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The latest industry surveys indicate that shoppers plan to complete more than fifty-percent of their holiday shopping online this year. If these projections are true, then online shopping for the fourth quarter will hit $26.2 billion – an increase of nearly twenty-five percent over the 2004 holiday season.

Retailers are faced with an increasing challenge of trying to lure some of these sales their way. This is particularly important since a growing percentage of online sales are coming at the expense of traditional channels as consumers shift spending from the storefront to the web due to better pricing, wider selection, convenience, the ability to avoid crowds and comparison shopping.

In other interesting online developments, it may just about getting the largest piece of the pie in the fourth quarter. A recent survey of online shopping trends by ComScore Networks found that online holiday shopping spikes each holiday season not only bring more people online to buy during the popular fourth quarter but can result in increased sales the rest of the year as well if the retailer does their homework, i.e. ensure protection of credit card information against fraud, offer reasonable shipping and handling fees, and assure the privacy of personal information.

That being said, the question remains - how can you ensure your online store is ready? VECTEC offers a couple of strategies to increase your online holiday sales:

• Send a simple online holiday card thanking customers for their past business in order to foster a continuing relationship.
• Increase e-mail frequency to valued customers – According to an online study conducted by mypoints.com, this strategy helped increase the average order size anywhere from four to seventeen percent last November (November 1 through 25 has become the heaviest emailing time of the holiday season). Please note if you decide to pursue this strategy, your marketing messages should offer value add to the customer or you may risk higher unsubscribe rates.
• Offer gift suggestions for various types of people, i.e. mom, dad, sister and brother, along with a section for gifts under $50 and holiday specials.
• Offer gift cards. This has become an increasingly popular gift giving option. Gift cards are expected to account for eleven percent of this year’s holiday spending with the average U.S. consumer spending $248 on holiday cards.
• Offer wish lists by incorporating a wish list application from website to email – This has been extremely successful for many retailers. One of the best applications out there is Amazon.com.
• Consider free shipping options – Last year’s most popular option was free shipping on orders of $100 or more. Other retailers offered free shipping regardless of the amount, i.e. Target, Kohls and Williams Sonoma.
• Offer improved options for buying online – Allow the buyer to pick up products at the local store, thereby eliminating shipping costs and shipping wait.
• Shorten the shipping time enabling the last minute shopper to still order his/her gift online.

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