All you need for Christmas is eCommerce

Christmas is coming in case you hadn’t noticed, not that the world is going to let you forget it. Whilst the build-up has been slowly rising these last few weeks, overnight it appears the nation has burst into the festive season – and this year the Christmas season is even more unavoidable. With the help of the digital world the public are now saturated with adverts and marketing campaigns, creating more potential customers than ever before.

The rising power of ecommerce

In the last few years online shopping has continued to rise in popularity and it shows no signs of stopping. Most recently following the shopping phenomenon that is Black Friday there was reported a 12% rise in online spending1 from the previous year. Thanks to next day delivery and sophisticated web designs online shopping has never been easier or more efficient; it’s easy to see why customers are choosing to tackle the shopping from the safety of their own home, as opposed to battling it out in the shops.
Last year 53% of customers did their Christmas shopping on a mobile or tablet2 and this year is expected to draw an even bigger online crowd. With the online shopping world exploding, it only makes sense to get your business on board the eCommerce bandwagon this season.

eCommerce essentials for Christmas

For any eCommerce experience to be successful it needs to achieve the balance between website sophistication and a user-friendly design, in order to provide a seamless journey from shopping to purchase. An issue that all eCommerce websites face is shopping cart abandonment, which is why companies need to ensure that the website design encourages its customer to complete the purchase. Here at boxChilli having designed and built 6 ecommerce websites in the last 6 months, we understand the importance of this balance – and more importantly how to create it.

Having a stress-free online store has never been more crucial than during the Christmas season. The dreaded present buying period is upon your customers, and they need to be able to rely on you to help them out (or risk losing them to a competitor). Luckily, one of the many benefits of an eCommerce site is their versatility; meaning that any business can tailor their website to suit them and their company’s individual needs. For instance, adding a ‘gifts’ section of your online store during the Christmas shopping period is a great way of helping your customers get what they need with minimal effort. During December when customers are inundated with Christmas offers, even simple additions such as a festive design theme can help encourage your customer to buy from your website.

Beyond the website

eCommerce has thrived with modern technology, using it to reach new audiences across a range of platforms. Mobile and Tablet technology has notably been the most successful venture for eCommerce, with online stores now appearing on your social media news feeds. Researchers have estimated that 84% of mobile users frequently search for, browse and compare products on their smartphones3, and therefore it only makes sense that they are willing to buy products from their smartphone too.

Branded as mCommerce, shopping adverts are now a common feature amongst mobile apps, regularly appearing on popular social network feeds such as Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook there is 1.1 billion mobile daily active users4, meaning that these adverts are gaining thousands of views with every hour. Mobile app ads have become so successful that 81% of Facebook’s advertising revenue now comes from mobile ads4.

mCommerce is continuing to develop, with only imaginable potential. Currently 50 percent of all Instagram users follow brand accounts4, allowing companies to sell to their customers without them having to get out of bed. In-app purchases are expected to be the next step of mCommerce, with social networking giants helping to speed up the purchasing process for customers. Instagram recently introduce a shopping feature, a platform which allows interested audience members to interact with content, via multiple layers, before making the decision to buy3.

The gap between the consumer and provider is closing as technology helps to make the purchasing process easier than ever before. Customers now expect to have their products presented to them as opposed to seeking them out; for businesses to stay relevant, it is essential that the eCommerce approach they are using makes sure they’ll be seen.

 

Sources

1 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38157560

2 http://www.cognique.co.uk/blog/plan-successful-ecommerce-christmas/#.WEAgtqKLT-Y

3 https://blog.crazyegg.com/2016/11/28/instagram-ecommerce-purchasing-powerhouse/

4 https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/facebook-mobile-app-statistics/

Back to blog list

About the Author

boxchilli