With the New Year here, you are likely trying to come up with new ways to reach your customers and see success for your business in 2023. More and more people are looking for your business’s products and services online than they really ever have, and most of them like to be able to purchase or schedule an appointment right then and there. Have you ever left a company’s website because you can’t book something online and then looked for one of their competitors who allow you to do so? If so, you are not alone. Not only can having the ability to start and even close the purchasing funnel online help your business, so can understanding consumers’ online searching and buying patterns and making sure that your website is current and ready to handle them when they land on it. That leads us to the question, “When are customers most active online?”
Why is Having an Online Shopping and Buying Experience Important?
In 2022, United States e-commerce sales accounted for around 15% of all retail sales (Census.gov). According to Statista figures, more than 263 million American consumers shop online, around 80% of the population. This number is projected to climb to 291.2 million by 2025. That means that whether you are selling body wash, HVAC services, custom made pajamas, automotive services, or whatever else, you will want to be in the online mix to ensure you get a piece of the pie. Just because you don’t physically sell a product online does not mean that e-commerce should be ignored. People are now used to booking and buying services online as well. In fact, nearly 20% of consumers, who are active online, have used a “buy now, pay later” service.
It is no longer enough to have just a physical location for whatever products or services you are offering, and it’s important to not only be online, but to make consumers feel like they are completing some type of transaction while on your website, such as booking an appointment, requesting a consultation, etc. A consumer’s buying journey begins online, with 59% doing web research when planning a major purchase, to ensure they are making the best possible choice. As a local small or medium sized business, the online shopping experience is extremely important for your potential customers.
Okay, we think you get the point. Being online and having some type of buying experience available for consumers is highly important in this day and age. So when are customers most active online?
When are Customers Most Active Online?
As we all know, we have just came out of one of the busiest buying seasons of the year. The holidays keep people extremely active online due to the crazy deals and need to purchase more things than normal. Major events like Black Friday, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, and so on, impact online shopping metrics. If you sell services, the beginning of the year may see more business for you, as people are trying to start of the New Year right with furnace tune-ups, vehicle inspections, gym memberships, clean teeth, and more.
The truth is, online traffic varies throughout the year based on your type of business and what goods and services you offer. There are typically always some high points and lulls throughout the year, regardless what type of business you have. We all know that knowing when to promote products and services can be a challenge; however, targeting customers at the right time on the right platform and knowing the best days of the week to sell online can help you attract more customers and drive sales. To be able to do this, you need to understand your ideal customer and know when and where they are.
It’s hard to say exactly when customers are most active online, because it truly depends on the customer. Some studies show Sundays and Mondays see the most online buying, and others say Mondays and Thursdays. The pandemic really caused a shift in online activity, so researchers are still trying to truly understand when customers are most active online due to more and more people working from home.
One thing that nearly all the research agrees with is that people are more actively searching, shopping, and using social media online in the mornings, typically between 8 AM and 10 AM. There are other points in the day that see an uptick in traffic, like lunchtime and early in the evening. If you offer B2B services, you will likely see the most activity during working hours.
In Conclusion
When are customers most active online? In reality this greatly varies based on what products and services you are selling, your ideal customer base, what is happening in the current environment, and more. This means that being online and always having some part of the buyer’s journey available to them is extremely important at all times. While you can analyze past data, comparing year over year isn’t always going to give you the best feel for your customer’s buying habits, as outside influences can impact the numbers (i.e. pandemic, elections, global issues, and more).
Water Bear Marketing is here to ensure your website is always ready to convert viewers into customers. We offer a variety of online marketing products to help your business get more business. From WebsiteDesign to OrganicSearch and OnlineVideo, we have options for every type of business.
