How Retailers Can Create Happy Holidays In 2024

It’s the season for holiday shopping – and for Applause’s annual survey on shopping experiences and consumer expectations. So how can retailers keep customers in good cheer?

1. Deliver great mobile experiences.

This year, 88.6% of more than 7,000 survey respondents indicated that they plan to shop online for holiday gifts – and 44% anticipate increasing their online spend over last year. Mobile devices continue to gain popularity as the preferred method of shopping: 71.5% of 6,495 survey respondents reported they prefer using a smartphone or tablet, up from 68% last year and 43% in 2020. Just 2.3% of shoppers prefer to use a voice-activated smart device, with the remainder of shoppers relying on their desktops or laptops.

2. Thoroughly test your checkout process.

Consumers have low tolerance for flaws. If something doesn’t work, they’re not going to stick around: 25.5% respondents said they would abandon an online purchase if they encounter a bug at any point during the shopping experience. Another 27.6% stated they would abandon due to an error in the checkout process. Most shoppers who encounter a defect will attempt the purchase twice before they abandon: 45.8%. While some are more forgiving – 18.1% will try three times – 16.8% will only try once.

Consumers reported problems shopping online during the period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. In a follow-up survey focused on that time period, 15.5% of more than 1,200 respondents experienced issues. Top issues:

• Website crashed (43.2%)
• Could not apply discount code or coupon (34.2%)
• Could not find item on website (27.9%)
• Could not add item to cart (21.1%)
• Could not complete payment transaction (18.9%)

3. Offer ease with omnichannel options.

Shoppers plan to take advantage of omnichannel options this year: of 6,164 respondents, 72.2% plan to use buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), 43.3% plan to take advantage of delivery lockers, and 32.4% plan to use curbside pickup. But beware: stakes are high. Globally, 48.2% of respondents say they are likely or very likely to leave a brand over poor omnichannel shopping experiences.

In the Black Friday to Cyber Monday follow-up survey, consumers indicated they were already taking advantage of those omnichannel options – 68.8% used buy online, pick up in store, 26.2% used delivery or parcel lockers, and 18.8% opted for curbside pickup. Many ran into problems:

• 18.3% of those who used BOPIS reported issues during the experience; another 6.4% had not picked up their orders yet. (n=846)
• 14% of those who used lockers reported issues during the experience; another 7.2% stated it was too early to tell. (n=442)
• 29.9% of those who used curbside pickup reported issues during the experience. (n=231)

4. Pay attention to customers’ preferred payment methods.

While credit cards, debit cards and mobile/digital wallets remain the most popular payment methods, shoppers aren’t always sticking with a tried and true provider. More than half of 6,490 respondents — 52.4% — report they have started using a new payment method within the last year. As different payment instruments enter the market, retailers must monitor adoption rates to ensure they’re letting customers pay with the methods they prefer.

5. Understand how social media and AI are shaping shopping experiences.

Few shoppers are immune to social media influence: A whopping 75.8% of more than 6,500 respondents said social media sometimes or often influences their holiday shopping. Only 5.8% said social media doesn’t impact their purchase decisions. The most common uses include:

• Researching sales on specific items or brands: 63.2%
• Comparing products: 58.3%
• Buying items advertised on social media: 43.2%
• Gifting friends/family items they have liked or shared: 36.7%
• Sharing items they would like as gifts with friends/family: 25.4%

This year, 36.6% of the shoppers we surveyed used AI to shop between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Top use cases:

• Purchased an item recommended on social media or a retailer’s website: 62.2%
• Used AI for a visual search to help locate a gift: 51.5%
• Asked an AI chatbot for gift recommendations based on a person’s interests: 51.2%

Don’t wait until the last minute to test your shopping experiences – unless you want to send customers dashing away to your competitors.