Did you do it? Did you spend ("Black") Friday fighting crowds in parking lots and malls to get the best deals? Did you get to Wal-Mart at an unreasonably early hour to get one of a few outrageously-low priced items? Or, like my daughter's teacher, were you able to declare all your holiday shopping "done" before Thanksgiving Day? If you don't fit in any of the above categories, then you may be planning to shop today. Happy Cyber-Monday, everyone! This is the day online retailers count on to be at the top of their holiday season sales chart.
According to a recent survey by the e-tailing group (“Mindset of the Multi-Channel Shopper Holiday Survey” sponsored by ATG), 49% of holiday gift spending by US Internet users will occur online in 2008, compared with 44% in stores. That means this will be the first time the Web has surpassed the bricks-and-mortar store as the preferred buying channel for Americans to purchase holiday gifts (though only those with access to the Internet were asked to express a preference). With some reports showing Black Friday sales to be up nearly 3% over last year, online retailers stand to gain even more.
As I mentioned before, saving time, avoiding crowds, selection and ease of shipping are some reasons users say they shop online. Saving money on gas is another, though the economy has driven down gas prices some in the last month.
Survey respondents who plan to spend less this season also said they intend to, “shop online for better deals.” Despite all the other factors, that may be the biggest impact this season. Shopping online enables price comparison and quick access to promotions.
When you identify a comparison shopper will your site greet them with dynamic content based on their earlier visit? Let’s hope so. Let’s hope online retailers are taking most advantage of a potentially banner year for online retail and not just sitting back expecting the sales to roll in.
Throughout December Knotice will share our own online shopping experiences. Already this shopping season we’ve noticed some online retailers have great buy-flow and smooth transactions while others… not so much. We’ll review both the good and the bad and add our two cents on how online retailers can improve up-sell and get more conversions. Stay tuned!
