At the end of November, Black Friday and Cyber Monday officially inaugurate the end-of-year peak sales season in the online stores world, marking the beginning of the Holiday Season in e-commerce.
However, there are also other important shopping days during the Holiday Season in e-commerce that deserve attention.
This year’s Holiday Season in e-commerce may be different from previous years, as modern shoppers have countless buying decisions that can affect conversion.
While things have been improving years after the pandemic, other factors are influencing decision-making; from inflation to new buying behaviors to customer needs.
That’s why here are 7 trends and strategies that can help you face the Holiday Season in e-commerce.
Inflation is a concern
More than half of shoppers indicate that their Holiday shopping will be affected by inflation this 2023.
Consequently, in order to save money, bargain hunting becomes paramount, along with the use of coupons or gift cards to cushion spending.
Offering personalized discounts becomes an attractive option to retain these customers.
Buy now, pay later
BNPL – buy now, pay later – payment methods have been growing rapidly in recent times.
More than half of US customers have used a BNPL service and almost 10% of Australian e-commerce transactions are paid with a BNPL provider.
In fact, integrating this payment method into your online store can be an option when it comes to helping your customers spread their costs during the Holiday Season in e-commerce.
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November and December are the biggest sales months of the year. Studies predict that consumers spend $960 billion in these two months alone, averaging $883 per shopper.
Mobile shopping
You must prioritize the shopping experience of your customers in this format with easy-to-use buttons and a search engine that allows clients to find products quickly and intelligently.
Likewise, optimizing your online store for mobile sales is paramount to improving your conversion rate.
Social commerce
Nearly 62% of U.S. social shoppers say their most recent purchase was through Facebook.
Certainly, this figure makes it an important factor to consider within e-commerce Holiday offerings.
In addition, Instagram (which is part of Meta), YouTube, and TikTok are not far behind. This is why a correct marketing strategy, coupled with specific keywords that boost your hashtags is key to your social media campaigns.
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Compared to other platforms, TikTok users are 1.5 times more likely to purchase products they discover through the app, making it a social commerce powerhouse you shouldn’t ignore.
A strategic calendar of offers and demand forecasting
Do not limit yourself only to key dates to launch your offers, you can anticipate or extend your promotional calendar strategically.
That is why you must organize yourself in a strategic and planned way to know when to launch the benefits to customers in your online store and boost sales conversion.
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By mid-November 2023, U.S. holiday shoppers had completed 33% of their holiday shopping, up one percentage point from the same time last year.
Holiday Gift initiatives and last-minute shopping
Finding the perfect gift for the Holiday Season is sure to be an issue for your customers.
Creating segmented product offers for every need, landing pages with custom filters, and a collection of products that appeal to your customers will provide a solution to this problem.
With Impresee you can identify what your store visitors are looking for, identifying each of their needs.
In this way, if you help your customers solve problems, you contribute to their loyalty in the short term and they will go from being Christmas shoppers to year-round customers.
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U.S. holiday shoppers are most likely to shop first for their children (41%) and spouses or significant others (32%), followed by 22% who say they will shop for themselves first.
Expedited shipping or deliveries to physical stores
Offering express shipping can be a plus for your premium customers and an excellent marketing hook to attract new visitors to your e-commerce.
Next-day shipping is only sometimes enough to impress Holiday shoppers. But it’s an issue you should be prepared for and not take lightly.
To meet the stipulated deadlines and not disappoint your customers with possible delays, especially at this time of the year, you can generate the option of in-store pickup or strategic delivery points.
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In 2022, about 57% of Holiday Shopping was done online, compared to 43% in stores.
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