Your playbook for successful seasonal sales

1Expand your ability to reach new customers

In the countdown to your peak selling season, attracting and keeping customers is essential. Here are a few tips for helping to expand your customer base.

Plan your seasonal marketing strategy.

Creating seasonal marketing content and promotions is an important way to drive sales. You can optimize your online content with keywords that are specific to your season and business; an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy will help. Personalizing your communications, discounts, and product recommendations is another way to build loyalty and drive sales. See more ways to capture customers’ attention with online marketing.

Consider an all-in-one payment solution like PayPal Checkout.

With PayPal Checkout, you can let customers pay by Venmo (US only), debit or credit card, BNPL options like PayPal Pay Later, and alternative payment methods — all through a single integration. With this simple, streamlined solution, you and your customers can rest assured your transactions are monitored by one of the world’s most trusted brands.

Expand your seasonal business to new channels.

Although many customers know you can use Venmo (US only) for person-to-person payments, they may not know you can use it for purchases. Selling on social media is another prime opportunity. It also makes seasonal marketing easy — you can create and share your listing in minutes.

Sell seasonal products wherever you do business with Zettle.

Take this portable, point-of-sale terminal with you from your store to the farmer’s market. The PayPal Zettle app is built in, so there’s no smartphone or tablet required to take payments for seasonal merchandise on the go.

2Improve cash flow and prepare using seasonal forecasting

Cash flow issues happen to businesses large and small. Here are some ways you can help avoid the crunch when you’re at your busiest.

Budget for your busy season.

Create a budget using past years as a benchmark. First, combine your income sources. Then, add up your fixed and variable expenses. Finally, subtract your expenses from your income to track business performance. You can use this data to minimize expenses or maximize revenue as needed.

Offer pay later options.

By offering pay later options, you can help drive revenue and help your cash flow, too. The best part? You get paid up front while your customers can pay in installments. Whether you offer PayPal Pay in 4 or Pay Monthly, it’s a simple way to help drive cart size and conversion at no cost to you.

Get paid fast by switching to digital invoicing.

Drive cash flow by getting paid quickly using electronic invoicing. PayPal Invoicing simplifies invoice management by giving you the tools to create, send, and track invoices, and customers can pay you in as little as minutes even if they don’t use PayPal. By scheduling recurring invoices and automatic past-due notices, you’ll simplify your to-do list, too.

3Streamline operations before your busy season

From inventory to shipping, here are a few ways you can help optimize operations and save yourself time when it’s at a premium.

Tackle supply chain issues early.

Help prevent supply chain issues during your peak season by taking stock of seasonal inventory now. Create a backup plan for suppliers in case delays arise with your usual source. And keep customers updated early and often about limited seasonal merchandise, too.

Follow shipping best practices.

Choose shipping with online tracking so you’ll know when seasonal products were shipped and delivered. Consider adding shipping insurance, which may cover an item if it’s lost or damaged, while also providing tracking and delivery details. See more shipping best practices and explore shipping with PayPal.

4Keep seasonal business information up to date

It’s easy to leave account updates until the last minute. But missing or out-of-date account information can have tax implications, or even lead to limitations on sending and receiving funds. Prevent those headaches in the future by logging on to your PayPal account now.

Look for alerts.

In some instances, when action is needed, you’ll see an alert on your account dashboard after login. If the Tax ID Number you provided to PayPal differs from the one filed with the IRS, for example, you’ll see a prompt for you to update your Tax ID.

Check your business information.

Make sure your business name, address, and details are up to date. This can help you avoid hassles when your seasonal business is at its peak.

Update your password.

This simple step can help you prevent issues like fraud and theft when you’re busy making sales.