Summer’s almost here, school will soon be out and it’s time for barbecues and the beach, right? If you’re like most in the retail business, Cyber Monday is the furthest thing from your mind. But guess what? Most retailers put off holiday-preparedness until the fall – and by then, it’s almost too late. If you start thinking about it now and spend the summer months getting your site ready, you won’t find yourself in a bind come September/October.

Why? The months leading up to the holiday season are a very busy time for your website, and your vendors.  And by starting early, you have time to test different variations to see what drives the most impact.

For example, do you have a site redesign or platform change in the works? If so, be sure to alert your dedicated CSM so we can work with you to ensure there’s no disruption to your search.

And speaking of search, there are many enhancements you might consider adding, as each will typically drive more conversions. For example, adding Rich Auto Complete, Quickview, and AJAX search can all be great enhancements for the holidays. Also, incorporating things like ratings and reviews, non-product content (blog posts, video, tutorials) and social media content from your Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest pages are all great ways to increase engagement.

Are you planning to launch a mobile or tablet commerce site? Let us help you ensure the search on these platforms is optimized.  Do you, or a member of your team, need training on the merchandising console?

Whatever your needs, your dedicated Customer Success Manager is available to help you plan and execute your 2012 holiday initiatives. We can also provide you with complete training on the Merchandising tools and reports, as well as provide suggestions for how to merchandise on your site using the SLI Tools. And we can help you do A/B testing to see what features make the most sense for your customers.

Don’t put it off – get started with holiday planning today! To get started, contact your CSM directly, or email customersuccess@sli-systems.com, and a member of our team will follow up with you.