{"id":28609,"date":"2014-11-19T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/old.futurelab.digital\/blog\/greatest-gift-for-christmas-a-new-website-for-your-business\/"},"modified":"2014-11-19T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T11:00:00","slug":"greatest-gift-for-christmas-a-new-website-for-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.futurelab.digital\/nz\/greatest-gift-for-christmas-a-new-website-for-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Greatest gift for Christmas: a new website for your business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christmas is fast approaching and in the business world, warm fuzzy feelings and merry Xmas spirit translate into prime opportunity for increasing sales and harnessing rampant consumerism. Yay for the Western world and the spirit of Christmas!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all seriousness though, with the aftereffects of the 2007 recession still lingering on, Christmas shopping and the holiday sales season have become ever more important dates in the business year. That\u2019s to say, they were always important, but in recent years (and looking to the US in particular, where spending is down<\/a>), retailers have increasingly relied on the holiday feel-good factor to make sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retailers also seem to have decided that more of a good thing might help their cause. We\u2019re talking of course, about the humble sale. Back in the good old days, sales used to happen once or twice a year \u2013 perhaps once a season, max. Some institutions still continue to only hold their sale once a year \u2013 Harrod\u2019s immediately springs to mind as an example. The rationale here is that their aura of exclusivity is intrinsic to their value as a brand \u2013 and if they started having sales every week, the cost to their brand value would outweigh any extra revenue gained from attracting the masses to their shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not so with the high street retailers. Dignity is thrown out of the window, in its place giant neon letters permanently \u2013 desperately \u2013 advertising S-A-L-E-! to passersby. Well, it probably works. I love sale shopping, the irrational satisfaction of having \u2018saved\u2019 money by spending on what you probably never needed in the first place. Such is the consumerist society we inhabit, and the nation\u2019s credit card debt ($6.15 billion<\/a> at May 2014) prove that these habits are hard to break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how does this all relate to websites you might ask?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, the answer is simple. The holiday season spending habits of the average consumer have been well-established, and do not look likely to alter any time soon. Except in one, crucial way. Consumers in New Zealand are choosing to shop online<\/strong> in greater and greater numbers. We\u2019ve talked about this trend a few times in the past<\/a>. The 2014 Nielsen Online Retail report has some revealing statistics \u2013 there\u2019s a good summary at eCommerce.org<\/a> with most of the key facts and figures if you want some bedtime reading. Here are a few little nuggets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n