The race is on–the holiday shopping season has already started. The first step to success is to understand trending customer expectations for the 2024 holiday shopping season. It is no surprise that online, specifically mobile shopping, continues to grow in popularity. At the same time, there are trends that are emerging or increasing this holiday season.
Here are some tips on how to handle customer expectations for Holiday 2024:
Shoppers Desire Personalization
One of the top online shopping trends is personalization. Consumers are no longer buying as much from brick-and-mortar stores. People make specific searches for what they want, and they’re led to specific results for that item. Searches have become more personalized. For example, what’s the best conditioner for my hair type? It is crucial for sellers to offer them the experience they are expecting.
This is an excellent time to review your 2023 Holiday sales. For example, if a customer bought baby clothes last year, do they need larger children’s clothes this year? Do you have new items in a product you sold last year? If so, offer it to your loyal customer. You have the advantage because you have all the customer data at your fingertips.
They Want a Fun, Easy Shopping Experience
When a consumer first visits your online store, you won’t know much about them yet. But more importantly, a new customer might not know much about your site either. You want to make it easy to find your best-selling products and make navigation easy for other products you want to promote. Add great pictures and content tied to the holiday season.
During the holidays, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to navigate your site for potential gifts. For example, group into potential gift recipients: mom, sibling, girlfriend or co-worker. Make it easy for your customers to take several different tours of your inventory. Be creative and package your products with playful descriptions to increase sales.
Speedy Delivery is Expected
The number one reason for shopping car abandonment continues to be shipping issues. Now is the time to secure your shipping and delivery plan for Holiday 2024. Work to extend your shipping cut-off dates as long as you can. Be prepared to accommodate the procrastinating shopper as this means better holiday sales. Late shoppers are more willing to pay extra for same day delivery. Partner up with a reliable fulfillment partner. Choose one with a proven track record of handling seasonal surges due to last-minute shopping. This can mean the difference between holiday sales success or not as on-time delivery is a top concern for consumers during the holidays.
Customers are Looking for Bargains Before Big Sales Events
It is no surprise that consumers start holiday shopping way ahead of the Christmas holiday. It is not uncommon for holiday shopping to start in November (or even October!) Black Friday is no longer the official holiday shopping kick-off. In fact, shoppers begin looking for holiday deals a few months before Christmas.
While about half of the shoppers say they’ll be done with shopping by early December and about 60% will continue to shop during the two weeks after Christmas. This gives you ample opportunity to promote and sell your products through the beginning of the coming year, truly making it a great holiday shopping season for your ecommerce store.
