“Spring is here – but end it must, like all good things.”
The arrival of spring has an obvious impact on the mental state of consumers. This season is traditionally associated with love, beauty, and, of course, the celebration of women. As an eCommerce entrepreneur, you should take care and populate your store with products that can be purchased as thoughtful and unique gifts for women. Take this opportunity to capitalize on the overall sentiment of the spring before it ends and make up for the slow winter months.
However, if you own an international marketplace, it is essential to realize that the same gift can be appreciated by a woman of one culture and be unacceptable and even offend a woman of another culture.
And so, in the spirit of helpfulness, in today’s post, we will guide you through gift-giving traditions around the world as well as ideas on marketing promotions to boost your spring sales.
Gift-Giving Around the World
Europe
Generally, in European countries, giving handmade gifts are getting trendy – here you, in most cases, do not fall into the trap – it will be an exclusive and original gift.
Be sure that in Germany, for example, it will be appreciated. The German women like practical gifts.
Do you remember the catchphrase that “the book is the best gift”? For Europeans, this is indeed so. You can not hesitate to choose a book as a gift for a German, Dutch or Austrian.
The Portuguese with the Irish are very religious, therefore they will be happy with gifts related to their religion (for example, icons, figures of angels, saints). It is common to present perfumes and flowers to Irish women.
Italian women are certainly a bit spoilt, they like refined gifts – a manifestation of taste and style will be appreciated there like quality stylish leather accessories.
But you should know that in every European country there are secretly forbidden gifts. For example, in France it is indecent to present a married woman a perfume – this can only be done by her husband. In Germany, you cannot give office supplies, especially diaries – the German can see in this a hint of non-punctuality. For European feminists, most likely, a gift in the form of kitchen utensils will be unpleasant.
Sweden
All kinds of candles and blankets are very popular gifts in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries.
Arab Countries
Choosing a gift for an Arab partner or acquaintance, first of all, remember that in these countries they profess Islam, which means that it is inadmissible to give leather things (from pig skin), spirits drinks, any products with a picture of nude nature, sharp objects. Also, do not give Muslim European literature and music, and any immodest subjects of the Western world.
America
In the United States, it is common to give a gift with a check in the box – in case the item was not to the taste, it could be exchanged or handed over. Therefore, giving gift certificates are getting more popular.
Japan
Chocolates, hair accessories, ceramic household items are popular gifts for women in Japan.
By no means offer a gift package of white color because it symbolizes a funeral.
It is appreciated to receive gifts in sets of items, but keep in mind not to put 4 or 9 items in a set since these numbers are associated with death.
China
Chinese women are very superstitious. They like receiving gift sets, the number of items in a set should be even. The even number of objects symbolizes wealth and prosperity, however, the number 4 (四 sì ) is pronounced as “death” (死 sǐ) in Chinese. Anything related with 4 is associated with bad luck. So do not give gifts in sets or multiples of four.
The Chinese word for ‘umbrella’ (伞 sǎn /san/) sound like the word for ‘breaking up’ (散 sàn). Giving an umbrella symbolizes that the relationship between you and the recipient may soon dissolve. So, offering umbrellas as a gift for her would be a bad idea.
Cooking pots, frying pans, a set of ceramic plates are all well received.
Packages full of delicious and exotic fruits, baskets are the go-to gift of choice if the present is chosen by someone who has no idea what to give.
The “safe” packaging colors are red, pink, gold and yellow.
Korea
The most desirable gift for a Korean woman would be a designer’s bag. This means that launching a sales promotion for bags would be very effective in the springtime.
It is very common among couples to buy gift sets for two. A couple can wear the same shirts, bracelets, etc.
Marketing Campaign Ideas
Once you have uploaded the right products that can be potentially bought as gifts onto your marketplace, next is you now need to market your store. Below are some of the ideas.
Create a discount code for Women’s Day. Sure, you won’t be the only brand doing it. But do you want to be the only brand not doing it? A discount code can be applied to consumer shopping carts for the week of Women’s Day. Or better still, just the day to create FOMO. You can set conditions such as *for orders over $50 or *applied to a certain range.
You can use effective spring email campaigns. In this case, the newsletter subject lines should be of the highest performance.
Let’s look at these great subject lines and spring sayings for marketing!
- 25% Off Plus FREE Lip Gloss Mother’s Day Special
- Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!
- Celebrate Mother’s Day with us!
- Mother’s Day gifting made easy
- Timeless Women’s Day gifts
- Shop our beautiful Women’s Day offers
- Even superheroes need a self-care moment – Treat Yourself on Women’s Day
- 3 Mother’s Day Gifts Mom Will Love
- Looking for the Perfect Gift for Her?
- The Gift She will L-O-V-E
Some of the best newsletters ideas:
- Highlight the most “Spring-like” items in your store
- Introduce top season trends and combinations
- Entertain your subscribers with a lottery
- Put your store in the spring mood
Run Facebook Contests Around Holidays. There are some great holidays in the Spring that are perfect for marketing opportunities. (Easter, March 27; Mothers Day, May 8; Earth Day, April 22). One of the most effective marketing activities in the Spring is running Facebook contests around these holidays. You can match a prize to match the holiday and it’s a great way to connect with your customers, introduce your brand to new people and to build your email list.
You can run simple contests like a “Guess how many jelly beans are in the jar” photo in your Facebook timeline or run a contest where your fans participate like uploading images of their Spring garden or asking a question like, “What does Mothers Day mean to you?” The point is to tap into the time of year and to re-engage with your customers and to take advantage of the awakening that happens after a long winter.
Offer Specific Tax Incentives. March and April are an ideal time for your customers to use some of their tax refund to pay for your products or services. Incentivize them by offering a coupon good for the weeks around the 15th to allow adequate time to use their refund. If they have a lag time before receiving their refund that extends beyond the weeks of your promotion, tell them to bring in proof that taxes have been filed and let them buy the product at the discounted price.
As you can see, your creativity can take you a long way to promoting your marketplace and increasing your revenue in the springtime, but with limited tools the default eCommerce platform functionality offers, you can go so far.
Show your customers all your business has to offer and harness the power of spring!
But hurry up before time runs out!
