Holiday e-commerce spending is going to breakthrough $100 billion in 2017 in the U.S. alone, according to a study released by Adobe. Last year, holiday sales alone take place over 21.2% of the total sales. This season is the best time of entire year to skyrocket the revenue. With more people shopping online than in-store, gearing up your e-commerce site to cater for this festive audience is absolutely indispensable. To make the most out of this holiday season your website must align with these latest trends and demands of the market:

1. Mobile First Approach:

In 2015, desktop visits to retail sites were 55% of all visits, while it drops to 50% in 2016. Smartphones and tablet combined visits will account for 54% this year, says Adobe, while desktop will drop to 46%. Website owners often commit a silly mistake of commonly incorporating a responsive design approach to address multi-devices, but a desktop-first approach is often employed.

By taking a mobile-first approach, an optimal experience for mobile users is produced, which will provide for higher conversion rates with mobile shoppers. So how can you adopt mobile-first approach for your website? Here are top five essential things to consider:

    i. Is your website responsive?

The customers will be approaching your website from many different-different screen sizes. Better to get ready to welcome them experience the best, regardless of what screen sizes they are accessing from. Your website must be capable of reshaping itself in various screen sizes. As you examine your website for mobile friendliness issues, Google Search Console will be a handy tool to monitor your progress. Ask your crucial questions here regarding Mobile Friendliness.

    ii.  Is your website Super Fast?

It’s reported that 44% of shoppers cancel their online orders mid-way just because of a website delay. This holiday season you need to possess a lightning fast website Anyhow! (Otherwise all of your efforts will prove to be useless.)

Also faster websites posses better Pagerank in the search engine results because Google has changed the rules. So faster the site better will be its Pagerank. The Best tip to improve your website’s loading speed on mobile phones is to embrace AMP and PWA’s powerful combination. 

  iii. Is your website optimized for Voice Searches?

Voice search is the fastest growing type of search. By now, 55% of teens and 41% of adults use voice search on a daily basis, and that number is rising only. An eCommerce website is not fully ready for holiday battle if it’s not optimized for voice searches. We consider providing quick and most accurate answers for the voice queries is the best way of optimizing your site for The Voice Search Queries.

   iv. SEO for Local Searches:

Majority of mobile searches are performed while on the go. According to Google, searches for “businesses near me” have increased 2x in the past year. This rising trend simply tells that our consumers are really interested in the local businesses and services when performing a mobile search. You need to be one of the top results whenever a potential customer does a search in your area to remain ahead of your competitors this holiday season.

   v. Mobile commerce via Apps:

Half of American online shoppers use them because Mobile Apps have the potential to deliver the kind of desktop-quality experience that Mobile Web still struggles (In absence of AMP and PWA). And that will just extend the mobile advantage this holiday season even more.

2. Look and feel:

Decorate your website and make it FESTIVE. It puts the prospects in a mood to buy. Look at the brick and mortar stores, for every holiday sales they set up detailed and stunning displays. A website is no different. And the best tool for this purpose is “The LANDING PAGES”, Holiday-Specific Landing Pages. They help in spotlighting your special promotions, gift packages, seasonal products, gift ideas and at the end miraculously boost your sales up. It’s reported that 74% of shoppers are influenced by coupons and offers online. Be sure to use them in order to showcase your best coupons, greatest offers and fruitfully uplift your conversion rates.

3.  Checkout Flow Process:

On an average, three out of every four people who are ready to buy something on a site decide NOT TO just because the checkout flow of the website is improper. This silly mistake can change the whole game at the last moment! Work on it, make the checkout process as simple as possible to follow.

4. Preparation for Last minute spike:

Interestingly, people shop last-minute for more, not only for Christmas presents but also for other things. According to Adobe’s numbers, online transactions from 8PM to 11PM on Cyber Monday bring in more revenue than an entire average day. In other words, retailers better prepare their servers for last minute bombardment of transactions.

5. Artificial Intelligence:

Consumers conduct more research before completing a purchase. Fortunately, websites can leverage AI-automated CRM software and chatbots to increase conversion rates and customer retention. Also they can be used to retarget users and track offline conversions. This tool will not only be useful for this holiday season but it will also be beneficial for turning the gift hunting holiday shoppers into your lifelong customers.

6. Anticipatory Design:

First-generation anticipatory design (AD) we can see in how Amazon and Netflix recommend choices based on previous purchases and viewing habits. We foresee AD to be one of the highest quality trends. As AD is reshaping the consumer selection process, people are going to love its benefits, and they will start avoiding dealing with companies that don’t provide it. Implementing AD will be one of the most crucial strategies of the leading brands this holiday season.

7. One-Click Purchases:

It reduces friction between browsing and buying. While browsing a site if a consumer is signed into an account, it gives him the ability to buy in just one click. It will significantly increase your revenue this holiday season, especially in case of mobile shoppers who don’t like an extended checkout process.

8. Voice Purchasing:

Amazon Alexa and Google are changing the way online consumers are interacting with brands. Voice ordering is one of the most vital upcoming trends. It’s rapidly becoming a simple and fast way to order products and services. By next year, it’ll start to be an assumed option for customers wanting to purchase products or services online.

Don’t let this precious time go. Arise and start working. Let us know whenever you need any help, either small or big, we will be happy to stand with you and make this holiday season one of your BIGGEST successes. HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON