We all know why we shop online.  For one, the convenience just can’t be beat.  Why sit through traffic, deal with crowded parking lots, compete with fellow shoppers and wait in long lines when you can shop from the comfort of your own couch?  Record numbers of shoppers are opting for convenience over chaos, spending an estimated 375 million hours shopping online in December 2012 alone.

The expansion of digital channels and an increasingly crowded online marketplace are changing consumer spending habits and online behavior. And the more consumers spend online, both in time and money, the more demanding they become of the online customer experience. Consumers are very articulate when it comes to their online expectations, and they’re quick to abandon your site if your website experience and customer engagement strategy are not up to par.

It’s that time of year again, time for the holiday code freeze! For those of you who may not be aware, a code freeze happens for many websites during times of busy traffic, such as holiday time, to minimize any risk for errors or downtime that could have an adverse impact on sales or the customer web experience.

Online shoppers in the United States will spend $54.47 billion this holiday season according to eMarketer’s latest report "Online Holiday Shopping Forecasts and Trends." This is a 16.8% increase from last year and a sign of a gradual recovery from the economic crisis of 2008. 

This holiday season, it will be more important than ever for businesses to be “holiday ready” in multiple digital channels—beyond just their website. LivePerson recently surveyed 500 consumers about their holiday shopping habits and how digital tools and channels are impacting their preferences this season.

Increasingly, new privacy standards and regulations are requiring website operators to provide consumers with greater notice, information and choice regarding cookies and similar tracking technologies.  In particular, the European Union has adopted a privacy directive regarding the use of website visitor tracking and cookies, and each EU member state has or will interpret and implement this directive over time.