2013 Holiday Checklist

U.S. consumers are expected to spend over $61 billion in November and December 2013 alone, setting up what should be the most lucrative time of the year for your eCommerce website. The biggest retailers have been putting their 2013 plans into motion since Holiday 2012 ended, have you made your plans yet?

Chances are you might not be ready yet, or you may have missed something. Atwoodz is going to help get your mind and site working in the right direction. Here is a list of some items to check on, plus some questions to get you started:

1. Set your Holiday 2013 goals – Sales goals, visitor goals, satisfaction goals, and more. This will help determine whether you had a successful Holiday Season or not; this is also important for next year’s plan.
   
2. What are your holiday offers? – November Specials, December Specials, Cyber-Monday Specials, and week after Christmas specials. Decide your offers and put them in a calendar to track. You should have special ads and coupons designed just for the holiday season for the best results.
3. Add Live-Chat to your site – There are free live chat software options, and the installation is much cheaper than you would imagine. This is a proven method for increasing conversions, improving customer ordering accuracy and overall satisfaction. This is also great for ongoing customer service and support after the sale is made.
4. Offer Free Shipping – If your competition offers free shipping, make sure you can match the strength of their offer. Consumers have come to expect free shipping, especially during the holidays, so this is a must! If you can’t offer free shipping, you should have a discount with a high perceived value.
5. Are you prices competitive? – Customers will compare multiple websites for the best prices and offers, so checking your competition’s offers is important for making sure your offers are competitive. If you can’t beat their prices, make sure you can beat their customer service, support or some other important item to use as a company-strength in your pitch.
6. Make sure your customer service, support/contact and return policy info is clear and easy-to-find! – Very often, people will look for the shopping policies, return/refund policies and support/contact info prior to purchasing from a website. Also, it is important to offer multiple ways to contact you, as many people will only select your website if you have their preferred method available.
7. Is your site mobile friendly? – “m”Commerce, or purchases using mobile devices, is expected to account for a sizable percentage of the Holiday 2013 season sales. This makes it very important for your website and ads to be fully compatible with phones and tablets. Mobile device purchasing will make up about 16% of the total holiday sales, with tablets accounting for 63% of these sales.
8. Add some Holiday Flair? – Add a special banner, slider, or some other way of letting people know that you are active and creating special holiday offers. Holidays are an exciting time, so the use of holiday imagery is an easy way to out the potential customer in the right mood for purchasing.

Time is running out, and before you know it, it will be 2014 and you will be looking back on a lackluster Holiday 2013 season; unless you start NOW! Atwoodz can help with any of your website’s needs in design, marketing, support and more. We are experts in eCommerce platforms, such as: Magento, osCommerce, Zen Cart, Open Cart, XCart and any other PHP-Based shopping cart.

$61,000,000,000 is a lot of money, but in 3 months it will be gone…and your chance is now to do something about it!

Written by Matt Dacko (Twitter @LVMattd)