Connect with your customers this holiday shopping season with some great advice from Google. With mobile devices at everyone’s fingertips, the hours for shopping are unlimited. In fact, one third of all shopping searches on Google happen between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.(1) That’s because shopping doesn’t stop once the mall closes. People are spending time researching for that perfect gift for their loved ones.
To understand how digital trends will impact this year’s shopping season, Google has conducted their annual Holiday Shopper Intentions research with Ipsos MediaCT, surveying consumers on their shopping behavior. Google found that people are shopping earlier, using online video to help with research and turning to smartphones as personal shopping assistants.
There are also some other interesting statistics and trends that Google discovered during this research that you, as a business owner, should take look into and plan for:
Black Friday is no longer just a one day sale; it has started to stretch across an entire month. More than half of consumers surveyed said they’ll start their research before Thanksgiving, with 26% of shoppers having started before Halloween (2).
What are you doing to ensure that you are taking advantage of this crucial period when shoppers are online?
People no longer have to hit the sidewalks to window shop. They can do this all from the comfort of their own home. Sites like Pinterest and YouTube showcase what is in fashion and what’s hot. Or people use these sites to search for information on products they are considering. Make sure to have your stock list up to date with images and videos to entice people to look at your inventory.
It cannot be stressed enough that you need to make sure that your website is optimized for being viewed on mobile devices. If a potential customer comes to your site on their smartphone and doesn’t have a good experience, changes are they won’t be coming back and completing a purchase.
Also 75% of smartphone shoppers plan to use their phones in-store this holiday season.(3) One in three shoppers use their smartphones to find info instead of asking store employees (4).
This holiday season, be prepared to meet the expectations of customers and reach those year-end sales goals. Want to know how you stand up against the competition or how you can better improve your daily sales? Give us a shout at 778-471-5953.
(1) Google Shopping search data, July – September 2014
(2) Google / Ipsos MediaCT 2014 Holiday Shopping Intentions Study, September 2014
(3) Google / Ipsos MediaCT 2014 Holiday Shopping Intentions Study, September 2014
(4) Google Mobile In-Stores study May 2013