Prep for Christmas – Site Development

For those of you who haven’t yet got around to preparing you site for the Christmas onslaught… here’s some stats to help guide you in the direction of what developments it’s worth doing.

Again this is research from from MarketingSherpa, in April they surveyed over 1000 e-commerce marketers to find out what they thought were the most worthwhile site developments:

I was surprised to see cross-sells and up-sells so low down, but maybe they’re just something that’s now expected.

It seems that the perpetual basket is a critical factor for many marketers – perpetual basket being having a summary of what the customer has put in their basket permanently on view. The most basic versions simply show the number of items in the basket, the most complex show the items too – often as a roll over pop out. I did once read a report that showed if you put something in the basket as soon as the customer comes to the site (maybe a free catalogue or something) then they are more likely to add products and then buy from you…

Unsurprisingly in positions 2 and 3 are developments that help the customer to better reach and understand the products – the more you can eliminate their queries – the more likely they are to buy. Simple, and effective.

Bear in mind though that these are the opinions of some marketers – always worth asking your own customers what they like about your site and what they’d like to see you develop. Often some very surprising results!