Getting Your Website Ready For Christmas In 2022

Getting Your Website Ready For Christmas In 2022

The seasonal shopping frenzy may be well and truly upon us and Black Friday has already been and gone, however, it’s never too late to get your website and e-commerce store in the best possible shape for the holiday period.

Covid may no longer be the issue it was, but the online shopping habits people got into of necessity have seemingly lingered. The website Vouchercodes.co.uk predicts that:

  • This Christmas, most shopping (51.1%) will be done online
  • More than 60% (61.3%) of consumers predicted they would spend the same online as last year, while a significant minority (15.9%) said they would increase their spending
  • Sales overall are expected to dip by 3% or £2.51bn compared to last year as record inflation, interest rates and soaring cost-of-living bills bite
  • Christmas gifts are set to be the hardest hit of any category, with a 6.8% decline in sales predicted

All of which means that e-commerce stores will have to work harder for every pound spent with them. The good news is that there are various things you can do to boost conversions and sales during what should be a hugely busy time for your business.

Here are some of them:

  • Boost your customer service

For example, how about introducing a ‘live chat’ option? There are plug-ins which initially use automated messages to guide browsers to the right team member. Another idea is to refresh your FAQs page – remember to share these across your social platforms for maximum exposure.

  • Offer multiple payment options

European Payments Council research reveals that up to half of shoppers will just leave their cart if they payment option they want is not on offer. Think eWallets and services like Apple Pay and PayPal.

  • Test your systems and prepare your supply chain

Look afresh at the limits of your staff, warehousing and delivery network. There are currently six Royal Mail strike dates planned for December, including December 23 and Christmas Eve, which could impact your shipping of orders. It’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver, so consider whether you need to extend delivery dates.

Most customers will shop with you again if your ordering process is easy, so test your system from a user’s point of view. Order something of your own to see this process in action and then the returns system – it’s well-known that far more online orders are returned than goods bought from bricks-and-mortar stores.

  • Getting personal

It seems that most customers now want retailers to provide them with personal touches. These could include targeted product suggestions, tailored offers or adaptive content – a strategy aimed at supporting meaningful, personalised interactions across all digital channels.

Or consider designing special festive bundles – i.e. various goods or services sold as a combined package. Try and base these on this holiday season’s trends and niches, plus the way your products and categories have performed in previous years. (At the same time, you need to understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

  • Get email marketing right

By 2024, email marketing is predicted to reach a whopping 4.5bn people. So have the right strategy in place. Personalise your email marketing, go big on user-generated content and combine with social channels for maximum impact. Finally, be interactive with surveys, polls and feedback forms to learn more about how your brand is perceived and your audience, while showing you take their experience seriously.

Finally, bear in mind that many may be viewing your marketing emails on a smartphone or similar device and optimise accordingly.

  • Update your local listings

SEO is important for local listings since it helps with both business visibility and high-authority backlinks. Refresh regularly.

  • Understand the latest trends

Research shows that 75% of people never scroll past the first page of the Search Engine Results Pages. Stay across current marketing trends and stay on Page 1. Use tools such as Google Trends to help with this, so that you remain relevant.

Talk to us

Remember – you haven’t left it too late! Get in touch with us at Front Page Advantage and discuss any changes you may need to make to your website, plus all aspects of your digital strategy to maximise success at this crucial time of year. We’ve helped many different businesses in different sectors, and could help yours, too. Give us a call today.