For many retailers, sales aren’t spread evenly throughout the year. Seasonal businesses, like Shuswap Ski & Board, Canada’s #1 watersports pro shop, make the majority of their revenue in just a few months. That means their e-commerce store has to perform at peak levels when the pressure is highest.
So, how can other retailers handle the crunch of their busiest season? Here are 5 tips to help your e-commerce operation run smoothly when demand surges:
1. Make ERP Integration Your Backbone
When sales volumes spike, there’s no time for duplicate data entry or manual fixes. Shuswap needed their online store to connect seamlessly with their Windward System Five ERP. With WebSell’s integration, product, inventory, and customer data stay aligned across channels, saving hours every day and reducing costly errors.
👉 Takeaway: A tight ERP–e-commerce integration helps you scale without doubling your workload.
If you’re running Microsoft’s ERP, check out our Dynamics 365 e-commerce integration and learn how syncing your ERP with your webstore makes seasonal spikes much easier to handle.
2. Get Ahead with Paid Ads
Shuswap’s busy summer coincides with a surge in online searches for watersports gear. That’s where WebSell’s paid search service helped them capture intent-driven traffic. Ads structured around product categories and seasonal promotions delivered better ROAS and steadier order volumes.
👉 Takeaway: Align your ad campaigns with your peak demand period — and start them early.
If you’re a smaller retailer, the good news is that you don’t need massive budgets to see results. We’ve shared what we learned from managing over $1M in spend in Boosting ROAS: What We Learned from Managing $1M+ in Ad Spend and why Google Ads for small businesses can be one of your most profitable channels.
3. Streamline Checkout for Faster Conversions
When your customers are ready to buy, the last thing you want is cart abandonment. Shuswap benefited from WebSell’s Next Gen checkout features like address autocomplete, branded confirmation emails, and faster load times. Small UX improvements can make a big difference in conversion rates.
👉 Takeaway: Frictionless checkout = higher sales, especially under peak traffic loads.
If you’re not sure your site is up to speed, check our guide on the signs it’s time for an e-commerce redesign. For holiday retailers, you’ll also want to prepare early, see our last-minute holiday prep guide for practical steps to reduce cart abandonment.
4. Keep Support Systems Responsive
Shuswap told us: “Every person on your team is knowledgeable… while sometimes I may not get the answer I want, I do always get an answer.” When you’re working 15-hour days, fast and clear support is critical.
👉 Takeaway: Choose an e-commerce partner who responds quickly and knows your system inside-out.
During peak season, even the smallest delay in resolving an issue can cause missed orders or unhappy customers. That’s why strong customer support, and technology that scales with you, is as important as marketing.
5. Plan for the Off-Season
Shuswap goes hard in summer, then chills in winter. But that downtime is a chance to review analytics, improve site content, and prepare campaigns for next year. Seasonal businesses that treat the off-season as prep time hit the ground running when demand returns.
👉 Takeaway: Use slower months for optimization so you’re ready for the next peak.
This is a great time to revisit your SEO and content. Our guide on improving organic search traffic outlines practical ways to drive more visibility, while our holiday strategy planning guide shows how to map campaigns around your unique seasonality. You could also use this time to explore AI in e-commerce and start testing tools that will give you an edge next season.
🚀 Final Thoughts
Your busiest season doesn’t have to be your most stressful. With the right systems, smart marketing, and a focus on customer experience, you can thrive like Shuswap Ski & Board.
At WebSell, we help retailers prepare for their peak periods with integrated e-commerce, smarter marketing, and ongoing support. Whether your “busy season” is summer, Black Friday, or the holidays — we’ll help you make the most of it.
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