Heard this morning on CNN an interesting statistic: 40% of all Christmas shoppers this year intend to order their gifts online.  Statistically, most online shoppers flood the net on the Monday after Thanksgiving scourging for great deals and ensuring that they get the merchandise delivered on time.  Also, make certain that you have your gift certificates predominantly displayed on you web site : 60% of shoppers are opting for gift cards as Christmas gifts this year.   You may also wish to offer a value incentive: Free Shipping or 10% off, etc.  Much like those lines of people in front of the malls on Black Friday, consumers will be looking for those special deals online.

A few quick last minute housekeeping ideas:
1.) Make sure that people can find particular items by a product number or id: some folks are actually seeing what they want in stores, getting frustrated about the lines and then searching for that product number online.
2.) Check your security certificate: make sure it is up to date and functioning properly.
3.) Feature the hot Christmas products on your home page and offer your discounts, etc. on the home page.
4.) Customer Service: Customer Service : Customer Service.  Take care of those inquiries and emails: answer those phone calls with a smile and take extraordinary care of your consumers.
5.) UPSELL: most shopping cart programs offer an upsale feature: Offer an accessory to the product or offer a gift card upsale.
6.) Policies: Now’s a great time to review those store policies: update your return policy, shipping policies, etc.  Make them clear, plain and simple.

Go Get Em.

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