There’s no doubt that it’s been hard to predict what the holiday season would look like for the last couple of years. With people having to spend Christmas away from their loved ones, it was no surprise that more and more people were going online for their shopping. In 2021, a whopping third of brits did their Christmas shopping online. Bad news for physical retailers, good news for your ecommerce store.
But, while ecommerce might have a seriously sizable share of the retail market, that comes with some additional challenges. So, to help you navigate the busiest time of year, here are some things that you can do to make sure that your ecommerce site is ready for christmas.
Can you handle the increased traffic?
You might be thinking, “increased traffic? In what world could that be a problem!” Sure, an increase in traffic to your ecommerce site can be incredibly exciting. But that’s only the case right up until the moment your site crashes completely because it can’t handle the strain all of those extra visitors are having on it. Your site should always be running at the best possible speeds but that’s even more important during such a busy period. Christmas shoppers are hardly the most patient group in the world and there are a lot of other online retailers vying for their attention. Something as simple as your site taking just a little bit too long to load can mean the difference between a visitor becoming a customer and them simply clicking away and going to your competitor instead.
There are great tools available to help you keep track of your site’s performance but letting us take care of it for you with our managed IT services helps to take a lot of the stress off your shoulders during such a busy time.
Is your site easy to navigate?
Your site might be loading perfectly, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the kind of site that your customers will actually want to visit. Take some time before things get really busy to consider what changes it’s possible to make to your site to ensure that it’s as easy and simple to navigate as possible. This can mean anything from ensuring that there are no broken links to ensuring that all of the most important information is conveyed clearly. It’s not always easy to put yourself in the shoes of your customer but if you want to be sure that your ecommerce site is ready for Christmas, that’s something you have to do.
How’s the mobile experience of your site?
In the modern, data hungry world, there’s no doubt that smartphones and other mobile devices have become a lot of people’s go-to solution for all of their web browsing and shopping needs. That means, if your site isn’t properly optimised for mobile devices, there’s a good chance that you’re leaving a pretty significant market out to dry. Simple things like making sure that your site’s content automatically adjusts to mobile screen sizes or links that are difficult to click on can be disastrous for customer engagement with your site.
You don’t have to go all out and create your own app. (Though, if you want to there are definitely options available to you.) However, if your website doesn’t work properly on mobile devices, a huge chunk of your potential customer base simply isn’t going to give it the time of day.
Is your security up to scratch?
Security is an absolutely essential part of your ecommerce site at any time but, just like everything else, it becomes even more important during the Christmas season. The sheer amount of traffic that you’ll be experiencing during Christmas means that you’re going to be trusted with a whole lot of customers’ credit and debit card information. If you’re not putting in the effort to ensure that all of that data is secure, you’re letting your customers down. Something as straightforward as an SSL certificate will provide a far greater level of security for your customers’ data.
Not only is increasing your security great for keeping your customers safe, but it can also help to bring in even more customers. People tend to feel a lot more comfortable putting in their card details when they visit a site that’s secure. If your site isn’t secure, Google might even warn your customers about it which could be a disaster during such a busy time of year.
There’s a good chance that Christmas is going to be the busiest time of year for your site. You’re probably already thinking of ways that you can connect with your customers and drive sales. But all of that work is going to be utterly pointless if you can’t guarantee that your site is actually going to be working when your customers arrive.
If you need some support to make sure that your ecommerce site is fully prepared for the Christmas rush, don’t hesitate to get in touch.