The good news for many online retailers is that while ecommerce generally is not immune to the downturn, it is a cost-effective, growth oriented channel—even in tough times. Nevertheless, this year promises to be a tough one—and online sellers are going to have to pull out all the stops to engage skittish consumers.

1. WHITEPAPER
Ringing in the Holiday Buyers
in a Challenging Economy
Executive Summary
Remember when the Sears Wish Book arrived in your home
every year at this time—just as the weather got cooler,
days shorter, and nights a bit longer? It seemed television
commercials rang out Holiday tunes while they displayed the
hottest new toys in town? A buzz of excitement began to stir,
and the Holiday shopping season was upon us. Let’s face it,
the holidays are a retailer’s dream, full of good cheer, family
and friends—the perfect scenario for buying.
It’s pretty safe to say, however, that this year is a little different. The current economic
climate has cast a chill (literally) over consumer spending, not to mention the profit
margins of many retailers around the world.
The good news for many online retailers is that while ecommerce generally is not
immune to the downturn, it is a cost-effective, growth oriented channel—even in tough
times. Nevertheless, this year promises to be a tough one—and online sellers are
going to have to pull out all the stops to engage skittish consumers.

2. CDC eCommerce | White Paper 1
Ringing in the Holiday Buyers
in a Challenging Economy
Perhaps more than ever, now is the time for creative
solutions to capture your share of those purchasing
dollars. And to make sure your site is providing the best
consumer experience in order to support your business
goals. That’s why CDC eCommerce has put together our
Etailer’s Guide to Ringing in the Holidays in a Challenging
Economy. We have divided this White Paper into two main
sections. Section A: Maximizing Your Market Share
discusses how to get festive; simplify the buying process,
and get creative with incentives. Section B: Maximizing
Your Online Potential addresses four key technology
support issues: Demand Generation (which includes
shopping engines; third party endorsements; long tails,
and affiliates); Conversion of Browsers to Buyers (which
includes comparison shopping, left navigation, customer
service, trust and security, wish lists, and shopping
carts); Increasing Basket Dollars, and Improving
Customer Loyalty.
A: Maximizing Your Market Share
Get Festive
The first reminder to a shopper that it's time to think
of holiday buying is festive decorations. As soon as
Halloween has passed, the festive lights and sounds of
the holidays pop up in store windows and mall hallways.
Perhaps now more than ever, it is important to help
put your customers in a festive mood. Decorate your
masthead, and jazz up your logo to reflect your store's
holiday spirit. Entice customers to come in and shop
with captivating images such as delighted children
standing in the snow peering through toy store windows,
or delivering presents.
Simplify the Buying Process
Make it easy for your holiday shoppers by creating a
key link from your home page (or on the home page
itself) for “Holiday Season Gift Ideas". Of course the
products you place here can also be found in their
traditional departments, but anticipating your customers’
requirements for the Season adds to their interest in your
online store. This is particularly helpful to the numerous
shoppers who aren't clear on what they're after. They'll
want to come in and look at your ideas for inspiration. As
the retailer, you know what the best sellers are likely to be
for the holidays, and placing them in this holiday section
eases the effort for your buyers who may be running
around with shopping lists 'til they drop! You can also use
this concept to take advantage of after-Holiday buyers
with a "Holiday Gift Clearance" section.
A similar idea is to bundle items by theme. So, for
example, to help those millions of people buying for
teenagers create a tab that directs them on the path
to the top twenty, thirty, or more items teenagers are
interested in. This will boost their buying confidence that
they're getting the right
present for the teens on
their list. And of course
they'll appreciate how easy
you made it for them.
You're likely already
using suggestive selling
techniques such as
"People that bought
this product were also
interested in…" at your
checkout. And you may
already use "May we help you find what you're looking
for" tabs that allow the browser to state their shopping
intentions on your home page. You may want to consider
a Holiday specific design for these tools to remind
customers that it is holiday shopping season: "May we
help you with your Holiday shopping today? What

3. CDC eCommerce | White Paper 2
gender and age group are you looking for?" "Would
anyone on your gift list also be interested in this item?"
For those buyers that have
a hard time making a choice
for someone else, make sure
you display your gift card
options on all relevant pages.
You might also suggest that
customers add one or two gift
cards to their shopping cart
for those last minute "Oops,
I forgot" presents, or just to
have on hand as host/hostess
gifts for those dinner party
invites! And place these friendly gift reminders at your
checkout too. Decorate the tab with lavish paper, bows,
or stockings. Maybe have the gift card popping out
of a partially Copyright 2008 CDC eCommerce Inc. Page
5 of 19 Ringing in the Holiday Buyers in a Challenging
Economy opened gift box, or a stocking. An ideal option
for the procrastinating buyer who has run out of time is
electronic gifting.
Notice
Eddie Bauer’s
different style
options for gift
cards, and the
one popping
out of the
stocking!
Get Creative with Incentives
If your goal is to attract international customers to expand
your market this holiday season, why not consider offering
at par dollars? Or perhaps offer to pay their duty? Also
for those far away shoppers, review your shipping costs
to see what creative promotions you can design. Maybe
offer shipping at the same cost as if they were within
your borders. If you're
trying to gain customers
in geographic locations
with high sales tax rates,
contemplate "we pay the
tax" tax free promotions.
In today's challenging
economy, retailers need
to be creative with their
sales strategies. Stores
need to vary the types
of promotions they offer in order to maintain a high level
of consumer satisfaction for their brand. Take advantage
of your knowledge about your customers' shopping
practices, and tailor your promotions to suit their needs.
For example, provide additional value to customers who
spend a lot but shop infrequently by offering an exclusive
item with every third purchase they make. Or for your
regular customers who buy lower ticketed items in greater
quantities, consider offers such as: buy one get one free,
buy one for $20 or two for $30, or get 20% off the third
item. You may want to choose a special item sure to be
a hit for the Season to give your loyal customers as a
reward when they are not expecting it. The pleasure they
get from your surprise gift is sure to entice them to return
to your store for more—when they do, perhaps offer them
choices for the free gift they'll receive for making new
purchases.
Based on customer
segmentation,
you may want
to create five or
more different
promotions in order
to accurately target
your audience.
Make them feel
special and show
your willingness
to help them play
Santa Claus by recommending products relevant to their
personal shopping history. And when you've designed an
offer that matches the shopper's buying appetite, let her/
him know it is a customized promotion. This will give your
company an edge for that customer's satisfaction and
loyalty.
Of course you can also segment promotions according
to section instead of general merchandising. Put your
specific promotions into context with related products. For
example, If you buy this stereo before December 12th,
you'll not only receive a fifteen percent discount, but
we'll apply the discount to headphones and speakers.
You can also offer geographic specific promotions as a
reward to your loyal customer base, e.g., offer discounts
to local purchasers. It is a good idea to summarize your
holiday services and place them on all relevant pages. For
example, remind the customer you are:
It is a good idea to summarize your holiday services and
place them on all relevant pages. For example, remind the
customer you are:
• offering free gift wrapping as an option;
• of the final ordering dates for shipping before
December 25th;
• of ordering deadlines for free shipping;
• of multiple destination options for shipping;

4. CDC eCommerce | White Paper 3
• of free shipping on selected gift packages;
• free stocking stuffers with purchase programs,
• of real store pickup availability and locations;
• and all other holiday specific promotions throughout
the store.
Whatever promotional strategies you employ this Holiday
Season, you will also want to make sure you haven't over-
estimated the efficiency of your site. Also, be sure that
you're equipped with relevant technology to support your
business. Next is a review of things to pay attention to as
the busiest shopping Season of the year fast approaches.
They are divided into four key categories: Demand
Generation, Conversion of Browsers to Buyers, Increasing
Basket Dollars, and Improving Customer Loyalty.
B: Maximizing Your
On-line Potential
Demand Generation
The best place to start is usually at the beginning—getting
buyers to your site. No doubt you've considered these
recommendations in the past, but reviewing them just
might spark your creative marketing juices! One of the
characteristics of Holiday shoppers generally is that they
are often overwhelmed and harried this time of year.
So our first reminder is to keep your promotional offers
simple, easy, and quick to grasp.
As you well know, social media can provide an interesting
avenue for interaction with your most loyal customers,
particularly when it is framed around seasonal topics
of interest. Video promotions and YouTube can also be
used to generate interest in your brand. Tread cautiously
though—content for its own sake, or over-selling under
the guise of social media can backfire quickly and drive
savvy consumers away from your site.
ProFlowers
offers 3
specials on its
home page—
delineating
each clearly
and concisely.
Are the advertisements you pay for giving you value
for your money? Do they strike your audience in a
compelling way? If they aren't singing out clear and
accurate messages, maybe it's time to tune them up.
Consider a review of your top ads to make sure they're
doing the job for you this holiday season. Where are your
advertisements taking your customers? Is it a place you
would like to go yourself? How well do your top terms
cover the products you are offering. More detailed terms
may not attract as much traffic, but they will be more
effective for conversion. Now is the time to test, test, test.
Attract new customers by offering new payment options
such as Bill me Later for emailed invoices or PayPal. Our
current economic climate promises to make this holiday
buying season tougher than normal. The buy now, pay
later approach is an effective tool for increasing that buyer
confidence and offsetting potential sales decreases.
Shopping Engines
Make sure your product/data feeds are on the highest
rated comparison shopping engines e.g., Google Product
Search, Shopzilla, Shopping.com, Yahoo! Shopping,
NexTag, MSN Shopping, PriceGrabber. Optimize search
engine advertising by choosing keywords for natural search
that give the best descriptions for your products. The
higher your page is ranked on Google, the better exposure
you're going to get. You already ensure all administrative
details are complete when you send your data feeds
to comparison engines (e.g., product information with
pictures, inventory, skus, part numbers, UPC codes,
IBSN's), but you may want to add to these for the
Holidays: include, for example, your holiday promotions
and services, information about you as a merchant, and/
or your easy access to live service representatives.

5. CDC eCommerce | White Paper 4
Leverage 3rd Party Endorsements
Helping customers feel they are
shopping in a credible place
can only improve their demand
for your products. Be sure
you've prominently displayed the
best seller lists on which your
company is named. Provide
links to sites where they will find
media reviews (e.g., as found on
Chatelaine's top ten “Fashion Must
Haves”), celebrity endorsements,
testimonials, and customer reviews of the top rated buys
for the season. And just in case they get last minute jitters,
remind them again on your checkout page.
Engage the Long Tail
Leverage your site and search engine data to engage
the long tail. Remember that by creating multiple verticals
based on your past successes, you'll expand your brand
coverage in the marketplace. If you have a sound,
scalable technology platform and marketing process,
consider which brand extensions, new product lines, or
long-tail verticals that you can cost-effectively launch
to increase your market share this Season. All the data
you need (web analytics data, key search terms, high
conversion products) is likely in your hands. If you don’t
have the time to leverage vertical strategies leading up to
the Holidays, use them to boost the post-holiday lull.
Get the Most out of Affiliates
Lastly, to further maximize market demand for your brand,
review your affiliate management strategies. You may
want to do a tune up on relations beginning with more
frequent communications during the holiday shopping
season. Think about offering creative incentives and
working to improve their understanding of your brand.
Review their management tactics, and be clear with
them about how you'd like your products managed, e.g.,
what promotions are/are not acceptable. Particularly pay
attention to your top five affiliates. Consider offering them
a higher reward—e.g., better deal than list price. Always
keep the terms of your program deals between you and
the individual affiliate.
Conversion
Of those browsers who actually put items into a shopping
cart, Jupiter Research tells us that only 64% will actually
make a purchase—tough crowd. Why is this? Lack of
consumer online comfort is by and large due to feeling
unsure and unsafe. Shoppers don't get the confidence
from product information online that they get when they
can physically see, touch, and manipulate the item; they
feel the process for returning the product is too onerous;
they don't trust the online seller or the security of the site
for their credit information; they aren't convinced they are
getting enough value for their dollars, and/or they find
the shopping experience online too frustrating. No doubt
you've given this dilemma much consideration, but it never
hurts to double and triple check that you've done all that
is possible to convert your browsers to buyers. We hope
these helpful tips spur some new solutions for you.
Dare to Compare
Helping your customers feel confident they understand
what they are getting with the product can be enhanced
by on-site product comparison. It's a great tool to keep
consumers at your site where they can compare their
choices side by side, and make decisions quickly and
easily. And there's no better time than this holiday
season to capitalize on the tendencies of consumers to
comparison shop, when they're trying to stretch those
dollars over multiple gifts. You may even employ the use
of Good- Better-Best Comparisons to help your browser
move into buying mode. It will get him/her thinking "which
one of these best suits my needs?" instead of "do I want
or need this?"
Be Their Guide
Enhance your clients' buying experience and improve
conversion rates by providing guided navigation. When
used on product detail pages, for example, the left
navigation offers help to the shopper by refining their
search by color, size, price, brand, or even powerful user
ratings—all without more inbox searches or pull-down
menus. You can also help them speed up their shopping
excursion by giving them exactly the page they are
looking for. Instead of landing on your homepage when,
for example, your top five items are Googled, create
specific "home" pages for each of these products. This
personalization tool will improve your conversions, while
allowing you to focus on only a few variations of your
existing homepage.

6. CDC eCommerce | White Paper 5
Give your customers that shopping-in-person feeling by
enriching your product information. Try using product
finders, entertaining instructional videos on product use or
installation, comparison charts, and glossaries to ensure
your customers get all their questions answered. Also,
make sure your product information pages are clear and
easy to read—don't overload them with advertisements or
other irrelevant materials.
Help customers shop online the same way they do in
person. Lancome’s Color Explorer lets you customize
your make-up selection by color, and matches shades
to your selected skin tone.
Go the Extra Mile on Service
Remove customer frustration and the likelihood of
shopping cart abandonment by offering live customer
service. Make sure this option is displayed on all relevant
product pages, as well as at the checkout. And publish
the hours of service representative availability on the
buttons. Click to chat Live Chat via email, or Get Live
Help (as seen here at the bottom of the Land’s End web
page) options will improve your customers' comfort and
knowledge of your products, increasing the chances of
making him/her a buyer. These customer service options
will also help keep customers from giving up when they
encounter frustration at the checkout. Of course the
efficiency with which you support these options is crucial.
Immediately send acknowledgment of an email request
for service, and if the representative cannot answer the
shopper's
question, let
the customer
know how long
it will take to
research and
get the answer.
Remember
that delays will
only add to
the shopper's
frustration, and
increase the
chance they'll
abandon the
shopping cart.
Trust and Security
Online shoppers have unlimited access to reviews of
others' experience with your store. If you have a trusted
store designation, be sure it is displayed on the higher
level pages of your site, and your checkout, as well as
in your metatags and advertisements. You can further
combat potential damage of your brand's reputation by
ensuring you deliver comprehensive and dependable
service pre-and-post purchase. Reassure your customer
of hassle free return policies and procedures; post clear
links on your site to customer support, FAQ's, product
manuals, and warranty information, and proudly display
any guarantees. Be sure to re-iterate this message when
you send your order confirmation e-mail. Reassure your
buyers that their sensitive data is safe on your site. Links
to your privacy and security policies should be clearly
labeled next to fields that ask for personal data, with a
concise explanation of your policy. Include your privacy
and security safeguards in user friendly terms. Make sure
you provide clear and easy access to company telephone
numbers and addresses. And of course, repeatedly place
the names and logos of your security partners (e.g.,
Hacker Safe and Thwaite) throughout the store, as well
as displaying prominent security awards and associations
(e.g., BBB, BizRate, McAffeeSecure, etc.) on both your
home page and checkout pages.
Another worry of online shoppers, particularly during the
holiday shopping season, is concern about receiving
their orders in time. You can easily conquer this hurdle
by posting shipping deadlines on your home page and
points throughout the checkout process. For those few
shopping days left before Christmas when timely shipping

7. CDC eCommerce | White Paper 6
becomes questionable, consider listing your real store
locations for merchandise pick-up or availability. If you're
offering site-wide free shipping, make sure it is easy to
apply—without requiring numerous extra clicks to view
the details.
Notice the display of the item just added to the
shopping cart, is accompanied by the running total of
items and dollars spent, and the details of the other
items in the cart.
Avoid the loss of customers from total price tag shock.
Carry forward the total value of items placed in the
shopping cart to each page so the shopper can see
the subtotal. It is best to include estimates for tax and
shipping costs.
Wish Lists
While the use of Wish Lists is a great tool to turn those
cart items into purchases during the regular season,
they can be an excellent strategy for improving sales in
the Holiday Season. Help your clients take care of their
shopping lists by offering the Wish List as a place to put
items they'd like to buy as gifts, or for others to buy for
them. Not ready to choose which items you'll buy for your
kids yet (after all they're prone to changing their minds),
no problem. Put your ideas onto your Wish List, and come
back later when you're ready to pick.
Use e-mail reminders to re-engage shoppers who have
created Wish Lists, or who have seemingly abandoned
their shopping carts. Research indicates that emails
sooner than 24 hours are inadvisable, but 3 or 4 emails
over the days and weeks following can have positive
results. Research indicates that as many as one in seven
online purchases take over a week to finalize. It is safe
to assume that one of the key reasons for the delay
is that the shopper is comparison shopping. This is a
prime opportunity, therefore, to offer staged promotions
that grow over time. You can begin with offers like, free
shipping on orders over $99, to order today for free
shipping and save $X, and continue to escalate the
discount to save shipping costs plus ten percent off
your total cart.
Mind the Cart
The checkout is a very common abandonment point.
Make your carts work for you. Try using interactive
progress indicators e.g., Just $10 more and you'll receive
free shipping. Add thumbnail images of items in the
shopping cart to help the customer keep track of what
they have, and maybe what they still need to get.
Make sure customers can easily edit their orders without
having to back track by several pages. Highlight error
messages during the checkout process next to the actual
error to eliminate customer frustration. Try using graphics,
and different colors. Be sure the messages are friendly
and not demeaning. And remember to put your customer
service information at common abandonment points.
This shopping cart provides a “remove” option to
make editing easy.

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Increasing Average Order Value
We've already discussed ways to promote higher
quantities and dollars of sales this holiday season
(see pages 1-6). Some general reminders to ensure
you've maximized the value of the shopping cart are
reviewed below.
Along with your "Holiday Season Gift Ideas" section,
consider organizing your items in fresh and unique ways.
Proven suggestive shopping categories include: "New
Arrivals; Top Sellers, Shop by Theme, Shop by Style,
Shop by Activity, and Shop by Fit, Small Spaces, For
the Beginner, Performance Series:" Be sure to include
all relevant promotional offers in these areas.
Remind shoppers of items they have recently viewed
through links to collection pages. They may have forgotten
to place some items they want into their shopping cart.
And of course, stimulate their curiosity and excitement
by offering related products—"may we suggest a pair
of pants to go with your new winter coat". Make them
feel you're helping them finish that Holiday shopping—all
in one easy spot! And consider making it easy for
them to budget those extra dollars spent by deferred
payments—they're a big hit with many retailers during the
holiday season.
Improving Customer Loyalty
For most people, Holiday shopping is not a one day
event. In fact, in can take several weeks to purchase
numerous items for loved ones, business associates,
clients, etc. You'll want to create the best online shopping
experience for your customers to keep them returning for
those still to buy items. And to remember your brand the
whole year through!
Remember that your customers' experience with your
website can very easily reflect their loyalty to your brand.
This holiday season is a good time to review your site to
ensure it is up to date and consistent with best practices
for online stores. Jupiter Research shows that the ease
of navigation on a site is rated by 65% of customers as
the most influential factor in their decision to continue
shopping. Making your site easy and fun to use by getting
your customers to exactly where they want to go, arming
them with excellent product details, and moving them
through the checkout effortlessly, will go a long way to
improving customer loyalty. Also, make sure your brand
images online do justice to the real product.
Armani’s A/X Dressing Room makes choosing an
outfit fun and easy, and gives the customer that
in-store feeling by presenting the ensemble as it is
put together.
Your reputation for customer service will be improved
by representatives who are well trained in product
knowledge, installation and service details, retailer and
dealer networks, and post purchase support issues. When
the customer knows they can rely on you, they'll come
back again and again.
And of course, the obvious, make sure your customer
feels you care. Send a Thank You email—"we appreciate
your business". For the Holiday Season, this is a logical
tool to gain their shopping dollars—make them an offer
exclusive to repeat customers.
Now that you're inspired with either confidence that your
store is set for the holiday shopping season, or perhaps
armed with some new ideas to give you that extra edge,
and from everyone at CDC eCommerce we wish you all
the best of luck, and a very Happy Holiday!