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Quote: Looks count—at least when it comes to retail web sites. 68% of respondents to a survey by online marketing and web design company Questus Corp. said they distrust a site that doesn’t look professional. Questus also found that 25% of shoppers leave a site if they find it difficult to locate products. In addition, shoppers prefer fewer rather than more links on each page.

Consumers also don’t like being forced to register. The report found that nearly a third of online holiday shoppers left a site without making a purchase because they didn’t want to register.

Quote: In addition, 40% of online shoppers plan to spend even more online during the 2006 holiday season.

Quote:"When potential buyers come from a search marketing program and land on your site, it is important to make sure they know where to go and how to get the discounts you advertised,"...

As the dust settles on this latest season's holiday shopping data, there is yet one more issue to consider before this time next year: conversions.

According to his "Conversion Design" philosophy, a well-designed site is one that answers the questions: What is the site selling? Why should I buy from this site? How do I buy from this site? In addition, Sostre said, proper Conversion Design limits the number of steps required to complete a purchase and places the necessary emphasis on making the checkout process simple.

Internet marketers and e-commerce gurus agree an e-tailer can generate the same amount of traffic from one day to the next, but if conversions jump an extra percent or two, the business could potentially gain thousands of dollars per year.