The 10 best eCommerce websites for Christmas shopping.

Christmas shopping has become a big part of the festive season, but rather than traipsing up-and-down the high-street, a growing number of shoppers are taking their business online.

As eCommerce experts we look at shopping sites slightly differently, focussing on performance and UX as much as inspiration and ideas. Below we have chosen 10 of our favourite eCommerce sites to help you conquer your Christmas shopping list from the comfort of your own home.

1. Twinings Tea

It’s difficult to think of anything more quintessentially English than a cup of tea, despite that fact that the nation’s favourite drink hails from far-flung China. There’s much more to tea than a murky mug of builders’ brew, so why not take your taste buds on a trip around the globe with Twining’s? Tea makes a perfect present and Twinings have an inspired range of unusual gifts or you can take a trip around the world sampling teas by country of origin. Twinings’ website is a genuine pleasure to navigate (admittedly we might be slightly biased as we built it) and you can find out more about how Ridgeway approached and delivered the project by visiting our Twinings Case Study.

2. Not on the High Street

Not On The High Street provide a wide range of unique products you can personalise to give someone’s gift that personal touch at Christmas. Their Christmas gifts section is very clearly laid out, with specific sections such as Christmas edits, for what they love, gifts for all and Christmas Decorations, which makes searching for products an ease. Each of these sections also have slider navigation, which makes it easy to follow and not overwhelming to view.

3. Oliver Bonas  

This store is great for original, unique gifts whether that's main gifts or stocking fillers. The website includes an inspiration section where you can shop their Instagram feed, explore products by current trends or shop products that were seen in the press. Additionally, the website allows you to shop Christmas gifts by budget for certain individuals, e.g. gifts for him, mum, her, which simplifies the searching process for the customer. 

4. John Lewis 

Well known for its luxury persona, John Lewis provide a great overall online experience and offer customers the option to click and collect from their local Waitrose. To keep in line with their high quality customer service, John Lewis have included a dedicated page for 'Delivery in time for Christmas' on their website. The page includes specific details such as the dates and times for last orders of their products up until Christmas, making it transparent to customers to avoid disappointment. Another great feature on the website is the ability to see the overall basket price in the top right corner, this is useful when online shopping to keep track of your total expenditure. 

5. The Present Finder

The Present Finder have a range of unique gifts and offer many gifts which can be personalised. The website, alike other websites this time of year, includes a value proposition banner to make it clear to customers when they can order products to arrive in time for Christmas. The total basket value is also available to view in the top right corner, making it easy to track your basket total. Another useful feature is, that the website is split into various sections such as Secret Santa, stocking fillers, and gifts for the home, gadget lovers and gardeners, which allows you to find products easily for specific people. 

6. Etsy

The Etsy website makes shopping online simple from whichever device you choose to use, including their app. The best aspect of shopping on Etsy is that individual unique sellers can promote and sell their homemade products on the site, so you can purchase original products that may not be found elsewhere. They also display a Christmas gift guide filter as shown below, where you can shop for 'every type of person.'

7. ASOS

ASOS do some really lovely Christmas gifts and their website is super easy to navigate around for Christmas shopping. If you use the search bar, as you start typing search suggestions and results pop up, this is particularly useful when you want to discover how many results are available for each product. Additionally, when you are browsing the site, there are filter options located in the page banner, so you can find products by categories.

8. See Tickets

See Tickets is a great website for purchasing tickets as Christmas gifts. The website is very clear and provides easy navigation, especially if you are not used to using ticket provider websites. For Christmas, they have a separate section which lists all the available Christmas events you can book tickets for. If you can't find what you're looking for on the website, the search bar is a great tool as it provides options for events, venues and locations as you type. There is also a filter search provided under the hero image on the homepage to search by specific filters.   

9. JoJo Maman Bebe 

For anyone with children in the family looking for an extra special gift this Christmas, this store is a treat. They have a variety of personalised gifts and as a bonus they also offer referral discount to customers. When you receive your gift, you can take a picture and use the #myjojostyle and your image will appear on their website, so customers can view real life images to click and 'shop the style.' There is also a main section included on the website that states the last order dates for Christmas, making it transparent to customers when they can make their last purchases to arrive in time for the big day.  

10. Amazon

Amazon offer a wide range of products at great prices for armchair Christmas shopping. They also offer Amazon Prime Membership which makes it quick and easy to order gifts last minute with next day delivery. Another feature which is useful for Christmas, is Amazon Lists, where you and your family/friends can save items, and when someone purchases an item listed, Amazon will remove it from the list. You can also add items from other websites to the shared list (although those items don’t get removed).

That sums up some of our favourite websites for Christmas shopping, why not tweet us and let us know where you have been shopping this festive season? You could also check out the eCommerce websites we have developed to discover more Christmas gifts.