For many businesses, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year. Increased sales and website traffic are exciting. But the truth is, the landscape has shifted on how people purchase online.
As such, a little careful planning and education can go a long way to ensure your customers have their needs met when shopping on your website.
Get your online mobile store ready for the holiday with these tips.
Stock Up On Inventory
If you sell physical goods, set yourself up for holiday success by ordering what you need now. With countrywide shortages in many different industries, stocking up sooner rather than later is in your best interest.
Shipping is taking longer, so plan ahead as much as possible. Websites like the New York Times say consumers and businesses will have longer waits for items.
Simplify Your Website Design
Today’s online mobile store has to be simple to navigate and easy to understand. Too many SKUs or pages may detract shoppers or give them choice paralysis, which could lead to a lower conversion rate.
Alternatively, a simple, clean site also adds authority and trust while boosting sales conversions.
Check Your Website’s Load Speeds
With more shoppers using their phones than ever before, website loading speeds matter. Your online store should load in a matter of seconds. If it doesn’t, you may need to see what’s going on with your hosting package or add more bandwidth to your site.
Check with your hosting company to make sure what you have now can handle the holiday spike. If you share hosting with other websites—which can gum up a network when all sites experience more traffic than normal— a temporary upgrade might be a worthy investment.
Ensure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, online shoppers have become very comfortable with making purchases directly from their phone. Today, even basic website designs are built to work well on tablets and smartphones.
This must include your mobile payment processor. A seamless purchasing experience can make or break an online mobile store’s holiday season. Consumers will abandon a purchase if load speed is slow or checkout gets confusing. A few seconds or one confusing interface could mean a difference in thousands of dollars in sales.
Make a Great Initial Offer
The holidays are a boon for many companies, but competition is still at a yearly high seep. Making a great first offer to your audience (and potential customers) can help you stand out from competitors and boost sales online.
Look at the years past to see what’s been successful for your business. If this is your first holiday season running an online mobile store, look at what your competitors do or research other industries online. When in doubt, offering extreme discounts (especially for membership-based subscriptions) is a proven tactic.
Social media ads on Facebook or Instagram are a great way to educate people about your killer offer.
Add Options at Checkout
Spread a little holiday cheer by giving customers specific options at check out. Because companies like Amazon offer these features at low prices, your eCommerce business might be at a disadvantage if you can’t.
Examples include gift wrapping and the inclusion of gift receipts. Being able to add a personal message or attach a card is also a nice feature many customers appreciate.
Go All In On Your Email List
Social media ads are a great way for people to discover you. But with so much being thrown around online during the holidays, leaning into email marketing is almost universally a good idea.
Offering exclusive discounts or rates to this group can boost online sales through your mobile store—and is also a good way to learn how much inventory you might need, what items or features customers might like, etc.
It’s also a good place to launch new products or learn about your ideal customer. This can help you narrow your focus as you gear up for the holiday rush.
Learn more about our mobile processing payment systems today to see if they’re a good fit for your business.
