Christmas is a time of giving and extreme generosity. The lead up to Christmas is the busiest time of year for the retail industry for this very reason. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic gave us an alternative Christmas last year. Many shops remained closed andgatherings were restricted. Consequently, many customers turned to eCommerce shopping to give their family gifts from afar.
Now the UK has adapted to a new ‘normal’, bricks and mortar stores are back open for business. Yet, customers are still fearful of returning to stores as the pandemic remains at the forefront of people’s minds. With this, the ease and fluidity of eCommerce have remained favourable for many customers.
This year predicts to be fruitful for eCommerce stores once again. This change in consumer behaviour is the result of two things. Firstly, customers have adapted to shopping online and now understand how easy it is. Secondly, some people are still shielding from coronavirus so they have no choice but to shop online.
With this in mind, how can shops capitalise on the festive eCommerce traffic this year?
Highlight festive stock
Whether you get additional Christmas stock, or your current stock is a perfect stocking filler – make sure they stand out. Christmas gifts may be your main source of revenue over the festive period so make sure they grab your customers’ attention. Do this by adding Christmas stock to your home page and highlighting offers around your key product and landing pages. This simplifies the customer journey, making them more likely to buy your festive products.
Create dedicated landing pages
If your festive stock takes over this time of year, you should create dedicated landing pages to point your customer in the right direction. These Christmas-specific landing pages may drive tons of festive traffic, particularly if you can rank effectively for relevant keywords. Therefore, boosting your unique visitors and sessions, and potentially increasing your sales revenue. Knowing how to best design and optimise your website can be difficult, so using a specialist eCommerce agency can help your site reach full potential.
Provide detailed delivery information
There are two types of shoppers at Christmas time. The ones who begin their shopping in autumn and inevitably, the ones who panic buy last minute. Help out your panic buyers by offering clear, concise and well-placed delivery information on your site. Your customers need to know the Christmas delivery cut-off point, ensure this is clear as it’s the most important part.
Gift wrapping option
If your customer can’t get to a loved one, they might want to send a gift directly to them. In which case, offering a gift-wrapping option is a great added touch. Your customers will appreciate the ease of a gift-wrapping service and could be more likely to buy from you than your competitors.
Optimise for mobile
With so many people in the UK owning a smartphone, mobile shopping is preferable. The ease of shopping from a mobile device is hard to resist and thus a significant proportion of Christmas shopping or browsing is done through these devices. Ensuring your mobile site is fully optimised is important to ensure you capitalise on the swathes of festive shoppers browsing on their phones.
Make sure your mobile site is easy to navigate for your customer. When life is busy, people don’t have time to dig for the products they want. Therefore, an optimised mobile site is more likely to increase traffic, extend shopping sessions and drive more sales.
