7 Holiday Retail Trends to Look For in 2017
Welcome to Part 3 of the 2017 Holiday eCommerce Series. This is the third post in a four-part series to help you increase sales and gain loyal customers this holiday season. This week, we are looking at some of the predicted trends for 2017 holiday shopping and how you can apply them to your eCommerce store.
1. Voice search and digital assistants
Voice search on mobile has been around for quite a while, but since the release of Echo and Alexa, voice is becoming a crucial part of online retail. Millions of these devices are in homes around the country and customers will be using them to look for holiday purchases. To optimize your site for voice search, use natural language keywords, include text content, update FAQs for longtail search, and use conversional phrases.
2. Value of personal information
Customers have become increasingly aware of the value of their personal information. They know it’s important and they don’t want to give it away for nothing. They also want personalization, and sharing their data is the best way to achieve that; however, they also want privacy. Many customers feel that what they get in return for their information is not enough to make it worth their while. Shoppers are most likely to share their data in exchange for cash rewards, discounts, and loyalty points. So, if you’re looking for customer data this holiday season, make sure you’re giving consumers something else that they want.
3. Online security
According to TotalRetail, in 2016, nearly 80% of shoppers reported being concerned about the security of their payment information when shopping online. Three-quarters said they look for security certificates or badges on a site and more than half said they would not buy from a site that had suffered a security breach. Customers have been concerned with the security of online payments for years, but with ransomware attacks like WannaCry making national headlines this year, these concerns may be even more top-of-mind.
4. Ever-increasing mobile purchases
Mobile purchases and have been on the rise over the last few years and this season, smartphone purchases are expected to hit more than $100 billion. Make sure your store is ready for an influx of mobile purchases with a responsive, mobile-friendly site, quick page load speeds, a simple and fast checkout process, and optimized PPC ads. More purchases are also being made in mobile apps, so if you have one, don’t forget to optimize that as well.
5. Gen Z
One possible reason for the in-store app use increase in Generation Z. According to the NRF, 98% of Gen Z customers shop in-store. However, they are also digital natives and prefer personalized experiences. Retailers without brick-and-mortar locations will need to work extra hard to deliver an online experience that feels authentic, personalized, and engaging. Including many high-quality product images, product videos, customer-generated images and feedback, and well-curated recommended products can help capture this new audience.
6. Meaningful, emotional ads
The most-liked ads of 2016 featured purposeful, non-salesy ads that were meant to evoke emotions. The most popular was the Duracell “How the Rebels Saved Christmas” ad, followed by Amazon’s “A Priest and Imam meet for a cup of tea.” You don’t have to create national commercials to use emotion in your advertising; it can inspire your social media strategy or blog content. However, when using this type of messaging, make sure it is sincere and works for the kinds of products that you sell.
7. Peak season shipping fees
UPS announced earlier this year that they would be charging extra for shipping this holiday season. During certain weeks in November and December, UPS will charge an extra 27 cents per package for regular residential delivery and an extra 81 to 97 cents for expedited shipping. The extra fees do not apply to in-store deliveries. FedEx has recently announced that it will not be charging extra for peak season residential shipping, unless the package is oversized or requires special handling.
Check back soon for our final post in this series on holiday post-purchase engagement.
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Drop us a line today to find out how we can assist you with holiday planning
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