Hanukkah starts on December 18th. Christmas Day, as we all know, is one week later on the 25th. The following day, Kwanzaa takes off and lasts until the new year. That’s a lot of celebrating to do! Naturally, as part of every annual holiday celebration, there is a lot of gift-giving involved. For most holiday shoppers, the internet makes up their go-to shopping destination. What steps are you taking to lure holiday shoppers to your e-commerce site?
Design a holiday gift guide.
Although most people have already begun their holiday shopping, many of them have no idea what they’re looking for. When you create gift guides, it helps many an unsure shopper with the shopping process. Create categories in your online store. They can be as simple as “For Dad” or “For Mom”. Alternatively, you can specify items that are “For Sports Lovers” or “For Movie Buffs”. The categories of your gift guide will help to make shopping experience in your e-shop a lot more seamless and stress-free.
“The holiday season can be mentally taxing for some shoppers, struggling to find the right gift for an array of people on their list,” writes Reed Hartman on BigCommerce.com, “Reduce their feeling of overwhelm by curating a series of holiday guides, featuring your products.”
Create a seamless mobile experience.
If you want to significantly increase your company’s online sales, it’s imperative that your online store is easy to access and navigate on a smartphone. A large portion of online sales are made through mobile devices. Just how mobile friendly is your online store? Pull out your phone, visit your site and sift through it. Be sure to make note of any issues and make changes with your web developer immediately.
“Smartphones and tablets are the biggest shopping drivers, especially during the festive season,” informs Smith Willas on Outgrow.co, “According to data provided by WebFX, over 50% report they are less likely to engage with sites with bad mobile-friendly website designs. One goal that many website owners hope to achieve is encouraging return traffic. Around 75% of users reported they’re more likely to return to a website that is mobile-friendly and make a purchase.”
Display a discount countdown.
Picture it. An online shopper visits your online store and sees an “Only Two Hours Left” notification on the homepage. Clearly visible is a countdown clock that is ticking the seconds away. Within that time, your online store makes clear, shoppers can take 25% off all purchases that are $75 or more. As you can imagine, this will help to create senses of urgency that will encourage greater sales.
“Countdown timers trigger FOMO (fear of missing out) feelings among consumers,” says Hartman, “Also, they build up a sense of scarcity, forcing our brain to want the fleeing thing before it’s gone. Researchers found that a feeling of scarcity makes us auto-rate in-demand products as more attractive. And we rate luxury products more favourably if they are scarce due to limited supply.”
Is your company website ready for the holiday shopping season?
At Canadian POS, we offer a secure e-commerce solution that enables you to easily and securely accept and process all credit cards from your website. To learn all about it, call us at 1-877-748-2884 or send us a message on our Contact Us page!