With the start of 2013, retailers worldwide finally got a minute to take a breath after a hectic and chaotic holiday shopping season. The new year brings with it the time to go over the strategies used during the holiday rush to determine which methods worked and which ones did not. These successful tactics, along with new ones, can be used to combat the sluggish sales that usually accompany the first few months of each year. To see revenues and business increase, merchants can use several techniques to draw in customers exhausted by holiday shopping and keep them coming back.

Boost sales slump with special deals
Business2Community reports that many companies see the dreaded slowdown in retail sales throughout the first of the year, and a lot are not sure of what they can do to prevent it. However, the source suggests that by developing effective marketing plans, merchants can draw in customers who would otherwise refrain from purchasing items and services so soon after the holiday season. Retailers can study consumer data such as purchasing history and preferred products to determine what items are most popular and then offer them in stores and on websites. This data can easily be generated from holiday sales, the source notes.

In addition, businesses can create specialized offers and send out coupons that can be redeemed at brick-and-mortar locations and online. These deals should be as targeted as possible, as they will appeal to shoppers' needs and wants, increasing the chances of them returning for future purchases. Spending more time on designing emails that announce sales and discounts will be more interesting to customers and encourage them to take part in the offering, the source writes.

Make online shopping easier
Besides creating attractive and enticing messages and emails, retailers also need to focus on making online shopping experience easier for shoppers if they want to increase retention and boost first-of-the-year sales slumps. Practical Ecommerce offers some suggestions for merchants looking to enhance website experiences for consumers, including making it easier to return products. The difficulty of sending back items is a main reason why customers may not purchase from online retail sites, so facilitating the process can result in higher satisfaction and revenue.

The source also recommends that businesses keep records of past customer interactions and transactions. This gives retailers more insight into what products are most popular as well as future items shoppers may be interested in.