Prepare for holiday e-commerce battle

‘Tis the season to give thanks and appreciate family and friends, right?

While this is what the holiday season is based upon, we Americans often get sidetracked by aggressive Black Friday mobs and shopping sprees. This year, Old Navy even gave one lucky consumer a million bucks just for standing in a line. We might as well just rephrase it to “ ‘Tis the season to excessively shop and win money.”

For the record, I’m all about holiday sales and getting the shopping done early; although I prefer the comfort and security of Cyber Monday. It seems a much better option than being trampled by an angry mob to save a few bucks on a new microwave.

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Cyber Monday is the Monday (obviously) following Thanksgiving weekend, promoted by online retailers as a day of exceptional bargains and deals. It’s the Black Friday of online shopping; some companies even extend these discounts through the entire week.

If you have an e-commerce business, you need to have a plan of attack to combat the immense inflows of online visitors you’re likely to experience during these days.

Prepare your troops (website). If the shopping process on your mobile website is slow, confusing or difficult, people won’t buy. In 2014, e-commerce websites reported 33.7 percent traffic from mobile phones and an additional 12.4 percent from tablets. Ensure that your first impression is engaging, considering the majority of users are impatient and will leave after eight seconds. Use free programs such as tools.pingdom.com to check your webpage loading speed.

Capture Your Audience. Online shoppers will be looking for deals, so give them some. Free shipping, BOGOs and heavy discounts are the most commonly used methods. If you are utilizing an AdWords campaign, consider bumping up your cost-per-click at least 50 percent to 60 percent and use promotional terms in your ad extensions such as “Free Shipping with Purchase of $50.”

Know Your Contingency Plan. As much as you’d like to assume that nothing will go wrong, something usually does. Even big shots such as Best Buy and Walmart have fallen victim to website crashes because of influxes of online traffic. Be sure to carefully monitor your website and the orders coming in, and have a plan in place to reassure your customers in case your site crashes. Sending your loyal clients additional coupons or vouchers for future purchases may be the difference between lost business and future purchases in times of crisis.

This year, online purchases for Cyber Monday alone were expected to exceed $3 billion, representing a 12 percent growth rate year over year. Online retail purchases in November and December combined are estimated to reach an astonishing $83 billion.

Make sure your e-commerce website is prepared for battle, but more importantly remember the most important aspect of the season. Spend time relaxing with your family, friends and loved ones as we celebrate the culmination of another exciting year in the technology industry.

Hans Broman, a sales and marketing strategist at iPoint in Fort Collins, can be reached at hbroman@ipoint-tech.com.