The last three months of the year are packed with events for everyone, but eCommerce site owners feel it most. Halloween, Thanksgiving in the U.S., Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year's are all on the way! People will be shopping in abundance to delight their loved ones, and countless online stores will see peak profits.
Yet this customer surge can bring more than just revenue—it can also present major challenges for eCommerce sites. High traffic spikes put websites and apps to the test, many customers focus on the brand and quickly notice any flaws, and management teams face intense workloads.
Today, we'll share key tips to help eCommerce site owners prepare for the holiday season and capitalize on this high-demand period.
Holiday Season Statistics: Why Careful Preparation Is Key
Let's examine the numbers to see how much sales and traffic increase during key holidays. We'll start with Halloween, the holiday that kicks off the season in Europe and the U.S.
1. Halloween
The most popular Halloween purchases are decorations, costumes, candy, and greeting cards. According to NRF, shoppers will spend $3.8 billion on these items in 2024. In 2023, Halloween spending reached $12.2 billion, with an average budget of $108.24 per person projected for 2024.
If your eCommerce site sells Halloween-related products, it's essential to prepare thoroughly. Offer discounts (70% of shoppers prefer buying sale items), and prepare for a surge in traffic. And remember—this is only the start!
Halloween may be a niche holiday with high demand for a limited range of products, but even more profitable days lie ahead.
2. Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving in the U.S. is a key holiday that opens up a full week of profit opportunities. In 2024, online sales for this day are expected to top $6 billion. With more Americans shopping online via mobile, mobile traffic could increase by 55-60%. Is your website or app ready for this influx of customers? It's crucial to check; later, we'll walk you through the steps to ensure it is.
70% of customers abandon their purchase if the checkout process is too complicated. Vilmate's experts can audit your site and assess its user-friendliness. This is a critical aspect for eCommerce businesses, so make sure to get your site reviewed.
3. Black Friday and Cyber Monday
After Thanksgiving, mostly celebrated in the U.S., Europe dives into popular holiday sales. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are serious website performance tests because people love discounts. In 2022, web traffic on Black Friday increased by 80% compared to a regular Friday, and on Cyber Monday, purchases rose by 50% over a typical Monday. To maximize profits, it's essential to be ready for these traffic surges since competition is fierce. If customers encounter a website that isn't working, they're unlikely to return.
4. Christmas and New Year
Christmas and New Year mark the end of the holiday season. People often prepare in advance, with 56% planning to finish shopping before December. However, a significant customer surge is expected just before the holidays, as 91% of shoppers admit to making last-minute purchases.
Customers pay 68% more attention to company emails in the lead-up to Christmas. Therefore, planning a festive email campaign during this time is important. Vilmate can help you design emails that truly capture customer interest. Additionally, focusing on your SEO strategy is essential, as many people only notice the top links in search results.
Preparing for the holiday season is complex. It includes improving website performance, revising marketing strategies, and enhancing UX design. Vilmate can help with all these aspects. We will conduct a web performance audit to identify your eCommerce site's strengths and weaknesses.
To drive high sales volume, ensure customers can access the site without encountering performance issues.
How to Prepare for Holiday Traffic?
Preparing for the holidays requires careful planning and readiness to scale. Let's explore the key points related to the upcoming influx of customers.
1. Early Start
Planning to scale your website should begin during its development stage. It's difficult to resolve performance issues at the last minute when customers start flocking to your site. If you suspect that your eCommerce site or app won't be able to handle the traffic surge, start preparing as early as possible. Consult with experts to determine what level of customer traffic is relevant for you today.
2. Modeling Traffic Patterns
Conduct load testing and simulate future traffic patterns. These patterns should show how users will interact with your site during the holiday season. You must consider the number of customers and their behavior, including browsing products, adding items to the cart, and completing the checkout process.
Various testing scenarios, such as spike tests for sudden traffic surges, will be beneficial. A comprehensive approach will help you identify weaknesses and address them on time.
3. Tracking Performance Metrics
Testing should include key metrics such as:
- Website response time
- Number of errors
- Server usage
These metrics will help you identify areas that need improvement. It's essential for customers that your site loads quickly. If a page takes more than 3 seconds to load, many customers will simply close the tab. When you find errors on your site, prioritize fixing them before real customers encounter any issues.
4. Optimization and Testing
If you find bottlenecks in your website's performance, it's time to optimize. This process may include adjusting server settings, disabling caching, and converting images to a more optimized format. After making these changes, conduct another round of testing to ensure that the optimizations have improved performance. Load testing should be an ongoing process.
5. Cloud Scalability
Traffic during the holiday season can be unpredictable. Cloud services can provide a solution for unexpected peak loads. AWS and Google Cloud allow you to increase server capacity to handle traffic spikes temporarily.
6. Backup Plan
No preparation can cover every possible issue. Therefore, you should have a backup plan in case something goes wrong. For example, if a server fails, ensure you have a backup ready. Remember, any downtime can lead to customer dissatisfaction and significant lost sales.
7. Payment System Testing
Payment systems also experience increased load during the holiday season. Ensure that customers can easily and quickly complete their orders. Test your payment system by simulating multiple customers making purchases at the same time.
8. Mobile Traffic
As mentioned earlier, many customers use mobile devices for shopping. You should conduct the same tests for the mobile version of your site to ensure it is optimized for all devices. Responsive design is important for customer satisfaction, so ensure all versions of your site function well.
9. Preparing for Long-Term Traffic
While the holiday season is a peak period, it's also important to consider long-term traffic growth. Invest in solutions that will help maintain high visitor numbers even after the holidays end. If your efforts lead to audience growth, your site should be ready to accommodate new users in the future. Focus on enhancing your infrastructure to ensure stability and performance over time.
10. Effective Communication
Effective preparation for holiday traffic requires clear communication with your team. Set up notifications to respond quickly to potential technical issues or sudden spikes in traffic. Use monitoring systems to track key metrics in real-time. A coordinated support team and prompt solutions can help reduce risks and minimize losses from downtime or technical problems.
Conclusion
Preparing for the holiday season is essential for eCommerce websites. While a strong marketing strategy is important, focusing on performance and customer experience is even more crucial. Vilmate specialists can help you audit your site, fix performance issues, and create a user-friendly interface. The holidays are coming—make the most of them!
