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Is Your Site Ready For Holiday Shoppers?

If you have meandered down the aisles of brick-and-mortar retail stores lately, then you have definitely noticed that they are reconfiguring their shopping spaces to make way for the inevitable deluge of holiday shoppers. These retailers put months of planning into their campaigns, all to capture just a few more customers and start the lucrative holiday sales season just a little bit earlier.

The e-commerce stores that will be successful this season will follow the same pattern. They are now in the process of configuring their online stores and making plans to attract the millions of shoppers who will shop online this year.

For the past few years, nearly 50 percent of holiday shoppers have traded bone-chilling temperatures, long lines, traffic jams and tired feet for cozy nights of shopping by their home fireplaces in flannel pajamas. With a hot toddy in one hand and a mouse in the other, holiday shopping is completed in a just a few merry clicks. Two days later gift-wrapped merchandise arrives on the doorstep. The only physical labor required is to gently slide the gifts under the tree.

More shoppers flock to the Internet during the holidays as the malls get crowded and gifts get harder to find. With tools such as Consumer Guide and GiftFinder on SuperPages.com, shoppers can quickly find the perfect gift on the Web.”

Search is the most critical key to influencing of the buying habits of the millions of online holiday shoppers, according to Adam Sarner of E-commerce Times. “Those e-tailers that understand the value of the search engine will be the big winners this holiday season. “

Successful online businesses will tweak their keywords for the season, by adding words like “holiday” or “Christmas” to their normal offerings. However, vendors should not depend entirely upon those words because they get a lot of volume and don’t convert well.

“Be ready for fads,” said Rob Wilk, director of search engine marketing at Avenue A/Razorfish Search. “Can you say ‘Tickle Me Elmo?’ If you have any holiday toy or gift that gets hot, make sure that you have all of the right keywords, copy and budget to take advantage of the fad type products. Watching search volume grow is the best indicator of increasing consumer interest.”

So how do you optimize your site for Christmas related searches in September without cluttering it with holiday icons and blatantly mercenary pre-season messages?  Talk to your web host about the best way to ease your e-business site into the season in a tasteful and effective way.

Many site owners prefer to categorize seasonal content into its own area, with a selection of special offers and wrapping options. Make sure that people who preorder know that that their deliveries will arrive on time. It’s usually a good idea to encourage companies with big orders to allow at least a week more than they need to get the gifts to the customer early.

Keep The Grinch Away From Your Customers

Without careful planning and communication, security concerns can quickly become the “Grinch” that stole Christmas from online businesses. According to a recent survey conducted by the Business Software Alliance, online security will be a major concern for holiday shoppers. U.S. consumers who shop online believe it is important to protect themselves and most of them are doing just that.
Over half (53%) say they are planning to upgrade their computer security software within the next three months, and the vast major of online consumers are seeking information from their friends, families, coworkers, ISP’s and the media on how to shop safety and securely.

Four out of five of the consumers who plan to do their holiday shopping online say they are using anti-virus software on their computers. More than three out of five have also installed anti-spyware, email filtering/spam blocking software and firewalls. 

It is critically important that people who visit and shop on your site feel safe. Make sure you communicate early and often about the tools you have in place to protect their identities and provide a safe shopping experience for them. All other things being equal, consumers will do business on the sites where they feel safest.

“If online shoppers exercise their common sense, trust their instincts, and take basic protective measures, they are likely to enjoy a safe, comfortable gift-buying experience this holiday season,” said Ken Hunter, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. 

Study The Trends

It’s also important to understand the trends. The WebSurveyor’s Services Group of online survey professionals conducted a nationwide online survey between December 27, 2005 and January 3, 2006, to identify key trends and explore how people felt about their internet shopping experiences during the 2005 holiday season.

Some of their findings were:

• Women out-shopped men in every age category, including 75% of women in the 31-45 group who say the internet is their preferred purchasing method. As a result of this, online businesses must now consider transforming themselves from male-oriented “hunter” sites to female-oriented “gatherer” sites that provide a richer online purchasing experience.

• Large numbers of potential buyers (70% of both men and women) continue to abandon shopping carts before they complete the purchasing process.  Online shopping cart abandonment presents internet businesses with their biggest challenge.

• Shipping costs and problems can be major barriers to sales. This will be important for internet businesses to address during the 2006 shopping season.

With careful planning, well-communicated security features and attention to the trends, your web business can expect a successful holiday season. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And if you prepare now to meet the needs of the millions of internet savvy, mall dodging shoppers the jolly old elf is likely to bring merry amounts of money your way.