Strategies to prep for the gifting season with Gelato’s software tools

The holiday season is the most awaited time of the year for retailers. With an anticipated surge in sales and website traffic, it's important to have a solid strategy in place to make the most of the year's busiest shopping period. And with Gelato's software power, you can do just that.

Our powerful suite of tools and features can help you streamline your operations, attract more customers, and boost your revenue during the holiday rush. Read on for some strategies on how to use our software power to prepare for the holiday season.

• Our toolkit allows you to create, design, and manage holiday products like a pro.

• Use our Price Navigator to optimize your pricing strategy for the holiday season.

• Create stunning designs in record time with our intuitive Design Editor.

• Visualize and present products in the best light with our Mockup Studio tool.

• Keep your holiday orders under control using our integration with Order Desk.

At Gelato, our goal is to help ecommerce businesses thrive during the holiday rush. Part of that is providing you with the best tools to make your holiday season a success. From stock images and design tools to pricing strategies and order management, we make it easier for you to focus on what matters most – your customers and their orders. Here's a rundown of some of the ways you can use our software tools to make this holiday season a massive success.

1.  Quickly roll out festive products

As the holiday season approaches, everything becomes a bit of a rush. From creating marketing campaigns to brainstorming festive designs, the countdown to the holidays becomes more hectic every day. We understand that time is at a premium and that's why our product expansion tool is such a game-changer.

With Gelato, you can quickly create and launch holiday-themed products. As Christmas nears, shoppers are on the lookout for diverse festive gifts. Using the Product Expansion Tool, you can take your top-selling designs and replicate them across different items. Whether it’s a Santa motif on mugs or a snowy landscape on t-shirts, expand your product offerings without hassle.

Within the dashboard, just select the item and then effortlessly 'expand' its design across multiple product categories. It's the perfect way to boost your average order value this season, without investing hours of your time. Once a product type is selected for design expansion, you can preview and set prices, make sure the design's resolution fits and meets your standards, and then publish these newly created product variants directly to your stores.

With continuous feature updates, we've also introduced functions like automatic artwork adjustments, improved preview quality, and efficient management of product options. You have the flexibility to list expanded products either as individual items or as variants for the best possible customer experience. While available for Gelato+ and Gold subscribers, new users can also test the tool by uploading up to five designs.

2. Price smartly for the holidays

The festive season often means fluctuating demand and competitive pricing. But you won't be left in the lurch because we have just the tools you need! Our Gelato Price Navigator tool helps you gauge the market and adjust your prices accordingly. You can make sure you're not just priced competitively but also maintain a healthy profit margin while offering those irresistible Christmas deals.

The Price Navigator is your compass in the turbulent seas of holiday commerce. Knowledge is power, and understanding what your local competitors are up to is crucial. Using the Price Navigator tool, you can see where your pricing compares to the market and gain insights that can help guide your strategy.

What’s more, our Price Guide also gives you a birdseye view of the market pricing landscape. By checking out the landed market prices (the final price a customer pays after all discounts), you can determine where your products stand. Are you underpricing and leaving money on the table? Or are you priced too high and potentially deterring prospective customers? With the Price Guide these questions are much easier to answer. Quickly optimize any products with negative or low profits with bulk changes to boost sales.

In a nutshell, our pricing tools are the ace up your sleeve this festive season. While competitors might be guessing and adjusting their prices based on gut feelings, you'll be leveraging concrete data and insights to make informed decisions. So, as the festive bells start ringing, be ready to offer your customers not just great products but also prices that make them click that 'Buy Now' button.

3. Tap into holiday-themed imagery

Need fresh, high-quality images for your holiday collection? Don't fret. Gelato+ offers access to the renowned Shutterstock image library. By simply logging into your Gelato account and selecting 'Design your print,' you’ll gain access to a rich trove of imagery available through Shutterstock. Users can choose between the 'Essentials' collection, which hosts 1 million of the platform's most popular images, or the expansive 'Full collection' that boasts a staggering 360+ million diverse images.

Whether you're in the market for photos, digital vectors, or vibrant illustrations, a user-friendly search function makes it easy to navigate. We also take on the onus of compliance, by automatically crediting the image's artist in your product listings. One less thing for you to do!

We like to keep our costs transparent: Free plan users pay a fee based on the image collection, while Gelato+ subscribers enjoy the perk of accessing the Essentials collection at no extra charge. Shutterstock images can be applied to a wide range of products like apparel, mugs, and wall art (just note that calendars and business cards are not supported).

So, with the holiday shopping season looming, you won't be short of choices for that perfect holiday-themed image to add to your product line!

4. Design holiday products faster

Time is of the essence during the holiday rush. Thankfully, Gelato's intuitive Design Editor allows you to whip up holiday designs in a jiffy. With its intuitive interface, the tool effortlessly caters to both design novices and seasoned professionals. Rather than laboriously creating from scratch, users can leverage a whole host of easy-to-use tools – such as layers, built-in access to stock library, and a large range of creative fonts – to craft beautiful designs in no time.

One standout feature that really makes life easy when you're in a rush to get your holiday designs ready is our automatic resolution checker. It flags potential resolution issues, ensuring each product reflects your vision crisply and clearly. Another big help is the preview mode – it offers a realistic glimpse, including 3D renders for some items, which helps visualize the final product. In a season where time is invaluable, Gelato's design editor speeds up the creation process, giving you more time to focus on other aspects of your holiday business.

5. Create festive mockups in a few clicks

Presentation can make a world of difference, especially when enticing festive shoppers. With Gelato's Mockup Studio Tool, you can visualize and present your holiday products in the most appealing way.

The Mockup Studio, which is accessible right from the Gelato dashboard, offers a rich suite of customization options. You can select the precise format and size of the mockup image, choose and adjust an alluring background scene, and even determine how the product fits within that scene. From there, the tool allows you to layer the scene with additional files, text, and graphics – offering a real-time preview as changes are made.

An essential feature of the Mockup Studio Tool is its capability to save and store personalized mockups. This means that a mockup fine-tuned for the holidays can be easily reused for other festive occasions or modified slightly for a fresh product launch. The saved mockups integrate seamlessly when creating new product listings, for better consistency in brand representation. Once the mockup has been perfected, it's a simple task to download it for promotional use or online store displays.

Currently exclusive to the Wall art product category, the Mockup Studio Tool is available for Gelato+ and Gold customers, so premium users get the best of this feature. For those still contemplating a premium subscription, we offer a trial phase, so users can experience the power of personalized mockups firsthand!

Gelato isn't just a print-on-demand provider, we’re a partner committed to helping your business thrive. With over 130 print partners located around the world, we offer fast and cost-effective delivery options to your customers in over 32 countries. This means that no matter where your customer is located, they can receive their order quickly and easily.

But it's not just about the logistics. We also offer a wide range of high-quality print-ready products to choose from, including mugs, phone cases, hoodies, t-shirts, tote bags, and more. With our state-of-the-art machinery and sustainable printing practices, you can be sure that your products will be of the highest quality while also being environmentally friendly. 

Additionally, our user-friendly platform makes it easy to manage your entire print-on-demand process from start to finish. From uploading and customizing designs to tracking orders and seeing real-time analytics, we provide a seamless experience for both you and your customers. So, what are you waiting for? Make this holiday season a breeze by partnering with Gelato for all your print-on-demand needs.