The peak season in e-commerce is almost here. What are the most important points you should consider well in advance, if you want to make the most of this season? Read our 10 tips that will reliably prepare you for Q4 2025.
UPDATED: We originally published the blog article on 26.9.2023 and updated it on 21.8.2025.
1. Plan activities well in advance, double-check is king
Having a good plan is fundamental. Ideally, you are already following it (after all, Christmas starts being mentioned in e-shops as early as spring). Thanks to it, you won't be surprised by issues such as stock outages, misunderstandings with suppliers, excessive website traffic, or even a constantly ringing phone that no one will be able to answer. Valuable insights and important numbers will be provided by analyzing last year's season. Additionally, it is important to set a goal for this season. An example is the target turnover, which will help you determine the key number of orders. Also, the margin you need to set for the goods. However, it is always necessary to work with numbers in the context of cash flow, which you will keep under control.
Broken down into details, you definitely have a plan for:
- inventory,
- human capital (manual order execution, administration, and customer care),
- transportation,
- marketing and campaigns (how to support the business),
- budget (personnel costs and increased expenses for inventory or marketing activities).
If you prepared budgets for 2025 more than 9 months ago (which dates back to last fall), it is highly likely that some investments have become more expensive, others have been halted, the performance of the e-shop has changed during the year, and so on. Therefore, check and conduct a detailed analysis of the planned vs. forecast for the rest of 2025, so that cash flow doesn't stop you in critical months.
UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: When planning costs, don't forget basic math. If you plan to achieve 50 orders per day during the season instead of the current 30, it will likely require a higher PNO – cost-to-revenue ratio during peak season. It is also highly likely that returns will increase, revealing the real profitability of the Christmas season only in January 2026.
2. Test the state of the e-shop and subject the website to a stress test and speed audit
You have certainly made some changes to your e-shop over the past year. Whether with the intention of improving UX, CX, or implementing new features, don't forget to test them, so that no glitches occur during the peak season. The same applies to website redesign or complex migration. Testing can be done at various levels – from personal browsing through the pages to getting feedback from a family member, to usability testing, which can uncover 80% of website errors.
Before the season, be sure to check the pages with the highest traffic, where there is also a high bounce rate and find out where the problem occurs. Also, focus on the "404 error page". Ensure that if a customer lands on it, you can still guide them back to the website (for example, by searching directly on the 404 page, a clear CTA to return to the category list, or direct contact).
Export redirected pages and check for any redirect loops.
Correctness check, especially regarding technical aspects and website functionality, are stress tests. Simulate sufficiently high traffic to see how your website withstands customer pressure. We also recommend conducting a website speed audit, meaning checking for unnecessary (micro)seconds of delay in the normal customer flow on the frontend or backend, which can lead to a fatal failure of the e-shop, integrations, or a poor customer experience under heavy load.
3. Focus on CRO - Conversion rate optimization
CRO - conversion rate optimization, is a systematic comprehensive process that helps your e-shop fully utilize its potential. At ui42, we have developed a proven workflow for CRO over the years, using various methodologies and principles aimed at identifying problematic areas, analyzing their causes, and proposing not only solutions but also a system for evaluation.
While on one hand, you are trying to attract more visitors to the website through paid campaigns and better SEO, on the other hand, it can easily happen that the benefit of increased traffic is not felt in revenue. Why?
There can be several hypotheses:
- the user doesn't find what they are looking for on the page,
- they can't navigate the categories,
- the form they need to fill out is lengthy,
- they lack basic information
- they can't find reviews, cancellation policies, or return conditions
- no one can provide them with knowledgeable advice
- they encountered a technical problem that prevents them from completing the purchase
- they were interested in an out-of-stock product and couldn't find a replacement
And it is precisely for creating and substantiating hypotheses, proposing solutions to the problem, and subsequently measuring the effect that CRO serves. In other words, it is a comprehensive view of all aspects that affect the performance of the e-shop, from technical settings, ERP and inventory integrations, UX/UI/ CX, to marketing and copywriting.
UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: Our UX/UI designers have put together a checklist of the most common mistakes that cause customers to abandon their cart. An example is the lack of support during the purchase (online chat or phone contact), incorrectly set validation fields, or the need to fill out complete forms repeatedly in case of an error. Read the full list of the most common mistakes.
4. Pay special attention to CX
As we started in the point above, let's elaborate on CX here. CX (Customer Experience) - customer experience includes the impressions your customer gains at all points of contact with your company. An example is also a brick-and-mortar store or customer care.
Customer service is ultimately one of the significant factors in purchasing decisions. Therefore, it is important to provide support at every stage of the purchase process. There are several channels. Online chat directly on the website, always visible quick contact, thoughtfully developed FAQ, prompt responses from the support team, and even customer care after the purchase (complaints, service, etc.). During peak periods, definitely expect higher demand. In this context, customers will appreciate if:
- customer support is available in the busy months even in the late hours (for example, after 6:00 PM and on weekends),
- the online chat is in active mode,
- they can ask questions directly in the product detail,
- they receive an answer to their question even if it is not possible in real-time (effective management of inquiries in the customer care department).
If you don't have suitable human resources within the company, look around the market and use "outsourcing" customer care services or AI chatbots.
5. Automation and effective use of AI is a #musthave today
While on one hand, you need strong customer support, on the other hand, it is sometimes personnel and financially demanding to ensure it.
And that's when a smart chatbot or AI-based tools can help you. In both cases, automation relieves support, especially during the demanding season. The currently most talked-about tool, Chat GPT, can help you with content creation and overall content strategy, keyword analysis, PPC advertising, or even understanding the search intent of your potential customers.
Proof that AI can increase sales are automatic recommendations, which offer visitors complementary or supplementary goods and services without manual clicking, complex pairing, and administrator intervention. The golden nail is effective upsell and cross-sell in the cart, large product detail, or other parts of the website, which increases the conversion rate (on average 3 – 5 times) and subsequently also revenues. In the case of the cart by 4.5% per visit and in the case of the large detail even by 25%.
6. Work on email marketing and use remarketing
Do you have a contact database? Use it! Despite many newsletter opponents spreading the narrative that email marketing is dead, it is not. According to our surveys, the share of email marketing in the total turnover of an e-shop ranges from 15-35%, depending on the segment.
Email marketing is still one of the strongest tools to draw customers into the shopping frenzy. Remind them through a newsletter of unused loyalty points or offer a special benefit (such as a discount code or time-limited offers) or premium content and let them know about you before the biggest shopping holidays of the year. This period is also a good opportunity to expand the database with new email addresses for newsletter subscriptions.
Similarly, it is with remarketing chase. The costs are lower than acquiring new customers. Display offers to those who have already purchased from you or remind those who, for some reason, did not complete the purchase and left the shopping cart abandoned.
UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: effective email marketing is not about collecting contacts and sending a newsletter once a month. Work on the infrastructure of touchpoints and strategy on how and when to properly address that individual, not the entire group together. The customer is still a person and has their own needs and thinking, so approach them individually. Cluster customers based on behavior, preferences, engagement, and send them only what is potentially interesting to them. Personalization and a healthy database are key to success.
7. Short videos are changing to longer formats
Depending on which social networks you choose, create engaging content for your target audience. You don't have to be everywhere, but at least choose one channel as dominant and post regularly. Within the Meta space (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok, you can also use effective advertising campaigns that you can effectively target based on interests. Today, well-thought-out automatic tools can create a campaign with interesting results. The driving force of viral videos in recent years has been short videos, which has changed over the past year. Google shorts and Meta have allowed longer formats for videos, while it still holds that interesting, creative, and entertaining form brings fresh air to your content. Use influencers, UGC content, or create a "behind the scenes" format, which is still popular with customers.
UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: At ui42, we can manage advertising campaigns for our selected clients with better results thanks to the Dotidot tool than before. Read about how we create more effective ads with lower costs.
In addition, don't forget about the organic reach of Tik-Tok - there is still a prevailing opinion that Tik-Tok is only about the younger generation, but even the younger generation is already your potential customer either for the 2025 season or the next. It is definitely worth it to also consider Twitter with low advertising costs and the niche but still growing LinkedIn, if it aligns with your business. However, activity is not only in content creation. Potential customers will appreciate if you are engaged in comments.
8. Work on SEO and GEO
Unique and valuable content is key to reaching customers and being on the radar of search engines and AI Assistants. According to a survey we conducted at ui42, since the beginning of 2025, traffic from AI assistants has increased 8-fold, with data showing that the traffic brought in is of higher quality and more likely to make purchases.
Unique, expert, and quality content based on well-processed keyword analysis or margin-bearing products is the way to provide added value to your potential clients. Interesting articles, premium e-books, or the aforementioned social media posts are exactly what creates your competitive advantage today - that is, in the phase where the customer is just starting to form an image of the possibilities (SEE phase).
Share your know-how, show that you are a specialist in your field, or offer advice, tips, and solutions in the form of FAQs precisely on the issues that trouble your customers. In addition to all the above-mentioned advantages, content marketing contributes to brand building and FAQs are also appreciated by AI assistants.
SEO and GEO is a combination of activities that are largely similar, but with GEO, emphasis is placed on different technical on-page factors on the website, from which you can benefit long-term. If you create meaningful content according to a well-thought-out content plan throughout the year and according to GEO specialists' recommendations, you are also preparing for the main season and don't have to catch up on things at the last minute.
In addition to classic content on the page, you can create categories or landing pages that focus more specifically on the Christmas theme. Alternatively, add the Christmas theme as filters in the search (Christmas gifts, gifts for grandma, etc.).
UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: A comprehensive article with tips on how to improve your positions in AI assistants can be read on our blog.
9. Work with data, data, and more data
Data are the most important information, based on which you should make decisions. Experienced e-commerce players therefore monitor, analyze, and evaluate them on a regular basis. In addition to showing exactly where the purchase process on the website fails, they also provide valuable information about customer behavior anywhere on the website (immediate bounce rate, cart abandonment). To work with them, don't forget to organize your GA4 account. Ideally, a data analysis tool that allows you to collect and manage data in your ownership. Focus on seasonal products and services, or those you want to push as much as possible. A few tips on what not to forget:
- check ad texts,
- update keywords,
- ideally don't limit campaigns,
- compare results from mobile and desktop devices,
- compare results by browsers,
- also monitor Google Ads Microconversions,
- check Facebook API
In addition, focus on information from the Cookies banner, where you can check how many customers do not give consent to data processing (so you can work on improvement). Simply put, take a closer look at channels that you don't monitor as thoroughly throughout the year. That's where you can uncover a mistake that unnecessarily costs you sales.
11. Bonus tip at the end:
Check:
- the validity of web hosting,
- monitoring of critical functionalities,
- automated or selenium tests
- and the overall current SLA (service level agreement) before the main season starts.
Why is this important?
If your e-shop receives too much traffic during peak days and cannot handle it for any reason, without a valid SLA, it will be very difficult to reach your supplier or integrator outside of working hours. Thoroughly review the monitoring of web hosting and critical e-shop functionalities and increase monitoring to 24/7 at least for Q4.
At ui42, we wish you to handle it along with the main season this year. Perhaps thanks to the tips mentioned above. Experienced e-commerce players follow many of them throughout the year to enter the last quarter in full strength. If you feel you need help with any point, contact us. As a marketing and digital agency, we will help you handle the season without unexpected setbacks.
