Introduction
The holiday shopping season is upon us, and eCommerce spending is expected to skyrocket. With just 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, eMarketer forecasts that U.S. holiday retail eCommerce sales are projected to reach $271.58 billion in 2024 — a 9.5% increase from last year.¹
Much like adding the perfect blend of spices to your holiday recipes, you’re likely using third-party applications to make your site more appealing, keep users engaged, and boost conversions. However, these apps can sometimes act like extra weight on your sleigh, slowing down your site speed and potentially impacting your sales. Here are five ways to ensure third-party apps don’t put a freeze on your holiday sales.
Strategies to Optimize Third-Party Apps
- Audit Your Third-Party Apps
Regularly review and audit the third-party apps on your site. Identify and flag any that may be underperforming or no longer needed. In addition, take the time to properly sequence poor performing, but necessary apps. - Optimize App Loading Sequence
Use tools like Yottaa to control the order in which third-party apps load, ensuring critical content loads first and pages aren’t delayed because of other non-essential apps. - Use Asynchronous Loading
Implement asynchronous loading for third-party scripts to prevent them from blocking the rendering of your page content. - Monitor Performance
Continuously monitor the performance of third-party apps using a tool like Yottaa Insights to ensure optimal experience and sales on your website. - Prepare an Emergency Plan
Ensure your site has the support needed to handle increased holiday traffic by having contact information for each third-party provider and establishing a plan with internal on-call team members.
Conclusion
With the Cyber Five just around the corner, now is the time to ensure your site is running at full speed. Preventing third-party apps from putting a freeze on your site performance is crucial for maintaining sales momentum. Yottaa’s real-time monitoring and optimization solutions ensure your site remains fast and efficient during the holiday season. Prepare your site now to provide a seamless shopping experience that boosts your holiday sales.
¹ https://www.emarketer.com/content/holiday-ecommerce-spending-hasnt-gotten-earlier
