8 offer ideas for your online store

What types of special offers to create for your business

If you’re preparing for the holidays or other big shopping moments, standing out from the competition and attracting more customers can feel like a challenge. Having a diverse array of special offers and services at your disposal can make all the difference for your store.

Start with these 8 powerful marketing promotions to help your business stand out with potential customers:

• Let them send long-distance gifts. Many times, shoppers want to have gifts delivered directly to their loved ones. You can attract those customers by offering special gifting services, including festive gift wrapping and ribbons, hand-written notes, and gift receipts to make it easy, convenient, and special for them.
• Let them pick up their gifts in-store. Everybody needs a last-minute gift! If you sell to local customers or have a physical retail location, letting them pick up their orders from your store can help save the day — and make your business their hero.
  • Pro tip! You can add profile attributes to your Business Profile on Google to let people know how they can shop with you. You can indicate if your store offers “store pickup,” “curbside pickup,” or “in-store shopping.”
• Let them give digital gift cards. Decisions, decisions! If your customers can’t decide which of your awesome products to purchase, digital gift cards make it easy for their loved ones to shop for themselves. Let them pick the amount they want to spend on the card and their recipient can redeem it for whatever they’d like.
• Let them explore your gift guides. Who doesn’t like browsing a holiday catalog? Offering curated gift guides lets you not only showcase your best products, but also helps you draw attention to overlooked products and inventory that you want to prioritize.
  • Pro tip! You can use Google Trends to see what people are searching for and search trends during certain periods in the past, like the holiday season, summer, or back-to-school. Learn more about how to use online search trends to identify business opportunities.
• Let them use timely discounts. Give shoppers the chance to save some money. Special promotional discounts during key shopping events can attract even more customers to your shop.
  • Pro tip! Posting from your Business Profile on Google is a quick and easy way to keep customers informed about these special savings.

• Let them have a free gift. Free gifts are another great way to make shoppers feel like they’re getting more value for their money without cutting your prices. We recommend offering them a choice from a group of products you select — that way, shoppers get a more personalized experience, and you can draw attention to products you want to showcase.
• Let them ship their gift for free. Free shipping is an attractive online incentive businesses can offer customers. If you want to stand out from your competition, free shipping can be the beacon that guides them to your store.
• Let them send a care package. Many shoppers are simply looking for a thoughtful way to let their loved ones know they care about them, even from far away. Curated care packages let you showcase the strengths, personality, and values of your brand while offering customers a truly unique way to show they care — one that big-box retailers just can’t match.

Promoting your offers with Google Ads

Google Ads is one of the best ways to reach customers across the internet. And with promotion extensions, you can add more value to your ads by highlighting your sales and promotions with an easy-to-read format that catches the eye of your potential customers and takes them directly to your promotion with a single click.

As shoppers search for the perfect gift for the holidays, a special occasion, or just to reconnect with loved ones, a combination of the tactics discussed in this lesson can help you get their attention and stand out from the crowd.

Make their gifting moments more joyful — and make your small business more successful — by showcasing your compelling offers.