According to SumAll, ecommerce activity has been known to decrease by anything up to 30% during the summer months.

In addition, average order value falls nearly 5% below the annual average in August.

It’s vital that you stay ahead of your competition by working extra hard to make sure your business doesn’t suffer during this lull.

Here are five top tips to make sure your site doesn’t suffer from the holiday blues …

1. Be social

Summer is the perfect occasion to socialise! Join in the party and make sure you are constantly interacting on social media. Share pictures of summer stock and lifestyle images. Share content about all things summery.

2. Dress your store for the summer

Make sure you have your summer wardrobe ready! Invest in summery graphics, create outdoorsy videos and put all your summer stock to the front of your site!

3. Keep the communication lines open

Your customers may be off sunning themselves in Barbados but that doesn’t mean you can’t send them a gentle reminder that you’ll be there for them when they get back. Send out reminders about how your products will enhance their summer experience — use newsletters, social media, even postcards!

4. Create summer-specific promotions

Although it’s reportedly the worst season for ecommerce, that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to cash in. Promotions and mid-summer sales are a great way to do this. On July 15^th, Amazon are offering more discounts than they do on Black Friday — so don’t be shy with your promotions.

5. Focus on your international customers

International orders are vital for accelerated growth in ecommerce, so don’t neglect to include your international customers in your summer marketing campaigns.

And don’t forget: though the sun may be shining, Christmas is only around the corner — so make sure that you have everything organised and that you have strategies in place for the busiest months of the year!