digital analytics company, Contentsquare, reveals that, with an activity rate of 32.7%, category pages are the most engaging pages of any page on a site.
Understanding how customers behave online and why is key to a successful customer experience strategy and remains a priority for brands as they firm up their year-end plans. With increased activity linked to better outcomes for engagement and conversion, ensuring these pages are optimised and friction-free should be a priority for retail brands preparing for the busiest season of the year.
As the busy peak holiday shopping season nears, Contentsquare recommends four actions that brands can take now to help prepare their sites for increased traffic and drive additional revenue:
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Peak season = peak customer experience – The true “peak” of peak season globally only comes once a year, so it’s critical to take every step possible to optimise the experience of customers to maximise conversions. Monitoring and measuring content performance is key to optimising user journeys and ensuring customers are engaged every step of the way.
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Follow the lead from campaigns to conversions – Most retailers allocate significant spending on campaigns to drive traffic during peak shopping season, so it’s important to make the connection between campaigns and on-site activity. Integrating Digital Experience Analytics with web analytics and campaign tracking can help brands maximise the ROI from campaign spend by creating experiences that engage and convert.
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Embrace real-time analysis – With increased traffic comes increased possibility of errors and other obstacles that can impact peak season results. Contentsquare’s analysis of 2.6 billion user sessions during last year’s peak season showed a +21% increase in the number of sessions with errors compared to normal. Setting up real-time alerts is key to identifying and fixing issues quickly, before conversions are impacted.
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Check your speed — When customers are forced to wait for pages that take more than 2 seconds to load, bounce rates reach 49%, with nearly 1 in 2 visitors bouncing, according to Contentsquare’s 2023 Benchmark report. And slow loading times have a negative effect on content consumption, too. Customers exposed to slow page loads view 1 fewer page on average.
The slew of online shopping events including 10.10, Singles Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday leading up to Christmas bring huge opportunities for brands to gain wallet share and stand out from the competition. Despite a challenging macroeconomic climate this year, Contentsquare suggests investing in a holistic digital strategy has never been more important. And with high web and app traffic and on the horizon, making a great first impression is the first step to winning over customers and boosting retention.
“A successful holiday season starts with preparing your site to provide a positive CX that drives conversion, and maximises increased traffic. On the other hand, if you aren’t actively monitoring your front-end experience, you run the risk of losing customers and revenue. And most of these customers won’t come back,” said Dave Anderson, VP product marketing and strategy, Contentsquare.
Anderson will be diving further into the topic at the third edition of Contentsquare’s CX Circle in Sydney on 11 October 2023. The event takes place at Allianz Stadium and heralds the new era of digital experience with a stellar line-up of speakers from different industries.
Among the speakers are Jeremy Nicholas, digital channels executive at Telstra; Jason Markou, digital accessibility lead at the University of Sydney; Maddy Baxter-Smith, ecommerce manager at New Balance; Scott Shillinglaw, senior digital product manager at Koala; Paula Mitchell, GM digital at Freedom Furniture; and Tracy Jones-Harris, head of digital & ecommerce at Camilla.
Register your interest to attend CX Circle Sydney here.
