Come March or April, Easter celebrations start in full swing. In a recent survey, Easter ranks 11th at 65% in terms of most celebrated holidays.
With the total planned Easter spending expected to reach 20.8 billion US dollars, the opportunity for eCommerce brands to start Easter and Spring campaigns is immense.
19 Easter and Spring Marketing Ideas
1. Create an expert guide for the Best Easter Celebrations
Nearly 80% of Americans celebrate but still find it difficult to come up with ideas. An expert guide containing tips about favorite Easter recipes, party tips, or arranging the table for the best Easter dinner will pique your customer’s interest.
Create an eBook and send it to your email list as a free download. The expert guide can contain:
- Golden rules that are not hard to follow—For example, choosing spring flavors or including ham as part of the dinner menu since it's a staple
- Time-saving hacks that are simple and get the job done—For instance, if you’re a furniture brand, explain why a cotton tablecloth is better than nylon
- Gently upsell your product via possible scenarios—For instance, if you’re a protein supplement brand, create a mocktail recipe
2. Take out the slow-moving inventory via smart bundling
Your slow-moving inventory is gathering dust. Now’s the time to bundle it and create an Easter or Spring basket and sell it at a discount.
Here’s a pro tip to get started—Mix slow-selling inventory with fast-selling ones for better results.
Here’s why it works:
- You can sell your least-selling and less popular products
- It will motivate customers to pay more for the bundle than they would have in the case of individual products
- Value-conscious customers who were not attracted earlier will now buy from you
MyProtein is selling its Mike and Ike Essentials Starter pack.
Selling your slow-selling inventory goods with fast selling ones increase sales by 20% as compared to pure bundling.
Including the mixed product bundles at the checkout compels customers to take a look at the products.
Don't forget to check out 13 product bundling examples that convert (& 10 proven ideas)
3. Weigh in the expert’s opinion
Including an authority or expert opinion in your Spring marketing campaigns will help in convincing people to take action. When customers have little to no awareness as to what they want they listen to people who have proven expertise.
The Armoury creates a Spring guide to choosing the right trouser by Gianluca Migliarotti, founder of Pompella Napoli, on the reasons why a certain fabric suits for the summer.
4. Jazz it up with a product discovery quiz
Customers find it tough to identify what products they want. A product discovery quiz will help customers:
- Take easy decisions when it comes to complex products. For example, a shoe finder quiz can help you find shoes based on your pronation type
5. Let media mentions lead the way
Customers have a lot of options to choose from and media mentions demonstrate credibility and authority as a brand and shape a positive brand image.
For new customers, media mentions convey that this brand is worth a try.
Here are a few tips to make the most of your media mentions—
6. Offer perks in exchange for early access
Reciprocity is one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Offer Easter and Spring exclusive offers in exchange for signing up for early access products. It could be a new product that had been in the works or a premium product.
55% of Americans belonging to the (18-24) age group shop online for Easter. This is an opportunity as Gen Z is more likely to grab early access deals.
Case in point, MeUndies offers an early access deal to customers which includes exclusive access to Robes and Slippers.
According to a Shopify study, 60% of customers are willing to join a loyalty program because of early access to sales while 51% want early access to products.
7. Revive old conversations with back-in-stock emails
With an open rate of 65.35%, back-in-stock emails can help sell seasonal product categories and products as part of your Spring marketing campaigns.
Here’s what your back-in-stock emails should include:
- A witty copy to grab the user's attention
- Use a high-quality before/after product images as a reminder
- Remind the customers when they signed up— emphasize benefits over features
- Use scarcity—leverage limited-time nudge
- Offer free shipping and easy returns as nudges to persuade customers to buy
Here is a back-in-stock email from Tens with best sellers back in stock. Apart from free shipping the main takeaway is the use of orange and black fonts as visual cues.
8. Offer 101 guides to educate customers
101 guides explain the uses of the product and its application just enough to compel users to browse the site. They educate customers if they are the right fit for the product while making decision-making easier.
A few tips to help you:
- Offer a solution to a problem—For instance, offer a DIY solution to eliminate food stains from jeans after an Easter party
- List out the multiple use cases a particular product might help—For example, as a whey protein brand, explain how whey protein can cure a hangover
- Explain why certain clothes are not the best choice for Spring and offer alternatives instead
Here’s a 101 guide email from Pulp & Press which educates users about cutting back on refined sugar with a blog post. Along with the upsell, the brand aims to bring awareness about sugar cravings and addiction.
9. Start your Easter email campaigns earlier than Good Friday
Americans began their Easter shopping early. That’s what the data indicates.
According to an Omnisend study, an analysis of 2.75 billion emails indicates that people start shopping throughout the month of Easter, with the highest sales registered on Good Friday.
Here’s a checklist before you start blasting your Easter marketing campaigns:
- Make new product introductions in emails instead of only discounts
- Send announcement emails mentioning standard certifications and other milestones
Here’s an email from Stila announcing its Leaping Bunny Certified, the gold standard certification.
- Send a customer appreciation email thanking them for their support and wish them
- Use an inverted pyramid approach— Attention grabber, anticipation builder, and CTA
- Keep the text-to-image 80:20 to avoid triggering spam filters
- Use a custom sending domain to reinforce trust
You'll love reading Increasing sales through email marketing: The no-nonsense guide
10. Sell complementary product categories for Spring
Selling complementary product categories increases the perceived value of the product making it a brilliant Spring marketing idea. Here is an example of Howler Bros. selling board shorts and towels increasing their utility.
57% of Americans planned to spend the spring at the beach or outdoors making the shorts and towel they must have in the outdoor beach kit.
Combine it with a strong complementary product.
11. Evoke the right emotions
Knowing what makes your customers buy helps targeting the right emotions.
This helps in creating high-converting Easter marketing campaigns.
Emotional Marketing is a messaging that companies use to target specific human emotions and engage customers.
Pet-Supermarket addresses the well-being of pets. This directly hits the bullseye since pet parents always want the best for their pets.
Include educational content that evokes concern.
The above example also evokes concern by educating customers why chocolates are harmful to their pets.
Here are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself before investing in an emotionally driven campaign:
- What kind of emotions are you able to create?
- How will these specific emotions influence customers to purchase?
- Will these emotions help in the future?
12. Highlight your cause marketing initiatives
42% of American customers would pay extra for products and services from companies committed to positive social and environmental causes.
Highlighting your cause marketing efforts in your Spring campaigns attracts customers who seek purpose-driven brands. 86% of customers are likely to purchase from purpose-driven brands, even better if there’s a mutual match.
Old Pal Provisions mentions it causes marketing efforts in its Spring campaign where it will donate $1 for every product bought to OneTreePlanted, a non-profit organization that plants trees all over the world.
13. Make Easter and Spring shopping affordable with BNPL options
The demand for BNPL services in the US is growing with 41% of American customers using them in the 2022 holiday season.
Offering BNPL payment options helps split the financial burden since it allows users to pay interest-free payments. This is helpful during Easter and Spring seasons because the offers are too good to refuse.
Other reasons for the increased adoption of BNPL services include—
- Avoid paying credit interest
- Borrow without a credit check
- Can’t afford credit cards
Further, eCommerce retailers that offer BNPL services experience a 2.1% increase in the average conversion rate.
14. Woo last-minute shoppers with countdown sales
Last-minute shoppers look for the best deals that offer more savings. And they are ready to spend more provided they get a good bargain.
Using a countdown timer can increase your conversion rate by up to 400%.
Here’s what can you do to make your timers binding:
- Use contractions and exclamations to communicate the urgency—For example, There’s still time! and Don’t forget your $60 free gift!
- Leverage epizeuxis—the repetition of a word in quick succession to emphasize a word. This increases power and memorability. Here’re two examples: Chop Chop! and Tring Tring!
15. Make gifting special with exclusivity
Attracting your customers for Easter and Spring campaigns doesn’t always mean turning to limited-time offers. Here’s another trick in the book: Exclusivity.
We love how Lush introduced limited edition products for its Easter marketing campaigns.
Limited edition products help ease the nerves of customers as they make for great gifting options.
In the example above, the product badge helps customers in discovering products alongside driving interest in purchasing limited edition products. The images bring the luxury aspect to life and bridge the gap between the real products and their online representation.
Limited edition products can help woo important demographics. According to a YPulse study, 46% of Gen Z and 45% of Millennials have a high affinity towards limited edition products.
To make your limited edition products sell like hotcakes:
- Ensure they’re really limited edition products i.e. they should be available only for Easter and Spring, not otherwise—best sellers aren't limited edition products
- Collaborate across genres to create brand exposure and reach new audiences—Lush joins hands with Nintendo to create Super Mario limited edition products
- Convey luxury and exclusivity in product descriptions—Lush uses storytelling and adjectives to sell the intrinsic value of limited-edition products
- Feature ‘No. of customers viewing’ nudge on product pages to create urgency for limited edition products
16. Provide convenient shipping options
22% of US customers abandon their carts because of slow delivery timelines.
To ensure your Easter marketing ideas don’t fail, offer convenient shipping options.
Ashland offers store pickup, same day delivery, and free shipping.
While Buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) helps customers save shipping costs and reduce shipping time, retailers stand to benefit as well. Decreased returns and increased in-store spending are prominent perks for brands.
In fact, 41% of retailers opined that the average BOPIS order increased by one or two items, when during pickup.
49% of customers state that same day delivery makes them shop online more.
50% of customers choose free shipping despite slower delivery times.
Here’s how you can make shipping convenient for customers:
- Offer 2 day shipping as customers don’t mind waiting— 85% of customers are willing to buy if offered 2-day shipping
- Offer curbside pickup to help save shipping costs, shorten delivery time, and increase overall sales—45% of customers highly prefer curbside pickup
- Inform shipment delays at the earliest—94% of customers expect brands to inform shipment delays before they ask
- Mention the shipping method—ground shipping or air shipping, plus the shipping carrier so customers aren’t kept in the dark
17. Stir excitement with flash sales
Flash sales are limited-time offer sales that last for a particular duration, usually 24 hours.
Proven to increase the transaction rate by 35%, flash sales can help you boost your sales during seasonal campaigns like Easter and Spring.
Helix includes flash sales as a part of its spring marketing campaign.
A flash sale popup reduces cart abandonment rates and encourages customers to submit their email IDs. This brings forth reciprocity marketing since the offer includes 20% sitewide sales and more gifts on purchase of $150. A tangible value that’s irresistible.
Lastly, running flash sale campaigns can help sell your slow-moving inventory in the form of bundles. Customers pay a lesser price than they pay for the individual items otherwise.
To make the most of the flash sales for your Easter and Spring marketing campaign:
- Run flash sales a day or two before Easter—Frequent flash sales mean customers experience flash sale fatigue
- Schedule spike tests and see if your site is prepared for site outages and a heavy influx of traffic
- Take note of your inventory. Ensure you get real-time inventory updates each second an order is placed. When the last order is sold out, your site automatically shows out of stock
- Ensure there are no order and shipping delays—69% of customers are less likely to shop from a retailer when an order hasn't arrived within two days of the delivery date
18. Bring in tiered discounts
Tiered discounts can be a better alternative to traditional discounts. It allows customers to get a higher discount when they reach a threshold.
The primary motivation to avail tiered discounts is purely psychological—a sense of accomplishment that pushes your customers to spend more.
Kendra Scott rolls out a tiered discount for its Easter marketing campaign. With a percentage-off discount, it brilliantly enhances its perceived value.
Before applying tiered discounts, here are a few tips:
- Offer a percentage discount for products under $100 and dollar off discount for items above $100—makes mind math easy
- Stick to discounts that are multiples of 5—customers remember better this way
- Use a progress bar to nudge customers to the higher tier—try the copy, You are $12 away from a 10% discount
19. Sell Easter merchandise
Every occasion deserves something special, and so does Easter. Creating an Easter merchandise stirs an emotional connection that’s tied to culture. It evokes nostalgia, a compelling reason to buy seasonal products.
Tipsy Elves creates an Easter-themed collection with various options that make great gifts.
Here are a few relevant points, you’d want to consider:
- Creating limited stock—excess stock means a loss in perceived value
- Offer an option to customize—names and initials for individuals
- Trigger real urgency—add a message X people have added this to their carts
Easter Marketing by the numbers
The average spending for Easter has increased by 31% from 2009 to 2022. According to NRF, inflation concerns drove customers to spend on things that are a bang for their buck in 2022.
Here’s a look at the numbers—
- 42% of American customers will switch to another retailer if the price is high
- 31% of customers will find another alternative like a different color
Top Easter Celebration Plans
As per the 2020-2022 data, the percentage of people shopping online remained constant at 17% with a 4% decrease in 2022. While the percentage of customers shopping in-store saw an increase from 9% in 2020 to 13% in 2021, the figure remained the same for 2022.
The percentage tied between in-store and online shopping on Easter demonstrates that people are divided between the two. These could be due to the percentage of discounts, offers, and other perks that are more or less the same at physical stores and online stores.
Easter & Spring Marketing Ideas 101
1. How do you market Easter?
a) Roll out limited-time offers
Limited-time offers are time-sensitive discounts that create real urgency. Adopting this approach for your Easter marketing campaigns can help you with brand visibility, increased sales, and higher AOV.
While they increase the perceived value of the product and encourage higher spending, they help reduce cart abandonment rates equally well.
The best part, limited time offers can help earn profits during a seasonal period such as Easter.
b) Early access offers
Early access offers can help you generate the buzz in the weeks leading up to Easter as well as Spring campaigns. They offer a sense of exclusivity and privilege to customers. They get to buy the latest products that haven't been released to the public. This can help develop customer loyalty and help in customer retention.
2. When should I start Easter marketing?
As a rule of thumb, 3 weeks before Easter is the ideal time to start your Easter marketing. A sizable percentage of customers will start Easter shopping in mid-March.
Going by the latest NRF reports, 81% of US customers will celebrate Easter and spend an average of $192.01. The shopping preferences are divided since 54% will buy from stores that offer attractive discounts. 33% of customers will shop online.
The above data indicates that price is still the deciding factor when it comes to buying. With inflation looming large, customers are bound to be price sensitive. This means you need to start Easter email marketing with limited-time offers, faster shipping options, and importantly value deals such as BOGO.
The numbers are skewed towards the brick and mortar stores because of the ease of making returns. As an online retailer, you can offer 30-day returns to reduce loss aversion.
3. What should I post on social media for Easter?
For your Easter Marketing on social media, posts that benefit your customers serve great value. The post should offer a tangible benefit that drives engagement.
Chewy offers a DIY recipe as part of its Easter social media campaign. This educates, empowers, and empathizes with its customers. It nudges users to commit to an activity boosting its social media engagement for Easter.
4. What sells most in Easter?
Items that have historically been purchased in large quantities in spending include candy ($3.3 billion), gifts ($3.8 billion), and food ($7.3 billion).
Other important things customers are expected to spend include $4 billion on clothes, $1.8 billion on flowers, $1.7 billion on decorations, and $1.1 billion on greeting cards.
5. What do you email for Easter?
As with all seasonal campaigns, your Easter email campaigns must contain:
a) Sitewide sales
Sitewide sales encourage new customers to purchase. They provide brand visibility and lead to short-term spikes in sales. Not to forget, they help you sell slow-moving inventory with a favorable AOV.
Frank And Oak offer sitewide sales of up to 30%. The promo code is an incentive for customers to shop. More than 85% of customers feel encouraged to purchase if a promo code is offered to them.
b) Provide gifting options
Gifting isn’t as easy as it looks. Customers feel overwhelmed to find a gift that meets the preferences and liking of the recipient. Wanderer Bracelets makes it easy for customers by providing gifting options.
70% of people find it hard to give the right gift while more than 50% are stressed about giving and receiving gifts. When brands such as yours, offer gifting options, it invokes reciprocity and authority.
6. What do you say in a spring newsletter?
Brainstorming spring marketing ideas can be tough, here’s a list of spring promo ideas you can add to your spring newsletter campaigns:
a) Back-in-stock emails
Back-in-stock emails are useful in attracting customers who showed interest in buying your product but couldn’t for obvious reasons. They bring customers back into the eCommerce funnel and increase the odds of sales.
Back-in-stock emails have a staggering 65.32% open rate, the highest among all other email types.
Here’s a back-in-stock email from Haus as part of its spring campaign.
b) Be the well wisher
You don’t always have to offer discounts, instead offer a solution to a specific problem that’s unique to Spring. Levoit offers its air purifier and humidifier to prevent pollen allergy from making the lives of the customers miserable.
It presents its products as solutions to mitigate risks thereby enhancing the perceived value of the product.
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