The holiday season is here, and it ushers in the most important sales period of the year. That means merchants need to find ways to attract shoppers and increase their basket value. All of this while consumers are becoming increasingly price-sensitive.
As your strategic partner, ESTO knows very well that the best marketing measures don't just promote products - they inspire customers to buy. Let's look at three of the most effective marketing measures you can put into action right away with ESTO's solutions, so your business has its most profitable Christmas ever.
Measure 1: send out a Christmas-themed newsletter to reach loyal customers
Your existing customer base is every merchant's most valuable asset, and the holidays are the best time to send them a small reminder. Instead of generic promotional content, your newsletter could instead highlight how easy it is to find the right financing solution for shopping at your store.
Strategy: use your email list to show customers specific, valuable gift ideas and explain the benefits of ESTO's flexible payment options.
Highlight affordability: showcase attractive (quality) products with a simple graphic showing the ESTO 3 instalment breakdown (e.g. "Get [product] for just X € a month!"). This instantly removes the initial price barrier.
Targeted financing: for pricier products, clearly note that customers can use ESTO hire purchase. This especially encourages hesitant customers, who would otherwise need to plan bigger purchases well in advance, to buy.
Impact: this gets existing customers making higher-value purchases, giving them confidence and the means they need.
Measure 2: boost visibility with targeted ESTO Deals ads
In a highly competitive market, standing out from the crowd matters most. To do that, you need to find a way to reach consumers who are looking for great-value special offers.
Strategy: use the ESTO Deals platform to bring your best offers directly to an interested audience - ESTO's existing users across the Baltic countries.
Highlight special value: create an offer exclusively for ESTO users (e.g. "Pay with ESTO 3 and get the product for an extra 10% off"). This gives customers a clear reason to buy from your store rather than a competitor's.
Offer gift bundles: promote themed gift bundles through ESTO Deals (e.g. "The best winter hiking set") and clearly highlight the option to pay in smaller instalments. This helps raise the average basket value.
Synergy between your online store and physical store: promote your offers through ESTO Deals and add a clearly visible note that customers can pay flexibly both in your online store and in your physical store(s). This draws interested shoppers to every sales channel.
Impact: your brand instantly reaches thousands of active buyers with proven purchasing power, boosting measurable traffic and sales that would otherwise go to competitors.
Measure 3: put staff training and rewards to work for you, to nudge hesitant in-store customers toward buying
Even in stores with top-tier online marketing, many purchase decisions are still made right in the store, or only once the shopper reaches the checkout page. That's the critical moment when a customer's hesitation can tip either way.
Strategy: give your staff (and your checkout page) the tools they need to introduce flexible payment solutions at that strategic moment, and tip the scales toward completing the purchase and/or growing the basket.
Display relevant information at the point of sale: make sure ESTO's solutions are available and visible in the physical store. A visible logo sells itself.
Encourage your staff: focus on training your staff (as recommended earlier). Along with how to process ESTO solutions, employees should also be taught when and how it's best to introduce these solutions to customers (e.g. "That's really a great choice! With ESTO's payment solution, you can take it home today for just X € a month"). ESTO offers training for staff!
Motivate your staff: introduce a point-of-sale reward programme so your business and your staff both benefit from every buy now, pay later transaction. This turns your cashiers into motivated sales specialists who offer customers higher-value products and promote different financing options.
Impact: this measure significantly reduces last-minute cart abandonment (which happens to be every retailer's biggest headache) and uses human interaction to sell customers pricier products and offer financing solutions for bigger purchases. Overall, it helps grow the revenue you earn from every customer.
Measure 4: campaign message "A grander gift"
Don't promote specific products - instead, highlight choosing better quality and offering payment solutions suited to a pricier purchase.
Strategy: run a short, punchy campaign on social media (e.g. Meta/TikTok) that humorously compares the "small gift" (some random little trinket) with the "BIG gift" (a higher-quality, pricier version of the same thing). The ad should focus on affordability. Sample ad copy: "Don't settle for ordinary. Choose the higher-quality [product] and pay just X € a month with ESTO hire purchase. A HIGHER level with smaller payments."
Sample ad copy: "Don't settle for ordinary. Choose the higher-quality [product] and pay just X € a month with ESTO hire purchase. A HIGHER level with smaller payments."
ESTO's focus: promotes the hire purchase option for buying products that raise average order value, and presents ESTO as the hero that makes grander gifts possible.
Impact: offers a direct solution for a limited budget, encourages visitors to click on pricier options, and get familiar with financing options for that purchase.
Measure 5: basket-growing pop-up offer
Target customers who qualify for financing but haven't yet used their full purchasing power.
Strategy: add a smart, not-too-pushy pop-up to the checkout page or product page, shown when a customer's basket goes over a certain value (e.g. 100 €). Pop-up message: "You already qualify for ESTO 3. Add [an extra product / a product that completes the set] and pay for your whole basket the same way, in three interest-free instalments. Make the most of the offer!"
Pop-up message: "You already qualify for ESTO 3. Add [an extra product / a product that completes the set] and pay for your whole basket the same way, in three interest-free instalments. Make the most of the offer!"
ESTO's focus: demonstrates the flexibility of ESTO 3, encouraging customers to add extra products or set-completing products to their basket and increasing the total order value, without affecting the number of instalments.
Impact: helps visitors make decisions and encourages impulse purchases (since the customer is confident the payment method won't change), actively increasing average order value.
Measure 6: automatic abandoned-cart recovery email with a flexible last-chance offer
Redesign your existing reminder email for visitors who abandon their cart. Instead of price or availability, it should focus on flexible payment options.
Strategy: set up an automatic reminder email for customers who abandon checkout right after crossing the ESTO 3 or hire purchase threshold. The email should include the abandoned product and information about the affordable monthly payment. Email subject line: "Still thinking it over? Complete your purchase with ESTO and pay just X € a month."
Email subject line: "Still thinking it over? Complete your purchase with ESTO and pay just X € a month."
ESTO's focus: encourages customers to return to their cart with a personalised payment breakdown (calculated monthly or in three instalments), offering a direct solution for customers who are hesitant to complete the purchase.
Impact: more customers return to their cart, because they're offered exactly the solution (buy now, pay later) they want for completing the purchase.
Measure 7: financing landing page for bestsellers (focused on data-driven offers)
Focus mainly on the selected products that sell best during the holidays, to make choosing easier for customers.
Strategy: create a simple seasonal landing page featuring the 5–10 products that sell best during the holidays. Each product should show its ESTO option (e.g. "From just 49 € a month with hire purchase" or "3 ⨯ 70 € with ESTO 3"). It's important to display the full price smaller and the ESTO payment amount larger.
ESTO's focus: uses ESTO data (on hire purchase and ESTO 3 usage) to boost sales, driving traffic to pages designed to overcome price resistance and get shoppers to complete the purchase.
Impact: helps focus your marketing budget on the products most likely to sell, and makes sure customers see the biggest selling point first (the buy now, pay later option).
Ready to celebrate the best Christmas ever?
If you put some or all of these strategic measures into practice, you'll no longer be limited by your customers' current budget, and you'll be helping them make their shopping wishes come true.
We'll help you optimise your sales system and train your staff to make the most of the holiday shopping rush!