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5 Ways to Get Your Website Ready for the Holidays

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62% of shoppers say they plan to buy their holiday gifts exclusively online.

 

4. Personalize product recommendations.

If a shopper came through your front door, you probably wouldn't ignore them. Greeting online visitors is important, too: 36% of shoppers8 say retailers need to do more to personalize their experience.

An easy way to do this is to install an app on your website that makes product recommendations based on browsing history. Many of today's ecommerce platforms can also recognize the IP address of repeat customers and can display products based on previous purchases. A study conducted by Barilliance, an eCommerce tool provider, found that product recommendations account for an average of 12% of ecommerce site sales.9

 

5. Highlight your gift cards.

During the 2019 holiday shopping season, gift card sales increased by7%10 compared to the 2018 holiday season. If you aren't offering gift cards on your website, you could be leaving money on the table. Many e-commerce platform providers offer gift cards as a product that you can add.

Gift cards are the most popular requested item — last year, 59% of those surveyed for the National Retail Federation's Annual October Holiday Consumer Report put at least one on their holiday wish list.11 Digital gift cards that are delivered by email or text message are also perfect for last minute shoppers. Prominently display them on your homepage.

By creating a great user experience on your website, you can help make the holidays a little brighter for your customers. And you just might put a little more jingle in your pocket, too.

Important disclosure information

This content is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment advice. You are encouraged to consult with competent legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment professionals based on your specific circumstances. We do not make any warranties as to accuracy or completeness of this information, do not endorse any third-party companies, products, or services described here, and take no liability for your use of this information.

  1. Redpoint Global, "Survey: Holiday Shopping 2020 Will be Fundamentally Transformed," published September 15, 2020, accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  2. Deloitte, "A Tale of Two Holiday Seasons: As a K-Shaped Recovery Model Emerges, Consumer Spending Heavily Bifurcated," published September 15, 2020, accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  3. Adobe, "Achieving Deliciousness," accessed October 14, 2020. Back
  4. Dan O'Shea, "Most BOPIS shoppers make additional purchases in store," Retail Dive, published February 25, 2019, accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  5. Radial, "Retailers Get Ready: Survey Shows COVID-19 Impact Hasn't Disrupted Consumer Holiday Shopping Plans," Cision PR Newswire, published July 8, 2020, accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  6. Baymard Institute, "41 Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics," accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  7. Laura Santhanam, "Poll: How stressed are Americans this holiday season?" PBS New Hour, published December 21, 2018, accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  8. Glen Taylor, "NRF19: 36% Of Shoppers Want Better Personalization, But Hesitate To Share Personal Info," Retail TouchPoints, published January 13, 2019, accessed October 16, 2020. Back
  9. Stephen Seranno, "Personalized Product Recommendation Tips and Stats," Barilliance, published September 6, 2020, accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  10. Blackhawk Network, "2019 Holiday Gift Card Sales Growth Doubled Overall Holiday Retail Sales Growth Estimates," Cision PR Newswire, published January 7, 2020, accessed October 13, 2020. Back
  11. National Retail Federation, "Holiday shoppers plan to spend 4 percent more this year," published October 24, 2019, accessed October 13, 2020. Back