What retailers must do today to get ready for Code Freeze and holiday-proof their businesses 

The world of online shopping is constantly evolving, and understanding consumer behavior is crucial for businesses to thrive in this dynamic landscape. Bolt's recent <a href="https://www.bolt.com/holiday-report" target="_blank">Holiday Shopping Report</a> goes deep into the trends and insights shaping the ecommerce industry. In examining the holiday shopping landscape, we uncover three pivotal takeaways that highlight the changing preferences and expectations of modern shoppers. From enhanced personalization to seamless checkout experiences, read on to explore the key insights that can help businesses adapt and succeed.

<h2>But first, a look at last year’s holiday season:</h2>Amidst the chatter of inflation and supply chain challenges during last year's holiday season, ecommerce managed to reach new heights. Despite the hurdles, online spending reached a historic peak at $211.7 billion, marking a 3.5% YoY growth. The "<a href="https://coresight.com/research/holiday-2022-us-digital-shopping-update-infographic/">Cyber Five</a>" period, spanning Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, remained fruitful for retailers, maintaining an average cart size of 3.2 items per order, consistent with the previous year. Bolstering this success, Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) enjoyed a 2% uptick, while Average Order Value (AOV) surged by 15% compared to 2021.As the dust settles, it's clear that Cyber Monday retained its crown as the pinnacle of US holiday online shopping, registering a robust YoY growth of 5.6%. Although Black Friday dominated Bolt’s holiday season traffic as the largest volume day, the spotlight focused on Mondays throughout the entire holiday season. These were the days that saw the most shopping, outshining weekends and emerging as the <a href="https://www.bolt.com/blog/2022-ecommerce-retail-trends?utm_group=marketing&amp;utm_source=bolt&amp;utm_medium=report&amp;utm_campaign=bolt_us_traffic_evergreen_lifetimevalue-fy24_us_230815&amp;utm_content=holiday">unexpected holiday shopping hero of 2022</a>.Amid these dynamic shifts, a resounding theme emerged—retailers committing to technology solutions that enhance the shopping experience. Coresight Research noted that amid economic uncertainties, shoppers embraced flexible payment options like Buy Now, Pay Later and other alternative payment methods. This underlines a broader trend: a tech-infused, customer-centric approach is shaping the future of retail, with flexible payments, personalized experiences, and experiential retail leading the way. &nbsp;1. Hyper-personalization: A gateway to customer engagementBolt's report reveals that hyper-personalization has become a driving force behind successful customer engagement strategies—especially during the holiday season. In fact, we surveyed several ecommerce retailers, and 66% of decision-makers said collecting customer data for ongoing marketing and communication efforts (email addresses, phone numbers, etc) is the top tactic they’re prioritizing to increase shopper accounts—and improve customer relationships—ahead of the busiest time of year.&nbsp;Shoppers are seeking tailored experiences that resonate with their preferences, and businesses that excel in this aspect are gaining a competitive edge. By leveraging new tactics to gather data-driven insights, brands can curate personalized product recommendations, offers, and content that cater to the individual—instead of broader demographic-based bucketing that often falls flat. This enhancement has the benefit of increased customer satisfaction while fostering long-term loyalty, ultimately increasing the customer's lifetime value.&nbsp; &nbsp;2. Holiday magic unleashed: Crafting the perfect gifting experienceAs I stressed earlier, personalization combined with simplicity has the ability to be a total game-changer. Now, imagine a shareable, direct product link, that I could share with friends or family members as part of my holiday wishlist. With a mere click, the gifter could swiftly purchase the precise product, eliminating the guesswork and friction for us both. No more relaying preferences or relying on instincts—everything is pre-populated, seamlessly dovetailing with our signature one-click, passwordless checkout. This is an industry-first offering we’re working on at Bolt, and we expect to have it in the market with a marquee retailer ahead of the holiday season.&nbsp;3. Frictionless checkout: Redefining the path to purchaseOne of the most significant factors influencing online shopping decisions is the checkout process. The report highlights that consumers are increasingly prioritizing seamless, frictionless checkout experiences. Cart abandonment remains a challenge for ecommerce businesses, often due to complicated checkout procedures. By implementing user-friendly interfaces, optimized for both desktop and mobile devices, retailers can streamline the purchasing journey. Offering various payment options, reducing complexity, and ensuring transparent pricing contribute to a smoother checkout process, minimizing drop off and maximizing conversions.

<h2>Prepare your business for the heat of code freeze</h2>You might have heard, AI is also on the rise. Generative AI could curate a better shopping experience, but it requires retailers to know who the shopper is. AI has limited benefits without that information—you can “generate” all you want, but the shopper continues to be the cornerstone of a transaction. You can’t “personalize” without a person–luckily, shopper identity is what Bolt is all about. These innovations in this arena exemplify our approach to innovating ahead of the competition to help our retailers win. While retailers are understandably wary of making any changes to their ecommerce sites ahead of the holiday season, there is still time to get it right—and boost your business along the way. Check out Bolt’s <a href="https://www.bolt.com/holiday-report" target="_blank">Holiday Shopping Report</a> to find out how.