While the offer of free shipping proves an attractive bonus for consumers to choose one retailer over another, the option also comes with the underlying promise that customers will receive their goods in a timely fashion. This becomes even more important during the holidays, when swift delivery can mean the difference between a tree bountiful with gifts or one without any at all. 

According to a recent study from customer service reviewer StellaService, many items did not reach their intended recipients until after Christmas had passed this year. This was despite orders being placed before the holiday delivery cutoff date set by online retailers. Of the 25 retailers that StellaService purchased items from, nearly one-third failed to ship their goods in time, while 12 percent of all 75 orders placed arrived after their estimated delivery date. 

Because of these matters, retailers need to set realistic goals for their operations. While some problems inevitably stem from factors beyond merchants' control, many issues related to inventory management and quickly processing purchases at the point of sale can minimize the chance that goods will arrive late. Notably, Zappos possessed one of the latest possible dates for customers to order goods that would ship in time for Christmas, December 23, and the company was still able to successfully deliver all items in time across the three regions that StellaService studied. 

The last couple of days before Christmas can be particularly hectic for retailers, as customers crowd brick-and-mortar locations in a rush to buy last-minute gifts for their friends and family. Perhaps because of the confusion and frustration that consumers experience during those last few holiday shopping days, almost half of them (49.9 percent) will instead opt to purchase their remaining items online, according to a recent survey from the National Retail Federation. 

As has been the case throughout the past few weeks of the holiday shopping season, this decision will break another ecommerce record, with more shoppers completing their gift purchases online this year in comparison to any other. 

While many consumers will finalize their shopping on Wednesday, Dec. 18 (29.2 percent), some will hold out until at least Saturday, Dec. 21 (12.3 percent). In light of these circumstances, retailers should prepare for an uptick in expedited shipping orders. Streamlined supply chain management will be important for taking products from the point of sale to the customer's door before Christmas arrives. 

Few merchants would deny the role that online sales play in the current retail environment, and all retailers should deploy powerful ecommerce software that can help them successfully reach customers regardless of their location or preferred shopping channel. 

Yet not all markets are created equal, and some customers are more comfortable buying products online than others. Based on recent findings from Ofcom, an independent regulator and competition authority for the U.K. communications industry, consumers in the United Kingdom are the most avid ecommerce shoppers in the world. They spend more on average for each purchase (£1,175 annually) and more often – 73 percent of U.K. respondents buy items online at least once a month, and nearly a quarter reported doing so every week. 

Understandably, U.K. consumers are also generally more trusting of online retailers, and they have faith that merchants will both accurately detail products and ship them within the expected period of time. 

While all merchants should prepare or upgrade their ecommerce offerings by implementing capable retail software that can manage inventory and provide seamless transaction across all channels, this move is even more critical in markets such as the U.K. 

As most merchants know, the retail industry differs from region to region. The policies, strategies and sales tactics suited to one city may not be appropriate for another, and this holds particularly true when dealing with international merchandising. Yet despite the United Kingdom's lack of the Thanksgiving holiday, the promotional weekend that typically follows it also experienced a considerable boost this year. 

According to findings from software personalization firm Peerius, this most recent Cyber Monday was the most intensive online shopping day for U.K. customers ever. Web traffic spiked by 30 percent in comparison to 2012, with mobile hits to ecommerce sites rising by 55 percent in the same period. 

While conversion rates were only marginally up from 2012 – 1.4 percent – this may have been due to the banking glitch experienced by NatWest and RBS. The problem prevented customers from completing their transaction. However, Peerius suggested that ecommerce sales may see another uptick as consumers resume purchasing their items. 

With shopping trends associated with one region or holiday potentially reaching other markets, retailers should deploy point of sale software that can readily adapt to the evolution of customers' spending habits. 

Across the board, ecommerce-based merchants have almost universally seen rising profits. E-tailers have likely experienced record breaking sales these past few weeks, and Green Monday was no exception. Although it is not quite as important a shopping date as Cyber Monday, comScore discovered that total desktop-based purchases on Green Monday leapt by 10 percent in comparison to 2012, reaching $1.4 billion total. 

Green Monday served as a capstone to a week's worth of a considerable amount of online shopping, with Cyber Week experiencing a 24 percent boost from the same period last year. 

"Online buying for the period since Thanksgiving has been very strong and indicates that ecommerce is on track to meet expectations," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

Fulgoni added that Green Monday's growth could be viewed as somewhat underwhelming in light of the considerable boost to overall online sales. But with more shoppers turning to the Internet for their shopping needs, merchants should deploy versatile ecommerce software that can meet the growing demand in this market. While mobile is encouraging many customers to buy products on the Web, even desktops are also an increasingly popular way to purchase gifts. 

Since the advent of ecommerce, shoppers have had the opportunity to buy items at any time that they want. However, the limitations of desktops and even laptop computers meant that in many cases, consumers were still restricted to buying items in a store or while they were at home. Yet with the introduction of smartphones and tablets, along with Wi-Fi access from almost anywhere, many consumers are now always in the consideration phase of purchasing new products, according to recent eMarketer findings. 

Mobile trends have led to the "always-on" shopper who is almost always just a smartphone away from buying an item. Because of this, eMarketer anticipates that mobile purchases will account for 19 percent of U.S. ecommerce sales in 2014, and 26 percent by 2017. 

The source noted that this still accounts for a small fraction of total sales, but it does represent a shift in consumer mentality. Merchants will want to deploy robust ecommerce software that can meet this new shopping paradigm and seamlessly handle online sales regardless of where they originate or at what time. 

Even as ecommerce becomes a more dominant force in the marketplace, some retailers may be asking themselves whether it is worthwhile to invest in the trend, and how important it will be to their business. While consumer electronics and books are well-established online sellers, other items are less certain. Yet based on recent findings from Walker Sands Communications, the majority of consumers are willing to buy any significant type of retail item or service online. 

Food and groceries are the one category that shoppers are least likely to buy over the Internet, but even then, only 37 percent of respondents stated that they oppose the idea. Some consumers are also reluctant to buy luxury goods online, but they are still a minority of potential customers (29 percent). Meanwhile, only 11 percent of consumers are unwilling to purchase clothing online, despite the chance that it will not fit. 

With most consumers agreeable to buying almost anything online, merchants should strive to alleviate customer concerns. While free shipping and one-day delivery are both key ecommerce strategies, 64 percent of shoppers are more likely to buy from companies that offer free returns and exchanges. To avoid the potential costs associated with this practice, decision-makers should deploy retail software with robust inventory management tools across all levels of the organization. Allowing customers to buy items online, but return them to brick-and-mortar locations, can improve customer relations and item tracking. 

With the advent of mobile devices and social media, customers now have a wide diversity of channels and devices with which to complete their online transactions. Because of this, many merchants are updating their ecommerce software to adjust for the new shopping experience. While referrals generated from social media only resulted in $148 million of the $2.29 billion in this year's Cyber Monday sales reported by Adobe, the number of customers drawn in by these methods was up across multiple social networks. 

Twitter generated 24 percent more Cyber Monday traffic in 2013 than it did in 2012, while Pinterest grew by 17 percent and Facebook by 12 percent. Pinterest and Facebook were the two most prominent sources for sales through social media, with IBM reporting that the average order amounted to $92.40 and $97.81, respectively. In addition to attracting higher expenditures, Facebook also drove a 38 percent higher conversion rate than Pinterest. 

Merchants should not neglect the growing role that social media may have on their company, as it ties partially into the growing role of mobile devices as purchasing tools. Reaching consumers across all channels will be a key business strategy throughout the coming years.