The summer sales are eagerly awaited by the majority of French people who spend an average of €140 each year (1) .
For traditional brands, sales are an opportunity to destock unsold items while attracting new customers to stores. However, in recent years, online commerce has changed the consumption habits of the French who now dedicate part of their online budget to making good deals, all directly from their smartphone or computer. Depending on the brands, discounts can also be more advantageous online.
As an e-merchant, it is important that you manage to anticipate the sales period in order to generate growth for your business. We invite you to take stock of the 2023 summer sales and we give you 5 tips to fully understand this key moment.
The sales: an old story with the French
The sales appeared for the first time in Paris in the 19th century, thanks to Simon Mannoury, a cloth merchant and founder of the first Parisian department store, the Petit Saint-Thomas. The event allows the Norman merchant to sell off last season's unsold stocks at knockdown prices.
The concept will be popularized by Aristide Boucicaut, who will be recruited by Simon Mannoury himself. In 1865, the Petit Saint-Thomas became “Le Printemps”.
Summer sales 2023: key dates
This year, the summer sales will start on June 28, 2023 at 8 a.m. and end on July 28, 2023 . Four weeks of highlights, both for physical trade and for online trade. In 2022, the results of the summer sales were considered disappointing. Indeed, merchants have seen a drop in the average basket and a drop in overall turnover, ranging from -10% to -40% for some merchants. (2)
Ditto for the 2023 winter sales which took place from January 8 to February 8, 2023 and which met with mixed success.
This drop can be explained by several reasons: the post-covid context which gave a boost to online sales, the war in Ukraine which resulted in soaring energy prices and the rise in raw materials which forces households to spend less.
The sales: a regulation given by Bercy
During the sales, merchants must comply with certain rules. The very first regulation of sales dates from the law of December 30, 1906 relating to the sale of new goods.
Among the main rules, it is forbidden to restock before the sales period. As a trade professional, you should only sell products that are already in your stock and have been paid to the supplier for at least one month.
Sale products must be identified, both in-store and online, to be differentiated from non-sale products. Good to know, you don't have to sell all your products.
Note that the sales period is the only time when traders are allowed to sell at a loss. Outside this period, it is strictly prohibited, except for certain exceptions listed on the DGCCRF website .
The sales take place twice a year: once in winter and once in summer, for a period of 4 weeks each time. To find out all about how the sales work, we invite you to browse the page dedicated to this period on the economie.gouv.fr website .
6 tips for preparing your sales as a merchant
1/ Communicate upstream
Do you plan to offer attractive discounts to your customers? Communicate well in advance of the event. A quality teaser will make your brand stick in the minds of customers at the start.
2/ Diversify communication channels
Even if consumers are more and more followers of social networks, do not forget the traditional communication channels such as email or sms. Depending on your activity, an SMS marketing campaign can be a real purchase trigger. Solutions like Klaviyo can be relevant.
3/ Check your logistics processes
The shipping of products is the sinews of war for e-merchants and it is a crucial point in the relationship with your customer. Delivery “on time” is an important criterion for 29% (3) of French customers according to a study carried out by Parcel Lab and OpinionWay. Also offer different options from your competitors, such as click and collect .
4/ Offer free delivery
A majority of Internet users - around 88% (4) - are interested in free delivery. Use marketing techniques to benefit your customers: adding an additional item, slower but free delivery method, specific promotional code, etc.
5/ Check the navigation of your site
We mentioned it in our article on responsive design , the ergonomics of the site is a key element to capture visitors. Take care of it to ensure an optimal browsing experience.
6/ Check the technical elements related to your site
You will also need to anticipate a peak in traffic to your merchant site. Make sure your server is holding up. A site that crashes could cause you to lose potential customers.
Key moments in e-commerce excluding sales
Apart from the sales, other key moments exist in e-commerce. This is the case of private sales operations or liquidation. They each have their specificities:
Private sales : this is an operation that consists of offering significant discounts on certain products to some of the customers, whether in store or online. Generally, customers are notified by email or sms of the start of the operation.
Liquidation sales : Liquidation sales result from the merchant's desire to permanently cease his activity, to suspend it temporarily or to change his activity. It must be announced at least two months before the planned start date of the operation and it must be accompanied by publicity.
Black Friday : Black Friday has become a staple of the e-commerce business agenda for several years. This is an operation before Christmas not to be missed!
The summer sales are therefore an important period for both consumers and merchants, who must anticipate an increase in their activity.
The French spend an average of €141 per sales period (winter and summer). Each year, e-commerce captures a larger part of this budget.
The 6 tips presented in this article are a good basis for making a success of your 2023 summer sales. Ask our team for personalized support for your Shopify e-commerce store .
Conclusion
To make the most of the sales as an e-merchant, here is a short summary of the article:
- Remember to prepare your balances on the product side and commercial operations
- The sales will take place from June 28, 2023 at 8 a.m. to July 28, 2023.
- Remember to test your site to check the scalability
- Check your ability to deliver a maximum of orders in a short time, especially on the logistics preparation
- Check all the processes upstream of the balances
- Use a popup to take advantage of increased traffic to collect emails
Sources of the article:
(1) The French and their sales budget , Sofinco, 2022.
(2) A disappointing result for the 2022 summer sales , Jdc, 2022.
(3) E-commerce: customer expectations regarding delivery and their post-purchase experience , Moderator's Blog, 2021.
(4) UPS the Online Shopper study , UPS, 2017.
