automated email campaigns to bring them back during the sale. For shoppers who didn’t complete a purchase, send email and instant alerts to encourage them to complete their purchases.
5. Be Operationally Ready for Christmas in July Sales
Sales-Themed Packing: A great Christmas in July sale should reflect the spirit of the sale from the moment a shopper visits your online store to the time the receive their order. Changes to e-commerce packaging, special inserts, notes with greetings or packages with announcements can help foster brand loyalty and drive repeat purchases.
Warehouse Operations: Establishing operation procedures and briefing your warehouse team can help bring them up to speed on new packaging methods, product bundles and other changes. Specific handling and packing instructions, proper labelling will improve picking and packing accuracy while reducing returns.
Partnering with a 3PL for Christmas In July Shipping and Delivery
Managing the surge in orders, inventory fluctuations, and nationwide deliveries can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare, especially during such a busy sales day. This is where a proven partner – a Third-Party Logistics (3PL) provider – can be your Santa Claus in disguise. Here’s why partnering with a 3PL is a winning strategy for your Christmas in July sale:
Beyond In-House Limitations:
While managing fulfillment in-house might seem appealing, it often falls short during high-volume sales seasons. Limited storage space, inflexibility in scaling operations, and the burden of nationwide deliveries can significantly hinder your sales potential. Partnering with a 3PL allows you to make sue of their expertise and infrastructure to ensure a smooth and successful sale.
Benefits of a 3PL Powerhouse:
- Nationwide Reach: 3PL providers boast extensive warehouse networks across Australia, enabling them to deliver your products to customers across the country, including remote areas. This expands your customer base and sales potential.
- Distributed Warehousing: Strategically located warehouses closer to your customer base can significantly reduce delivery times and improve customer satisfaction. A 3PL partner to help you with the Christmas in July orders can provide this distributed network, ensuring faster deliveries of orders and happier customers.
- Tech-Powered Efficiency: 3PL providers utilize advanced Order Management Systems (OMS) that integrate seamlessly with your online store. This centralized system offers real-time inventory visibility, order tracking capabilities, and valuable data insights – all crucial for a smooth Christmas in July sales season.
- Flexible Warehousing Solutions: Forget the hassle of leasing and managing a large warehouse. 3PL providers offer flexible storage solutions, where you only pay for the space you use. This is ideal for unpredictable sales seasons like Christmas in July, where inventory needs can fluctuate.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: 3PLs offer real-time order tracking functionalities, allowing customers to easily monitor their deliveries. This transparency builds trust and fosters a positive customer experience.
- Proactive Inventory Management: Advanced OMS systems used by 3PLs can send automated alerts when inventory levels dip below a certain threshold. This allows you to plan restocking efforts in advance and avoid stock outs that can cripple your sales momentum.
Fulfill More Orders During Christmas In July 2024 With Locad
Locad empowers you to fulfill more orders and maximize sales with our comprehensive fulfillment solutions:
- Demand Forecasting: Don’t get caught short-handed! Our advanced demand forecasting tools access historical sales data, and log in your forecats ahead of the Christmas in July sales. This allows the warehouse executives to prioritize and handle your orders even if there is a higher inflow that usual. Specifying the forecasts ahead makes it possible for the warehouse team to pick and pack your orders and dispatch it on time for last mile keeping the marketplace SLAs intact.
- Custom Packaging: Stand out from the crowd with personalized Christmas in July packaging. Locad offers a variety of customizable packaging options, allowing you to add a festive touch to your deliveries and create a memorable customer experience.
- Warehouses Strategically Placed: Locad boasts a network of strategically located warehouses across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth in Australia. This ensures fast and efficient delivery to your customers, regardless of their location. Reach a wider audience and deliver that Christmas cheer nationwide.
- Marketplace with Inventory Allocation: Selling across multiple marketplaces? No problem! Locad’s intelligent inventory management system allows for marketplace-specific inventory allocation. This prevents overselling across platforms and ensures you have the right stock available for each customer, wherever they choose to shop.
- Top Last-Mile Delivery Partners: Locad collaborates with Australia’s leading last-mile carrier partners. This ensures your products are delivered efficiently and reliably, directly to your customers’ doorsteps. Fulfill more orders faster and ensure your orders reach customers within and outside Australia.
Conclusion
A strong presence in the festive marketplace and maximum sales depend on careful preparation, eye-catching promotions, and a flawless customer experience. Embrace the idea that July is Christmas, and see how your company grows during this thrilling time of year for sales!
Partner with Locad this Christmas in July and unlock the true potential of your Australian online business. With our expertise in demand forecasting, custom packaging, strategically located warehouses, marketplace-specific inventory allocation, and top last-mile delivery partnerships, you’ll be equipped to fulfill more orders, boost sales, and sleigh the competition!
Get in touch with Locad right now, and together, let’s make this July Christmas truly unforgettable!
