Plan Ahead: Ensuring E-Commerce Success for the Holiday Season
In the competitive world of retail, early planning is your secret weapon for a standout holiday season. Preparation makes all the difference between a successful holiday season and a disastrous one. Putting off these efforts can put your business at a serious disadvantage. So why wait? Start planning now.
Importance of E-Commerce
The retail world has gone digital. Long gone are the days when brick-and-mortar storefronts were the main place to go holiday shopping. E-commerce reigns supreme and is increasingly the driving force behind those busy shopping months. How big has e-commerce become? The 2023 holiday season was its biggest year yet, with a staggering $1.17 trillion spent across the globe. Events like Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day highlight the growing prominence of online shopping.
An online presence isn’t optional, it’s essential. However, standing out online requires a high level of effort and a significant time commitment.
E-Commerce Development Timelines
Holiday shopping typically doesn't kick into full gear until Black Friday, but many consumers start early. Statista reports that 43 percent of consumers begin their holiday shopping before the end of October. If you're looking to give your e-commerce site a visual facelift or need to ensure it can handle the anticipated holiday demand, act now. Redesigning a website is no quit fix; it can take three months to six months from concept to launch. This timeline includes potential design adjustments, bug fixes, and thorough testing. Additionally, finding and choosing the right development partner can extend this process. By starting early, you can ensure your site is ready to capture early shoppers and deliver a smooth holiday shopping experience.
Key Tips to Prep Your E-Commerce Site
- Appoint a product owner. Appoint someone with capacity and authority to make decisions. In a time crunch, the product owner shouldn't have to waste time chasing down multiple other stakeholders for their input or sign-off. This shouldn't be a tack on to an already-long task list either. The product owner needs to have the time and autonomy to make decisions as they come up.
- Test in a staging environment. As the holiday shopping season grows near, you want to decrease risks of possible bugs or downtime that negatively impact a customer's shopping experience. Implement any potential changes in a staging environment first, and thoroughly test it before pushing those changes live.
- Optimize site speed. Online shoppers are impatient. Our attention spans are shrinking. According to a Google research study, if a web page takes between one second and three seconds to load, the probability of bounce jumps to 32 percent. Making sure your website loads quickly and reliability is critical to capturing potential customers who have already clicked on your site, but may be scared away by slow loading times.
- Stress test your site. Stress testing evaluates how your site performs under extreme conditions, like heavy traffic or high data loads. This helps ensure your website is prepared to handle an unexpected influx of users, especially if your products go viral.
The Time is Now
Don’t wait to get your e-commerce site holiday-ready. By following these tips, you can ensure that your business is well-positioned to capitalize on the holiday shopping surge. Procrastination will only lead to stress and missed opportunities. Begin your e-commerce development or updates immediately, ensuring your retail business's smooth and successful holiday season.
Nik Froehlich is the CEO and founder of Saritasa, a custom software development company.
Nik Froehlich, CEO, Saritasa
Nik is the CEO and founder of Saritasa. His passion for technology and the incredible enhancements it brings to our everyday lives is what inspired him to start Saritasa back in 2005. He recognized that many businesses are often afraid to adopt new technologies and sought a way to bridge the gap between innovation and business.
