We are just weeks away from the start of the 2024 holiday season. Retail brands are gearing up for the ever-growing shopping frenzy that never disappoints retailers. Each year the season has managed to successfully break the spending records of the past year. eCommerce has become the number one destination for shoppers in this period, competing impressively with physical store spending. In 2024, Adobe estimates that the US holiday shopping season will see record spending of nearly USD 240.8 billion from November 1st to December 31stin just online sales.
For retailers, this is great news and a chance to add a lot of black ink to their books in a relatively short time. However, the peak shopping frenzy witnessed during the holiday season is also one of the most demanding times across the digital channels that retailers use for sales. The their online storefront or eCommerce website that handles all traffic becomes the key point of failure. However, this isn’t the only system in the firing line. In the background, every business system dealing with support functions like customer service, logistics, inventory management, procurement, etc. will also need an extra refresh to manage the onset of traffic.
However, to strengthen their digital strategy and give it some extra muscle for the holidays, retailers must be aware of the latest technology trends. These technologies will help fulfill the expectations of shoppers and address the experiences shoppers desire during this period.
On that note, let us explore the top 4 trends that are likely to grab headlines this holiday shopping season:
AI-powered customer experience
Today, a sales cycle doesn’t end with the sale of a product. The sale is only the start of a journey. Customers make a purchase after gaining insights into the product and have some expectations about how it will impact their lives after the purchase is made. In other words, customers today see sales and service as an integrated singular entity. Over the journey, customers would need support on product information, technical details or specs, comparisons between different brands for the same product, and other insights before the purchase. After the sale is done, they will need service support for a range of activities like installation, demos, returns if any, defect troubleshooting and rectification, enhancements, and much more.
Given the scale of shopping expected over the 30 days, it will be nearly impossible for brands to arrange for human associates in their service or support division to help customers with their pre and post-purchase support requests. This is where AI-powered customer service options like bots or self-service portals can help. We are likely to witness a surge of automated interactions between customers and AI bots built by companies for almost all major support services. This will help provide continuous service in real-time with faster responses and lower costs.
Dynamic supply chain
From lifting cargo from major ports to stocking goods in fulfillment centers across regional or national hubs, the supply chain (and its automation) will be in focus this year. Major activities will always be underway and a lot of heavy lifting to be done by the supply chain for retailers during the holiday season. The scale of activities will be immense when compared to the rest of the year. In addition to sales, the supply chain will also need to account for returns, replacements, and other nuances in the delivery value chain for both customers and the retailer.
To handle the chaos, massive bets will be placed on cutting-edge tech like AI, data analytics, etc. to streamline logistics and reduce risks. Retailers will strive to offer maximum visibility into the activities of every department involved in the supply chain operations. That will allow stakeholders to plan for their specific action items in time with the movement of goods. This might also involve investments into tech such as AI-driven computer vision for fulfillment operations, faster route planning for quicker deliveries, etc.
Generative AI in campaigns
Streamlining business models to design great deals is just one part of a retailer’s strategy to draw more business during the holiday shopping season. The real action takes place in other areas like communicating the offers to the right customers in the right manner at the right time. That’s where the rubber meets the road as conversion drives sales. The online sale season will witness massive levels of marketing content creation including textual copy, videos, images, and other collateral aligned with multiple smart campaigns. Traditional methods of creating everything with human resources alone can be a very tiring and error-prone method given the scale expected.
This is where Generative AI can become a major game-changer this season. From creating texts for email campaigns to realistic promotional images and animations, a lot of interest will be placed on Generative AI tools and platforms this holiday season. Marketers can quickly acquire the necessary content assets through GenAI platforms and stay on top of campaigns in real time to gather as many leads as possible and enable conversion.
Performance optimization
Today, almost every online store is hosted on a range of cloud environments depending on the needs and budgets available for the retailer. When the traffic surge occurs during the holiday season, their cloud deployments have to be strengthened to meet the demand. The name of the game is to ensure 100% uptime and availability along with fast and seamless browsing.
To do so, a lot of interest will go into quality assurance, especially for the performance testing of applications. Decision-makers will need to know how well-equipped their digital channels are before getting ready for the sales season. Once they have specific insights, performance enhancements, and optimizations can be carried out to ensure their online channels remain resilient during the holiday shopping season.
A better customer experience will be the winning strategy
There is no denying the fact that customers will flock to almost every online store in search of better deals and wider choices during the holiday season. Meeting their expectations and providing the best overall experience will be key for retailers during these days of elevated action. The trends we highlighted typically point to the need for retailers to have a more holistic audit and strategic growth plan for their operations. Doing it in-house will not be a great option and this is where retailers can associate with a reliable technology partner like Recode to bolster their digital sales channels. Get in touch with us to learn how to build the best holiday season online shopping experience for your customers.
