10 Boxing Day Marketing Ideas (+ Examples) for eCommerce

It’s the season of celebrations.

Everyone is giving and receiving gifts. This means eCommerce stores everywhere are singing hallelujah! 

And the fun doesn't have to stop after Christmas sales. You can extend your holiday sales streak with these boxing day sales and marketing campaigns in 2022.

What is boxing day and when is it celebrated?

Boxing Day (December 26th) is a holiday right after Christmas traditionally celebrated to gift the poor. However, by the 21st century, Boxing Day has become associated with shopping and sporting events. 

In the UK, Canada, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth nations, Boxing Day sales 2022 will start on December 26th and often last for a whole week between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve and are known as the "Boxing Week Sales" instead of the "Boxing Day Sales".

Note:  In some parts of Europe including Spain, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, and Ireland, December 26th is Saint Stephen's Day, which is considered the second day of Christmas.

Shoppers find the Boxing Day sales to be the best days to shop after Christmas for products that can be used in the next year or that are currently trending or in-season.

Boxing day or boxing week buying behaviour 

Research shows that in 2021, generation Z is the most likely to spend the most, with an average spend of £493. This is a significant amount to spend, which indicates that Gen Z is waiting until Christmas to spend their budget. 

Millennials follow with an average spend of £386, and generation X is planning to spend similarly at almost £344. 

While baby boomers are willing to spend £70 and the silent generation plan to spend just £51 during the Boxing Day sales events.

Beat the post-Christmas blues with these 9 marketing tips (with examples) to prepare your online business for boxing day sales in 2022.  

1. Plan early for Boxing Week (and not just Boxing Day)  

Since every brand is focused on Christmas sales, you can differentiate by marketing Boxing Week and not just Boxing Day.       

HP Canada lets customers know when Boxing Week Sale begins and shows relevant information about the event and benefits such as free shipping, great discounts, customer service, and extended returns. 

In the meantime, the landing page redirects customers to current deals and offers so shoppers can explore and discover products.  

Also, remember, early birds do get the best worms. You can set a countdown timer or an announcement on the landing page to let shoppers know what they’ll be in for.   

Furthermore, if you habitually hold a Boxing Day sales event but have yet to prepare for it, then make sure not to leave customers hanging. See how Lush adds a message that creates anticipation for upcoming sales promotions.  

2. Leverage your Christmas traffic

Christmas holidays are often centered around gift-giving. 

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are usually about buying for others, Boxing Week is when people make purchases for themselves. We like how Walmart

See Bonds messaging on the importance of their Boxing Day sales event. They also add a prompt to sign up for email notifications and get the most out of the shopping experience. 

Furthermore, you can learn from the Christmas sale and upgrade your online store. Measure metrics such as: 

• What products were considered bestsellers, top sellers, and sold out
• What products didn't sell out or didn’t get any traction 
• Retarget shoppers who added products to wishlists 
• Offer a ‘last chance’ to buy products shoppers almost bought 
• Prepare for returns and exchanges 

Read more: Top 30 Christmas marketing examples in eCommerce

3. Highlight products with tags and prompts 

92.6% of buyers say that visuals and imagery influence their purchasing decisions. Visual cues are perceptual signals that influence where users look. An eCommerce website includes symbols, techniques, nudges, colors, etc.

Bestbuy explains how tags such as ‘Boxing Day Price Now’ and ‘Lowest Price of Dec’ will indicate which products are eligible for the Boxing Day sales event. 

Fossil also adds a prompt such as ‘Bestseller’ and ‘Top gifts’ on their product listing page to add a sense of exclusivity.

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4. Show thematic filters 

Filtering helps buyers to make exacting decisions about their purchases.

Experiment with thematic filters to help buyers discover products that match specific themes. 

For instance, Bestandless has a Boxing Day-specific filter that helps to simplify product searches. 

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Read more: Get more conversions from the Search Results page - 15 proven ideas

5. Structure web pages to reflect Boxing Day SEO

37.5% of all traffic to eCommerce sites comes from search engines.

Although SEO has proven to achieve one of the highest ROI, many online stores don’t consistently optimize for organic search. 

Instead, eCommerce stores rely on social media or paid advertising to drive sales for seasonal sales and promotions such as Boxing Day.

Brands can use (primary) keywords relevant to the holiday by adding them to the product titles, meta, and product descriptions.   

But, don’t just stop there. 

You can also add secondary keywords like ‘post-Christmas and ‘after Christmas to capture attention.   

Read more: 3 eCommerce SEO mistakes to avoid and get more conversions

6. Clear out your inventory with a door-crasher event  

Before we delve further, let’s understand what exactly a door-crasher event means. In economics, a doorbuster/door-crasher deal is a sales offer that customers can access products in the early opening hours. This promotion technique includes products that are almost always in limited supply. 

This way brands can clear their inventory and move products at a faster rate. 

See how Sportchek will be hosting a door-crashers event that promotes steep discounts.

Read more: Making “out of stock” products a conversion driver

7. Offer clarity regarding your Boxing Day sales event 

Whenever brands have any promotions, they often get a surge of sales. However, if customers are not satisfied with the product, it might also result in a large number of returns or exchanges. 

Therefore, it’s important to make sure the customers are aware of the facts before they make a purchase. 

See how David Jones has a separate FAQs page for their Boxing Day sales event.  

Read more: 9 proven ways to "prevent" eCommerce returns (+ smart handling ideas)

8. Create content to increase product discovery 

Research has found that 96% of decision-makers say content marketing is instrumental for their brand’s discovery.

As an online store owner, you can invest in content marketing efforts to help buyers discover products way before Boxing Day. 

The Good Guys have an annual Boxing Day event that customers heavily anticipate. On their dedicated landing page, they have a section for guides and articles. 

Shoppers who read the guides are redirected to category and product pages.  

Read more: 14 eCommerce content marketing mistakes (+ their fixes)

9. Drive up loyalty program sign-ups  

Did you know it costs five times more to acquire new customers than it does to retain current customers?

Furthermore, existing customers are 50% more likely to try a new product and spend 31% more than new customers. 

Loyalty programs help to increase share-of-wallet and boost traffic and conversions.  

On Ikea’s Boxing Day landing page, the above-the-fold is centered around their loyalty membership program and saving offers.    

It later delves into the relevant categories, bestsellers, and services to support the online sales event.  

Read more: 14 eCommerce loyalty programs backed by science (examples)

10. (Virtually) humanize the shopping experience 

After the stress of the holidays, potential customers get easily frustrated while trying to find products or order the right product.

For Boxing Day sales, brands can upgrade their chatbot with a virtual shopping assistant. 

Virtual shopping assistants can help to retain potential customers’ interest for a longer time, ensure a smooth shopping experience and offer valued customer service that will eventually convert into a good review.

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Lululemon plugs benefits such as free shipping and ‘Virtual Personal Shopper’ on their Boxing Day landing page. When you go to the product page, it also shows a CTA to shop with virtual assistants.  

Read more: 20 behavioral targeting ideas for 2023 (+ some inspiration)

Wrap Up

Are you looking for more solutions on how to make the most of your Boxing Day sales campaign? Get your site audited and see how to increase your conversion rate and grow your eCommerce business.