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Insights and Expertise

                           Helping your merchants with


                              marketing in the new year





                                                                that merchants' websites and marketing strategies are
                                                                optimized for mobile, as mobile commerce continues to
                                                                grow.

                                                                More and more consumers, especially Gen Zers and
                                                                zillennials (the micro-generation that overlaps late
                                                                millennials and early Gen Zers) are shopping via mobile
                                                                apps and social media platforms—and they're utilizing
                                                                BNPL functionality online more than ever before, 40
                                                                percent per month to be exact.

                                                                Merchants who offer multiple purchasing channels help
                                                                provide a smooth, user-friendly shopping experience for
                                                                their customers. As a reseller, you'll need to ensure that
                                                                you provide multiple payment solutions like recurring,
        By Jaki Kackert                                         mobile and contactless options to help them keep up with
        Creative Marketing Consultant                           consumer demand.
              t's never too early to look ahead to the opportuni-  And let's not forget the impact social media channels have
              ties for the new year. Even though January is right   on potential sales. According to recent data, approximately
              around the corner, merchants are challenged right   18.5 percent of total online sales are currently generated
        I now with balancing the day-to-day operations dur-     through social media platforms like Meta, Pinterest and
        ing the holidays and planning for year-end reconciliation;   TikTok, with this number expected to continue to rise in
        the last thing they're focused on is next year.         coming years. Helping your merchants understand the
                                                                importance of creating a sales and marketing plan for
        But as the busy season begins to wind down, it'll be    social media will be key for future success—for both you
        reassuring to know that your organization has the       and them.
        marketing strategies and tools in place to help merchants   Embrace social media and user-generated
        turn the calendar to a successful 2025.                 content marketing

        Helping your merchants prepare for the new year with    Assist  merchants  in  content  planning,  developing  a
        effective marketing strategies involves proactive planning,   content calendar for blogs, social media posts and videos
        clear communication and strategic guidance. Here are    that align with their brand and marketing objectives.
        some approaches to ensure they start the new year strong.  Work with merchants to plan marketing efforts around
        Review performance and set new goals                    key times of the year such as seasons, holidays or product
                                                                launches to take advantage of the 5 billion social media
        To move forward in 2025, your merchants need to         users online.
        understand what worked well in 2024. Ensuring that you
        offer robust CRM and real-time inventory solutions can   Encourage merchants to use video content, such as product
        guarantee that your merchants have the right information   demonstrations, live Q&A sessions, or tutorials to create
        at their fingertips to analyze sales trends, customer   engaging customer experiences. Merchants can showcase
        behavior and marketing campaign effectiveness.          user-generated content in their marketing efforts to build
                                                                trust and authenticity with their audience. Running
        Having historical information can help them set realistic   a contest where users post photos or videos featuring
        and strategic sales and marketing goals for the new year.   the merchant's products can boost brand visibility and
        With the right data, merchants can better build their   engagement and build trust and authenticity with their
        marketing calendar to take advantage of specific trends,   audience.
        events, seasons, promotions and sales that resonated best   Invest in multi-channel marketing
        with customers.
        Optimize mobile and ecommerce platforms                 Multi-channel marketing is important for one reason: be
                                                                everywhere that your customers are. Leveraging multiple
        Help your merchants audit their websites for speed,     channels—email, video, the aforementioned social media,
        mobile responsiveness and ease of navigation. Ensure    direct mail, print, etc.—allows merchants to interact with

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