The days are getting colder, the nights longer, and of course, the streets brighter – with lamp posts, houses and trees all lit up with colourful decorations. That’s right, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and as Michael Bublé famously sang ‘there’s toys in every store’. But what we want to know is; is anyone even buying them or are we all just shopping online?

There’s no denying that the shape of Christmas is changing – and no, I’m not just talking about all the mince pies, turkey dinners and cheese I’m about to consume. I’m talking about the way we buy, send and even receive presents in today’s digitally-dominated era.

Now, more than ever, customers are demanding convenience, choice and speed, and e-commerce offers all of that at the tip of our fingertips. It’s why so many people are now staying clear of the long queues, messy stores, busy high-streets and cold, rainy weather, instead choosing to purchase gifts from the comfort of their own bed, on their daily commute, or even during their lunch break at work.

And it goes to show as this week, our doorbell here at the Data8 office has been ringing continuously with everyone’s Christmas shopping deliveries!

In fact, a number of recent surveys suggest that around nine in ten of us are planning to buy gifts online this year. And, according to PayPal, online shopping is at its peak right here in the UK, with 88% of shoppers in Britain logging on for Christmas purchases, in comparison to 86% in the US and 84% in Germany.

PayPal also found that nearly one in three turn to the internet to avoid check-out queues, while a further 27% listed the convenience of being able to shop at any time of the day or night as their deciding factor.

But it’s not just the way people are buying presents that’s changing. Retailers are now giving customers the option to have them gift-wrapped and sent straight to the recipient’s door. And, you can even receive gifts online, with many brands advertising electronic gift cards that’re sent instantaneously to the recipient via email – perfect for those last minute, Christmas Eve panickers.

So what does this mean for your business this Christmas?

Well, if your customers are going to be sending their presents straight to their recipient’s postal, or even email address, it’s important to make sure the details you’re capturing are correct, even down to the recipient’s name.

What if they misspelt their friend’s new address when catching it quickly over the phone? Maybe they don’t know all the necessary fields, but don’t want to re-ask? Or, perhaps in the rush of it all, they accidently type .com instead of .co.uk?

There’s so much that could go wrong, from sending the parcel to the wrong house to emailing a voucher to an inactive email account. Even if your customer is sending the gift to their own address, mistakes can still be made, causing goods to be undelivered and delayed till after Christmas.

That’s why it’s so important to validate all aspects of your customer’s data in real time.

That’s where Data8 can help.

We’re experts in verifying global address, Eircode and geolocation data, as well as validating email addresses, phone numbers and even unusable names.

By integrating our tools into your checkout, you’ll capture accurate, genuine customer data at point of entry. That way, both you and your customer’s can relax, confident in knowledge that their friends and family will receive their presents on time this year.

After all, you don’t want to be the one to ruin Christmas Day – let’s leave that to mum’s overcooked, charcoaled potatoes, Uncle Ben’s drunken insults, and of course, the in-laws’ terrible jokes.

To start validating your customer’s data, sign up for our free, 14 day trial today – and on behalf of the whole team here at Data8, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!