2024 E-commerce Holiday Season Re-Cap

Now that we’re a month into the new year, it’s the perfect time to analyze what went right (and what went wrong) during the last holiday season. Conducting an e-commerce audit now ensures you’re setting yourself up for success in 2025 and beyond. An audit can help you identify critical mistakes or missed opportunities, giving you the insights needed to refine your strategy and make the next shopping season even more profitable.

But how do you do an effective E-commerce holiday recap? Here’s what you need to know.

Recap of 2024 Holiday Sales

Supply chain constraints, consumer concerns over inflation, and election woes have officially subsided. The E-commerce report for 2024 looks remarkably good, showing an almost nine percent increase over 2023. In fact, the E-commerce space is projected to grow to over $8 trillion by 2028, illustrating consumer growth and the vast potential for E-commerce brands to get an even larger share of the pie.

But what’s driving increased sales? Several factors and trends are at play, which are crucial for framing your E-commerce audit so you can plan accordingly for next year. Examples include:

• AI Everywhere – In 2024, it’s almost impossible to escape the allure of AI programs and systems, especially when tech companies like Google, Meta, and Apple are rolling out AI integrations. Fortunately, AI is a fantastic resource for making data-driven decisions, as these programs can analyze user metrics and help you convert and retain more customers over the long term. Also, AI helps streamline operations, which is crucial for smaller brands.
• Personalization Reigns – Customers don’t want a “one-size-fits-all” solution anymore. Instead, they want customized products and shopping experiences that make them feel valued and respected. Personalized marketing and sales campaigns can boost conversion and retention rates far more than increased lead generation.
• Social Proof is in the Pudding – Platforms like TikTok and Instagram allow users to show off cool new products to a wide audience. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “TikTok made me buy it,” you understand the influence these sites have on consumer choices. E-commerce brands need to capitalize on such authentic social proof to boost organic sales.
  

Key Metrics for E-Commerce Sites

If you want your E-commerce holiday recap to be as valuable as possible, you need to know your KPIs (key performance indicators). If you don’t have a comprehensive list of KPIs already, now is the time to create them. Common metrics for eCom brands include:

• Total Revenue – This is one number you should already know inside and out.
• Sales by Category – Which types of products are selling the most? Which categories are dead weight for your brand?
• Individual Product Sales – You should already know which products are your top performers and best-sellers. But were there any items that got a huge, unexpected sales boost this year?
• Website Traffic – Not only should you know the total number of visitors you got over the holiday season, but you should also know where they originated (e.g., search engines, social media platforms, etc.).
• Engagement and Bounce Rate – How many new visitors left your website within a few minutes (or seconds) of arriving on a landing page? What is the average duration of a site visit? What kinds of things do people do when visiting your site (e.g., which buttons or links do they click on)?
• Conversion Rate – Divide the total number of new customers by the total number of site visitors. Decent conversion rates hover around five percent, so if your rate is higher than that, you’re doing a lot of things right.
• Customer Life-Time Value (CLTV) – How much money can you make from a customer over the long term? The higher the CLTV, the more valuable your conversion rate.
• Retention Rate – How many new customers buy products from your brand again? Typically, retargeting is a lucrative opportunity, especially if you have a low retention rate.
• Customer Satisfaction – While this metric is hard to pin down, you can start by looking at the number of positive reviews on different sites like Google or Yelp. You can also solicit unbiased reviews from each of your customers to boost your ratings and increase your social proof.

Tools for E-Commerce Analysis

While you may understand the value of an SEO audit and know which metrics are most important to your business, how can you see these numbers in real-time? Well, you can utilize analytical tools like Ahrefs or Semrush, or you can go straight to the source and use Google Analytics, which happens to be free.

Analytics reports will break down the data for you so you can understand which strategies are working the most. However, turning data into action is much easier said than done. For most E-commerce brands, having an analytics report doesn’t necessarily help them achieve greater success. In many cases, it’s hard to connect the numbers to actual insights, such as which types of ads or campaigns worked best.

Fortunately, there’s an easier way. You can invest in comprehensive E-commerce solutions from an SEO agency that knows how to turn analytics into actionable solutions.

Actionable Insights for Next Year

With the E-commerce space poised to grow in 2025 and beyond, you can’t afford to make mistakes and get left behind. Instead, rely on the SEO experts at CSP to help your business thrive in the new year. From technical SEO audits to compelling ad campaigns, we can help you leverage your sales insights and turn them into a stronger bottom line. Contact us today to get started!