Tis the season to shop, as retailers are noticing. An improving economy and a proliferation of smartphones are encouraging people to open their wallets. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, more than 151 million people in the US stated they shopped in-store and/or online over the Thanksgiving weekend. If you were in a store or shopping mall at the time, you can probably attest to that. Another estimate put this year’s Cyber Monday (Nov. 30) sales at $3 billion, up 12% from 2014.
Like you, I have been shopping recently. And like many, I recently placed an order online, though through a retailer’s website. The incident offers some lessons that online retailers might learn from.