We’re fast approaching that time of year loved by retailers up and down the country.
25th November is Black Friday, swiftly followed by Cyber Monday on 28th November. It’s one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, as consumers flock to their favourite brands in search of the perfect bargain.
Despite our current cost of living crisis, research by PwC1 indicates that 1 in 4 UK consumers are planning to hit the shops this weekend, taking advantage of the first Black Friday in 3 years with no pandemic restrictions. The average spend per person is predicted to be £238, with sales being £500m higher than the Covid-affected 2021.
Whilst this is undoubtedly good news for traditional “bricks and mortar” shops, it could be a nightmare for online traders who haven’t taken steps to prepare.
If you run an eCommerce website, the last thing you want is for it to be slow, or even offline completely, on such a critical day. So here are our suggestions for making sure your online shopfront is in tip top condition ready for Friday, and the Christmas shopping frenzy over the coming weeks.
Can your website handle the traffic?
The most important item to check is whether your website is equipped to handle all the extra traffic it will be receiving. Your well thought out marketing campaign could become worthless if your potential customers are presented with an error message.
The good news is that all of our WordPress Hosting packages already come with unlimited bandwidth! If you’re hosted elsewhere, it’s definitely worth checking with your provider what your bandwidth limit is.
Is your website easy to use?
The goal of any eCommerce website should be to allow visitors to easily find, and purchase, what they want. Take a look at your online shop and try to put yourself in the mind of one of your customers. Is there an easy search bar they can use to find an item? Are there logical product categories that can be used to navigate around? Do the names of the products make sense? Could the purchase process be streamlined somehow?
The easier the website is to use then the higher the chance of sales coming in. A clunky and awkward online shop could put a lot of people off.
Does everything work on the website?
The run-up to Black Friday is the perfect time to check over the website and make sure nothing is out of place. Do each of the images display? Not many people will buy something online if they can’t see a picture of it. Is all of the text legible and properly formatted? Do all of the links work?
An eCommerce website that looks great and isn’t cluttered with broken sections will undoubtedly be a great asset to any online retailer.
Does the website work on mobiles?
Let’s face it – pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days. In fact, data provided by Finder2 reports that 84% of UK adults have one, using it for 6.8 hours per week on online shopping. That means that if your website doesn’t work well on mobiles then you’re missing out on a lot of potential business!
Luckily, if you created your online shop using our Website Builder then it will already be perfectly optimised for mobile users. If you used other software then you should definitely visit your website on a smartphone and make sure it looks and works as it should.
Any questions?
If you’ve followed these 4 tips then you’re in a great shape for Black Friday and the next few weeks, plus you have a fantastic eCommerce website! If you have any queries at all about whether your website can be improved, or if you’re on the right package for your business, please give us a call on 0345 363 3632 or create a support enquiry through your Online Control Panel.
1 Source: https://www.pwc.co.uk/press-room/press-releases/1-in-4-consumers-set-to-spend-on-black-friday.html
2 Source: https://www.finder.com/uk/mobile-internet-statistics
