According to a survey conducted by Fry Multimedia, the online holiday shopping season has already started.

Indeed, according to Fry Multimedia, the volume of traffic registered on retail sites starts increasing as early as October each year and it seems that Internet users would be, from that moment onwards, more receptive to advertising campaigns and other special offers.

The behavioural survey conduced by Fry Multimedia indicates that users like to be able to order their Christmas present as early as October and November, as they are confident to receive them in time.

But which is the best way to attract consumers on your site?

Internet prime time

First of all, you need to find out when consumers mostly surf during the holiday shopping season and the survey indicated that, in the United States, this was mostly between 7 P.M. and midnight. (The BVA TFC Research Institute also has these data, sector by sector, for the French Internet), which indicates that you should send your special offers by e-mail or display your ad banners at these hours.

The notion of "prime time", already well enhanced by behavioural analysis web institutes, is now becoming a necessary piece of data to make the sites' communication campaigns more efficient.

Search engines

The survey also indicates that users, during the holiday shopping season, are more likely to arrive at retail sites through search engines after typing generic terms (tie, pyjamas, watch…) rather than specific products or brand names, which explains why many web sites purchase key words at a high cost to these search engines during this period to see their URL arrive at the top of the results displayed on the screen.

How to attract and…retain new customers

The survey notices that, as far as many sites are concerned, visitors often happen to visit the site for the first time. The sites need to seize this opportunity to try and prompt them to come back through incentives such as tokens.

A list of top-selling products reassures and attracts consumers

Still according to this survey by Fry Multimedia, a list of top-selling items reassures consumers. Not only do they think that these are probably high standard products, but also that they will undoubtedly be well received.

Users visit the "shop" several times before making a purchase

Fry Multimedia noticed that the average consumer visits a site three to seven times over the course of 20 to 30 days before making a purchase but this only takes place before the holiday shopping season starts.

Indeed, during the holiday shopping season, users modify their behaviour; they spend more time on each site and also click on more pages.

These behavioural analyses indicate, if needs be, the absolute necessity for sites to offer a high standard navigation to their customers in order to help them find the products they are looking for at once, not to mention closely related products such as delivery costs, guarantees…

Put the stress on special offers related to the volume of purchases

The survey insists on the fact that during the holiday season period, consumers spend more time on each site, which should prompt them to offer discounts related to the volume of purchases, such as reduced shipping costs, and possibility to have the same order shipped to multiple addresses.

Do not forget gift vouchers

According to the survey, gift vouchers are on the roll and cyber retailers should offer them systematically, even if they have to take a third party on as a partner to do so.

These gift vouchers must be negotiable, either online, either in a brick and mortar shop, if there is one.

Of course, all these advice must fit the different business models, the target customers…

Source : Fry Multimedia - CyberAtlas