The holidays are right around the corner and are expected to bring in more online sales than ever. However, the question remains: As a digital marketer, how can you make the most of this shopping season?
The answer is twofold: First, you need to know all about trends in online shopping, then leverage technology to take advantage of these trends and maximize conversions.
In this post, we’ll talk about mobile shopping trends expected to make waves this upcoming holiday season and then dive into some tools that can help you make the most of them!
3 Trends to Watch for This Holiday Season
The holiday shopping season is already in full swing, and there’s no time to waste. Here are three trends that have surfaced this holiday season that you’ll want to know about.
1. The Rise of Mobile Commerce
Mobile commerce (m-commerce) has exploded in growth as consumer retail habits have transformed over time. Studies show that more that a staggering 90% of consumers use their smartphones while they’re shopping. These consumers are experiencing micro-
So, how big is m-commerce? I’m glad you asked! Here are the statistics:
- Studies reveal that in 2020, mobile commerce is expected to make up 45% of all ecommerce, amounting to $284 billion.
- Gartner reports that the revenue from mobile commerce will make up 50% of all digital commerce in the United States by 2017.
- Mobile commerce is expected to grow about 60% during the 2016 holiday shopping season alone.
This might sound like it’s all bad news for traditional brick and mortar businesses. However, that isn’t the case. According to Think With Google, consumers are hungrier than ever for local results, and mobile devices make it easier than ever to get them. In fact, searches ending with “Near me” are growing at a rate of 240% per year.
2. The Use of Multiple Devices By a Single Customer
While a single platform was often the exclusive choice of many digital shoppers in the past, more and more consumers are opting for a multi-platform shopping experience. For example, they might read about a particular product on a laptop, but actually make the purchase from a tablet or smartphone later on.
The average consumer owns three to five devices, and uses one or two of them to finalize their purchase. Cross-device usage is definitely on the rise. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
- Criteo reports that 40% of all e-commerce transactions involve the use of multiple devices.
- 37% of customers who make a purchase using a desktop computer visit the retailer’s site from at least one other device before making the purchase.
Savvy marketers are implementing cross-device targeting to better target repeat visits by the same consumer using multiple devices.
3. The Growth of the Holiday Shopping Season
Halloween and the presidential election are now in the rearview mirror. It’s time to start preparing for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the sprint to Christmas. However, to be honest, if you haven’t already started targeting holiday shoppers, you’re running late.
According to the National Retail Federation, early bird shoppers account for 40% of all holiday shoppers, and begin before Halloween. By the time November has wrapped up, more than 80% of all holiday shoppers will have started hunting for gifts.
If you didn’t already know, let’s be clear: The holiday shopping season starts months before Thanksgiving.
4 Tools to Help You Turn Trends to Sales
Now you know what to expect this holiday shopping season. Next, let’s take a look at four free tools you can leverage to make the most of your newfound knowledge.
1. Piwik
Piwik is an analytics platform that enables marketers to set and track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as visits, conversion rates, downloads, and keywords.
Key Features:
- Detailed ecommerce website data reported in real-time.
- Customizable analytics dashboard – put the most important information where you’ll see it right away.
- Goal measurement and event tracking enable you to optimize your site for increased conversions.
- Integrates easily with WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Magento, PrestaShop, and many other platforms.
How Piwik Can Help You
Online marketers who’d like to learn more about their users’ purchase journeys can use Piwik to see detailed analytics about user behavior on their site.
2. ClickHeat
ClickHeat is an open-source online tool that shows where visitors click when they visit a website. It works by creating a visual heatmap of clicks on a webpage showing both the hot and cold click zones.
Key Features:
- Very lightweight – shouldn’t affect server performance.
- Group similar pages by keyword for keyword-based analysis of click activity.
- Logs visitor screen sizes and browsers.
How ClickHeat Can Help You
ClickHeat helps you pinpoint the parts of your site that are getting the most attention. You can then use this information to present your best holiday offers where they’re sure to be seen and interacted with.
3. Google Trends
Google Trends is an online tool that allows anyone to compare the popularity of search queries, and view historical data about search query trends.
Key Features:
- Provides insight into current trending searches.
- Allows marketers to compare trends between multiple keywords to pinpoint surging keywords with the most value.
How Google Trends Can Help You
Not sure if your targeted terms are trending up or down? Google Trends can fix that! Find out which terms are growing in volume, which are declining, and which rule the roost.
4. Gephi
Gephi is an open graph platform that allows techy marketers to analyze large datasets for trends using powerful manipulation of graphs.
Key Features:
- Real-time visualization rendering – analyze large data sets quickly.
- Create custom dynamic data filters without scripting.
- Easily integrate dozens of free plugins.
How Gephi Can Help You
Gephi can be used to uncover hidden patterns in trending data. While Gephi isn’t for everyone, if you’ve got a heap of data and need to extract some meaning out of it, then Gephi is the tool for the job.
Conclusion
Analyzing the latest shopping trends is mandatory for every savvy m-commerce marketer, and the free tools we covered in this post will help you make the most of this holiday shopping season. Let’s recap:
- Piwik: Get detailed analytics about your consumer’s purchase journeys.
- ClickHeat: Can tell you where visitors are clicking (and where they’re not) on your site, so that you can make the most of your website real estate.
- Google Trends: Can help you keep up with the constantly evolving world of ecommerce.
- Gephi: If you’ve got a bunch of data on your hands, this tool can help you uncover trends and patterns.