Holiday retail success: digital tips from Brian Walker

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Meeting customer expectations for a successful 2024 retail holiday season will depend on providing a seamless shopping experience across online stores, physical locations, and mobile platforms.

As the holiday season approaches, the pressure on retailers to meet sales targets intensifies. In a recent episode of the Insights Unlocked podcast, industry veteran Brian Walker , Co-Founder & Principal at StrategyēM , emphasized that while sophisticated strategies can be beneficial, the key to success often lies in mastering the basics of digital commerce.

"At the end of the day, it comes down to sales—have you hit your sales goals?" Brian explained in his interview with UserTesting’s @Bobby Meixner, Senior Director of Industry Solutions.

Brian pointed out that while many factors influence these outcomes, a retailer’s ability to control the basics, like site speed and product discovery, is crucial.

 "It really comes down to seeing it through the customer's eyes." — Brian Walker, Co-Founder & Principal at StrategyēM

Brian also stressed the importance of understanding the customer’s perspective, which can often be overlooked by teams familiar with their own systems. "It really comes down to seeing it through the customer's eyes and realizing it's not always so clear," he noted, highlighting the need for continuous refinement of the user experience.

“The reality is that digital is the front door to every business, and whether a customer converts online or in other channels, you have to make sure that the digital experience is intuitive and easy to use,” Brian said.

In June, UserTesting released its 2024 Retail Benchmark Report, where we looked at the digital experience quality of the top 25 U.S. retailers. The obstacles that shoppers encountered during some basic e-commerce flows, like finding a product, guest checkout, others, were significant. The top obstacles included pages not loading properly, irrelevant search results, and filtering options that weren’t intuitive. Follow the link to read more about the report.

In 2023, digital traffic outperformed in-store traffic during the holiday season. Brian urged retailers to ensure their digital platforms are well-optimized and user-friendly. "It’s important to focus on the fundamentals, the basics, and the things you can control," he advised, stressing the need for a proactive approach to potential issues.

Consumers will splurge around the holidays despite rising costs and other external pressures, but they will be more selective about what, how, and when they buy. That makes it crucial for retailers to better understand their buyers’ experiences and take the extra effort to ensure key shopping moments across all channels are frictionless.

"It’s not just about preventing a conversion; it has long-lasting impacts," Brian concluded, underscoring the importance of getting the basics right to ensure a successful holiday season and beyond.

What tips do you have for planning a successful 2024 holiday season for retailers? Share in the comments.

Listen to the full episode to hear more of their conversation.