It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Profits!

Brick and mortar stores took it on the chin again this week as newscasters broadcast the grim news that terrorist “chatter” indicates they may be targeting large shopping malls in large cities in the U.S.  Like most terror threat reports, this one was described as “vague” (whatever than means). In any event it comes as one more blow to brick and mortar retailers who were already predicting a not-so-merry holiday shopping season.

“Retailers are in for a somewhat challenging holiday season as consumers are faced with numerous economic obstacles,” said Rosalind Wells, chief economist for the National Retail Federation. “With the weak housing market and current credit crunch, consumers will be forced to be more prudent with their holiday spending.”

Fortunately, the outlook is much brighter for online stores, with U.S. online holiday sales expected to reach $39 billion, an increase of 20 percent over last year’s holiday season. Jupiter Research predicts that a record 126 million people, (a six percent increase over last year) will make purchases online this holiday season. What this means is that even though overall retail sales may be sluggish this year, online commerce will still grow because of the increase in the number of people who will use the internet to do their shopping.

“Online retailers have an opportunity to gain market share their year because of the resilience of online shoppers, in spite of a relatively soft off-line holiday season,” said David Schatsky, president of Jupiter Research. “Aggressive use of cross channel messaging and promotions will be the key to capturing undecided customers.”

What can you do to online shoppers to your site? Web hosting provider explains:

1. Make sure your site is alive with the holiday spirit. People love being surrounded by seasonal sights and sounds. When people shop at brick and mortar stores, they hear the music, smell the evergreen trees and touch the items. Make sure your virtual store is every bit as festive. Ask you web hosting provider to help you “decorate” your online store for the holidays.
2. Offer gift certificates. This is a no-brainer for the holiday season, especially if your site offers high tech items or products that are marketed to youth. Parents, grandparents and friends often just don’t know what to get teenagers and young adults so gift certificates can be real life savers. They are also great for long-distance gift giving because they don’t require high shipping costs. Last year, most online retailers reported that the people who shopped online with gift certificates that they received for Christmas spent significantly more than the amount of the certificate. (Ching. Ching.)
3. Answer the important questions: “What shall I get for him” and “What shall I get for her?” As we start purchasing gifts and checking names off of our list, there’s always someone who’s impossible to shop for because they either have everything or are too specific or just plain picky. Ask your web hosting provider to help you put together a simple holiday gift guide and a search/browse tool so you can help direct people to the product that fits the bill. Consider adding a section to your site that allows customers to enter personal information about their gift recipients such as age, gender and hobbies.
4. Make sure visitors to your site feel safe and comfortable. This is important all year long and becomes especially critical during the holidays. Every ecommerce site should have the proper security certificates, trust badges and banners in place so that customers feel safe when they are shopping with you. Make sure your customers understand that their personal, sensitive, confidential information will never leave your site.
5. Stay in communication with your repeat customers. Repeat business accounts for 50% or more of a site’s order volume. Send your customers coupons for special discounts, offer free shipping to loyal customers and keep them informed about additions to your inventory. As you know, it is much cheaper to keep existing customers than to lure new ones to your site.

It is critical that you check your site several times a day to make sure everything is running smoothly. Get with your web hosting provider to make sure your site is ready for the holiday online shopping extravaganza because it’s beginning to look a lot like profits!

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