Boost Holiday Sales with Flash Sales, Discounts, BOGO, and Bundles

As the holiday season and New Year approaches, creative entrepreneurs have a golden opportunity to boost their sales and get a jump-start on reaching their business goals. This article will show you specific elements you will need to motivate those who are most likely to shop with you, to do so. 

Did you know that retail stores depend on the 4th quarter of the year to become profitable for the entire year? That's where the term "Black Friday" came from. It's the time of year when retailers typically went from being in the "red" or what's considered "unprofitable" to being in the "black" or "profitable" in any given year.  Read on for the elements you'll need to reach your business goals during 4th quarter and all year long.

Create Awareness

Without awareness your ideal customers will not know that you exist, and therefore you can't really sell much. So don't take for granted that just because your shop exists, that shoppers are going to line up at your door. An awareness campaign when done well, can explode your business when potential customers discover how your business can help them.

Create a strategy (a plan) that includes a combination of social media, email marketing and videos to promote your products, create awareness and say top of mind with existing customers, inviting them to return to your shop to buy again. 

For example your strategy might include things like the following tasks:

You also want potential customers, people who have the potential to buy from you, to know who you are, what you do and how you can help them.  

Build the Know, Like and Trust Factor

Your awareness campaign is also going to help you create the know, like and trust factor, but you'll also want to include in your content, information that introduces your business to a new audience, while also capturing people who might be in the research phase of their buying journey. 

This might include videos that handle objections, product demos, tutorials, behind the scenes teasers, and testimonials from other happy customers. 

You might also consider setting up a weekly livestream so that people can get their questions answered.

Video Demonstration: Use Opt-Ins to Motivate Buyers

Flash Sales: Urgency Drives Action

Flash sales are short, time-limited offers that create a sense of urgency and excitement. They’re perfect for catching the attention of holiday shoppers and making them feel like they have to act now or miss out. Promote flash sales on social media and email campaigns, and don't forget to add a countdown timer to your shop or product pages to emphasize the urgency.

Pro Tip: Plan multiple flash sales around key holiday dates, like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and even New Year’s Eve, to maintain customer excitement and engagement.

Standard Discounts: A Holiday Classic

A standard percentage or dollar-amount discount is always effective during holiday promotions. Whether it’s 10% off everything in your store or $20 off purchases over $100, discounts help make your products more enticing and accessible to your audience. Offer special discount codes to your email subscribers as a way to encourage loyalty and repeat purchases.

Pro Tip: Encourage early bird shopping by offering “first to know” discounts to your subscribers before they’re publicly announced.

BOGO: Encourage Bulk Buying

Buy One Get One (BOGO) deals are great for encouraging customers to purchase more than they initially planned. You can offer variations like “Buy One Get One Free” or “Buy One Get One 50% Off.” This works well for smaller items like accessories or gifts, and is a fun way to incentivize bulk shopping without having to lower your prices too much.

Pro Tip: Test BOGO offers with complementary products. For example, if you sell handmade jewelry, offer a BOGO deal on bracelets when customers buy a matching necklace.

Bundles: Add More Value

Pro Tip: Create holiday-themed bundles that speak directly to your target audience’s needs—like a “New Year, New Business” bundle for entrepreneurs planning their goals for 2025.

Use Exit-Intent Offers to Seal the Deal

Sometimes visitors need a little extra push before they commit to a purchase. This is where exit-intent offers can make a big difference. If a customer is about to leave your website without buying, trigger an exit-intent popup offering a discount or coupon code. I recently created a video that walks you through how to set up an opt-in form that delivers a coupon or promo code to your users when they’re about to leave your site.

Pro Tip: Offer a time-sensitive discount (like 10% off if they complete the purchase within 10 minutes) to further encourage action. Use the opt-in form templates in Thrive Leads to showcase your offers. 

Pro Tip 2: Use a countdown timer plugin like Thrive Ultimatum (shown in the example above) to let customers know how much time they have to take advantage of the deal. Watch the video above to see how it works.

Pro Tip 3: Test the results you get using countdown timers versus not using them for best results. You can test pages, titles, opt-in forms and more to see which options give you the best results using Thrive Optimize. Watch the video above to see how it works.

Maximize Your Holiday Sales Strategy

As a creative entrepreneur, your ability to stand out during the holidays and New Year depends on your strategy. Flash sales, discounts, BOGO, bundles, and exit-intent offers are proven techniques to get your customers excited and ready to buy.

Don’t leave your holiday revenue to chance—plan your promotions, communicate with your audience, and use these techniques to grow your sales now and into the new year!