Here is some good news for e-commerce operators: According to the 10th edition of the Holiday Outlook report published by the respected business consultancy PwC, retail sales from Black Friday until New Year’s Day are expected to increase by 7% year-over-year. This forecast takes into account higher spending despite a stubborn pattern of inflation, but the overall outlook is largely positive.
Since the first post-pandemic holiday shopping season in 2022, online sales have increased by 16%. This is certainly good news if you operate e-commerce websites; however, success with holiday sales is only possible with proper optimization. With this in mind, let’s review the factors that should be considered when optimizing e-commerce stores for the holidays:
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As Holiday Website Traffic Increases, So Will Your Competition
Online shoppers flock to e-commerce websites during the holiday shopping seasons; while a surge of visitors is always welcomed, not all websites are optimized to handle the influx. If your website experiences slow load times, crashes, or other performance issues after Thanksgiving Day, you will know that it is not optimized for the holidays.
For many e-commerce entrepreneurs, the first sign of their websites succumbing to holiday shopping traffic involves getting a notification from their hosting provider about running out of bandwidth. Beyond hosting issues, your website’s database might become overloaded, thus leading to slow page load times or even crashes. If your website’s content delivery network (CDN) is not configured properly, it may fail to deliver content efficiently, resulting in a poor user experience (UX).
If you are not getting any traffic spikes during the holidays, you are likely losing visitors to your competitors. If your search engine optimization (SEO), UX, and marketing are not up to par for the holidays, you will not get the benefit of higher sales volume during the busy shopping season.
UX Development for the Holiday Season
E-commerce websites that do not make any visual changes alluding to the holiday season will lose prospective shoppers to thoughtful competitors. You can start by incorporating festive visuals such as snowflakes, Christmas trees, or Hanukkah menorahs to create a seasonal atmosphere. If you are working with a commercial WordPress theme, look for updates and plugins to instantly decorate your pages, or retain a web developer to transform your layout for the holidays.
A positive UX is crucial for converting holiday shoppers into customers. Evaluate factors such as intuitive navigation, clear product information, and a smooth checkout process. Don’t forget to provide a mobile-first approach. A significant portion of holiday shopping is done on mobile devices, so you must ensure that your websites are fully optimized for mobile browsing.
All the holiday sales and promotions you offer should be prominently displayed and easy to understand. Think about clear messaging, limited-time offers, and attractive visuals to entice shoppers. When you venture into holiday specials, pay close attention to their beginning and closing dates; you should be ready to announce and display specials as rapidly as you can remove them. Implement the use of tools such as A/B testing to identify your most effective website elements and how to optimize them for conversions.