What is the Golden Quarter, and How Has it Evolved Over the Years?

The Golden Quarter is the busiest time of the year for many eCommerce businesses as website traffic hits its peak.

Retailers across all industries will be looking to capitalise on this influx of visitors, meaning competition will be high. However, having a strong understanding of the evolving consumer behaviour during this quarter will help you to stay ahead.

Recognising the need for an optimised eCommerce strategy during the Golden Quarter is the first step to maximising your sales. In this article, we’ll explore what the golden quarter is, how it’s changed in recent years, and provide some quick tips for your seasonal strategy.

What is the Golden Quarter?

The Golden Quarter is another name for Q4, which is the final quarter of the year, spanning from September to December. It’s termed golden as it’s typically the busiest time of the year for retailers, containing key dates such as Singles Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas.

So, it’s no surprise that this season demands weeks and even months of planning. To maximise sales, retailers must ensure their marketing strategies and campaigns are fully optimised ahead of the surge in traffic.

The concept of the Golden Quarter has been around for some time, with retailers traditionally seeing sales spike in the build-up to the Christmas period.

However, over the years, this period of heavy spending has grown immensely due to the increase in popularity of retail events like Black Friday. More shoppers want in on the excitement of grabbing a great deal and are willing to start shopping earlier for Christmas gifts.

Suggested reading: Discover how to audit and optimise your existing Black Friday strategy in our article ‘4 Signs Your Black Friday eCommerce Strategy Needs an Upgrade’.

How has eCommerce changed the Golden Quarter?

In previous years, in-store shopping was undoubtedly the go-to for many consumers.

Shoppers would flood to stores, no matter the queue length, to snag the latest deals or the newest Christmas gifts.

For many consumers, in-person shopping trips during the Golden Quarter were a big part of getting into the Christmas spirit. It offered them the ability to connect with others by shopping together, and also view items and their quality before purchasing.

However, the convenience and affordability of online stores have driven many shoppers away from the high street. In 2021 alone, we saw the closure of over 10,000 brick-and-mortar stores.¹

To draw shoppers into their physical stores, brands now need to offer in-person experiences with added value, such as:

• Exclusive in-store deals
• Christmas window displays
• Free gifts with in-store purchases

There’s no doubt that the attitude towards in-person shopping has changed dramatically in recent years. To thrive in the modern Golden Quarter, having an online presence is crucial.

The virtual Golden Quarter

Over 89% of UK residents prefer to shop online, meaning the majority of consumers are likely to be shopping digitally during the Golden Quarter.²

This high traffic offers many opportunities for sales. However, online stores also face heavy competition from other eCommerce retailers. Additionally, shoppers are on the hunt for the best deals, so they are likely to shop around a lot before committing to a purchase.

To make your brand stand out online, you’ll need to utilise tactics like:

• Flash sales
• Limited-time discount codes
• Social proof messaging

Suggested reading: Attract more shoppers to your site during this busy period by reading our article ‘How to Drive Traffic to Your eCommerce Site the Right Way’.

How to maximise sales during the Golden Quarter

The rise in festive online shoppers brings with it the potential for a whole host of new, loyal customers.

Implementing seasonal campaigns requires a lot of time and effort. You’ll want to ensure this doesn’t go to waste by developing a strategy that will maximise conversions from your shoppers.

Here’s what you can do to ensure you make the most of your new and existing shoppers during the Golden Quarter:

1. Personalise the on-site experience

Offering personalised shopping experiences can set your brand apart from the high level of competition during Q4. Displaying product recommendations informed by a shopper’s on-site behaviour and interests can help them discover products more easily and increase the likelihood of a purchase.

2. Use a data capture campaign

With many shoppers jumping between sites searching for the best deal, you’ll want to ensure your brand stays top of mind with a strong retargeting strategy. For this, you’ll require first-party data.

A data capture campaign can help you maximise the first-party data you collect on your site. Identify more of your shoppers for retargeting by offering an incentive in exchange for the shopper’s email address or mobile number. 

Suggested reading: Read our ‘Salesfire & Stuarts London’ success story to see how Salesfire’s data capture campaign drove a 159% uplift in email sign-ups for the retailer.

3. Prioritise customer service

A customer’s experience on your site can be the difference between a conversion and a lost sale. With the increase in website traffic this season, ensure your FAQs and live chat systems are readily available for customer queries.

4. Analyse your data

Looking at the data from your previous campaigns can help you understand what was effective with your shoppers and what wasn’t. 

Through Salesfire’s detailed analytics, you can delve into figures such as opens, clicks and revenue, which can help you understand how your shoppers engaged with your campaigns. With this information, you can then optimise your Golden Quarter campaigns to ensure they secure those seasonal sales.

You could also create data-driven campaigns based on wider industry statistics, using real-time shopper data from Salesfire’s Trends.

5. Utilise social proof

Just because your customers aren’t observing each other’s in-store behaviour doesn’t mean you can’t still leverage social proof. Use On-Site Messaging to highlight how many shoppers are currently viewing or have purchased a product to provide reassurance and promote urgency.

6. Send effective retargeting emails

Recapture the attention of seasonal shoppers who left your site to look elsewhere with a strong retargeting strategy. Set up automated email and SMS flows to automatically retarget your shoppers with personalised campaigns. By sending relevant campaigns, you can reignite the shoppers’ interest in your products and motivate them to return to your site.

Suggested reading: Discover how to send effective retargeting emails in our article ‘The Ultimate Email Retargeting Checklist’.

7. Review your tech

This organic rise in eCommerce sales doesn’t mean businesses should get complacent. Ensure your business operates at maximum efficiency during the Golden Quarter by reviewing and optimising your tech stack ahead of time.

Eduardo Silva, CRO at eCommerce integration platform Patchworks, discussed how tech can help brands make the most of Golden Quarter traffic:

“To take full advantage of this boom, you need to put in place an intelligent strategy which ensures customers won’t just spend their money with you during the Golden Quarter, but will keep coming back afterwards.

“One of the best ways to do this is through a solid tech stack. Whether that’s best-of-breed marketing solutions such as personalisation software or digital loyalty programs, or eCommerce-specific features like buy now, pay later — you need to think intelligently about what will encourage customers to spend with you during the Golden Quarter and not your competitors.”³

Consider if there are any areas you could automate to save time or opportunities to streamline your existing tech stack. This will help set you up for the smoothest possible Golden Quarter.

Planning your Golden Quarter strategy in advance will reduce last-minute stress and save resources that you can reinvest in your business, team, and customers.

Further reading: Get your website Golden-Quarter-ready by reading ‘6 functional requirements for eCommerce website success. 

Looking to the future

It’s safe to say the Golden Quarter has changed a lot in recent years, but for eCommerce stores, the future looks positive.

From Black Friday deals to Christmas shopping, the opportunities are endless for eCommerce businesses to thrive throughout the Golden Quarter, and with online shopping booming in recent years, your target market is ever-growing. 

With the array of possibilities readily available, you want to ensure your website and marketing strategy are optimised and ready to handle the surge in traffic from festive shoppers.

1 How online growth has reshaped the UK’s high streets | Internet Retailing

2 Is online shopping killing the High Street? | The Retail Bulletin

3 Patchworks