The holiday season is often the most profitable for business owners, but it can also be the most stressful. Keeping up with what trends consumers are following can be difficult, so we’ve done the work for you.

Whether you’re looking for some insight, or just want to take a pulse on where we are now in terms of holiday shopping and online sale trends you’ve come to the right place.

Mobile

If your business is located in Times Square you might get away with not being on mobile, you’re foot traffic is going to be off the charts! For everyone else? Being on mobile is crucial to boosting holiday traffic. More and more people are shopping on their smartphones for most, if not all, of their holiday goods.

Your business should be optimized for mobile on your website if you have one. At the very least you should have an updated Google Business page and be posting regularly to your social media accounts (if you have them). Experts are predicting at least 40% of all online sales will be made with mobile devices.

Give ‘em Something Special

For many businesses, the holidays are a great time to get deals out there to stay competitive with other sellers, but for some companies, this is not an option. This is why it’s essential that you have something to set yourself apart if it’s not going to be the price. We have another infographic that goes into what you can offer your clients that won’t reduce the cost of your products or services.

Shipping

If you can, try to offer free shipping in some capacity (even if your customer must spend a base amount). One reason businesses like Amazon are so successful is because they generally offer lower prices on products PLUS free shipping. In 2017 alone Amazon was responsible for 37.5% of retail sales in the U.S. We’ll keep an eye out for their total this year.

If you can’t offer free shipping check out the infographic above on how to draw in crowds without dropping prices.

Hidden Opportunities

Make sure you don’t miss out on Cyber Week II; this is what Disruptive Advertising calls the week leading up to New Year’s when people are spending gift certificates or extra cash they’ve received.

This extra traffic to your store or website is the perfect time to reach your customers. Add a pop-up to your site if you have a specific product you’re looking to push or make sure people know about the new benefits you give members. Make it memorable!

Sources:

Disruptive Advertising ‘Holiday Marketing Statistics’

Statista ‘Holiday Season Ecommerce Development’

Word Stream ‘Holiday Shopping Statistics 2018’

Shopify ‘Holiday Shopping Online’