It is not too late to implement some last minute hacks to ensure you maximize sales this Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM). In this article, we have gathered some last-minute tips to help you wow website visitors and secure sales during the biggest gift shopping season of the year. Keep reading to learn about:
Understanding the importance of BFCM
Before we delve into the last-minute tips for boosting your Black Friday Cyber Monday sales, it's worth understanding why this day holds so much significance in the retail world.
The power of Black Friday
Even though the gift shopping season gets earlier and earlier, it is important to remember the day that started it all: Black Friday.
Here’s how Black Friday performed last year:
- 90.6 million buyers made a purchase online on Black Friday.
- American shoppers spent $9.8 billion on Black Friday (and $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday).
And that's not all. This year is expected to be the biggest Black Friday yet. The Black Friday sales market is projected to reach around $278 billion this year.
The importance of Cyber Monday
Black Friday is the day that started it all, but Cyber Monday is the real shopping event darling for online retailers.
Originating as the digital counterpart to Black Friday, Cyber Monday has only gained more momentum over the years. In addition to the fact that Cyber Monday outperformed Black Friday last year (shoppers spent 2.6 billion more during Cyber Monday than they did during Black Friday), Cyber Monday also had one of the most staggering statistics from last year:
In 2023, during the peak hour (10 pm - 11 pm EST) on Cyber Monday, online shoppers spent $15.7 million a minute. Let's repeat that, shall we? Last year, online shoppers were shelling out a cool 15.7 million dollars a minute in one hour during the Cyber Monday shopping event. Wowza!
With those numbers, you cannot deny the power that BFCM has on a business's revenue. This is why making the most of the BFCM sales event is critical to a successful sales year.
Which brings us to ...
Last-minute hacks to help boost your online sales
Now that we clearly understand why Black Friday and Cyber Monday are such important dates in the retail world, let's look at some last-minute hacks that can significantly boost your online sales during these crucial shopping days.
Offer exclusive "early bird" deals
I mean, who doesn't love feeling special? Send your email subscribers exclusive early access to your Black Friday deals. This now only rewards loyal customers but also encourages new newsletter sign-ups. Now, that's what we like to call a win-win.
Broaden your payment options
Offer multiple payment options to maximize revenue on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Not everyone uses Visa, Mastercard, or AMEX. Globally, a lot of people use PayPal. In fact, according to PayPal, businesses see an average increase of 33% in checkouts once they have added the payment option. Therefore, by simply adding another payment option like PayPal, you can increase profits without too much work.
Show order by date & your return policy
BFCM is the unofficial kick-off for the gift shopping season. So, ensure your visitors know when they can expect their package to be delivered by including the order by date to your website. Example: buy [product], get it by [expected] date.
When putting together the order by date, also make sure to account for any shipping delays you might encounter. No one wants to be promised something on a specific date and receive it a week later. Give yourself a buffer to ensure that the packages will arrive on time or earlier.
Another element you can add to your online shop is your return policy. Shoppers don’t want to buy a present for their loved ones and then find that the return policy doesn’t cover past the holidays. Including this information can provide extra peace of mind to push them to make the sale.
Clean up minor design issues
When someone visits your website, you have seconds to capture their interest before they leave. To prepare, do a quick review of your website to spot-check any minor design issues that can be easily corrected. Also, read through your product descriptions to make sure there are no typos because typos can be a turnoff for some shoppers.
Generate excitement with countdown timers
You put work into getting prepped for your holiday sale offerings, don’t let them go to waste! Generate interest for your sale by showing a countdown to when your sale will begin. Also, don’t just put the countdown on your website. Include your countdown on your emails and social media, so your audience knows to tune into your sale when it starts.
Connect with customers via live chat
Ensure your visitors can get the answers to their questions easily by ensuring your chat is prominent and easy to find. You can lose a potential sale when someone can’t find the answer they are looking for. So, make sure your web visitors don’t have that chance! Also, while preparing for BFCM, ensure you have the staff to support your chat for the big day because waiting an hour for a response is the same as having no chat at all.
Reward your loyal customers
Loyal customers are the backbone of your business, so make them feel special this holiday shopping season. Offer tiered-spending rewards, extra discounts, or early access to sales. You can also provide referral perks to incentivize your loyal customers to promote your brand to their friends and family.
Map out your sales strategy
An organized sales strategy can help you stay cool and collected when the sales rush hits. It can also help make sure that your BFCM is as smooth and successful as possible (everybody loves a game plan). Create a sales map outlining the schedule for each campaign. This includes the start and end dates and times, products being promoted, and the marketing channels you will use.
Focus on your top sales channels
BFCM is the Super Bowl of shopping. Stay focused by identifying your most successful sales channels and focus your efforts there. This could be your website, social media platforms, or email marketing campaigns. By doubling down on what has been successful in the past, you can concentrate on your top-performing channels instead of getting overwhelmed or concentrating on a less lucrative channel.
Retarget past visitors and customers
Retargeting is a powerful tool to re-engage past visitors and customers. Using tools like the Meta pixel or Google Ads Remarketing, you can deliver personalized ads to previous web visitors, reminding them of your brand and enticing them to make a purchase during BFCM.
Plan your email marketing campaign
Email marketing is an effective way to engage your customers and drive sales during BFCM. Start planning and scheduling your campaigns early, optimize your website for email capture, and make sure your emails are personalized to different customer segments.
Implement easy one-click upsells
After a customer adds an item to their cart, offer a complementary product at a special Black Friday price. Make it super easy to add with just one click, and you'll be surprised by how many people will take you up on the offer.
BONUS Hack: Evaluate this year - before you forget
Our bonus hack will not help you prepare for this year’s big shopping event but will help you prepare for next year. After your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales have ended (even though you are exhausted), sit down and evaluate how this year went.
While both the trials and tribulations are fresh in your mind, jot down potential ways you could have made this year better. Some items worth evaluating are:
- Was there a specific area that caused stress this year? And, if so, is there a tool or application, like an inventory and order management system, that can help you avoid that stress in the future?
- Did you run out of stock on any items? Or do you need to run another sale to unload inventory that didn’t sell?
- How would you rate your order fulfillment process? Could it be better?
- Did your website support the increase in traffic to your site?
- What are the top 3 things you would change to make next year even better?
Remember: You got this
The stress of this season as an e-commerce business can be overwhelming, but keep believing in yourself, your product, and your team - and you will succeed!
Need some extra help?
When you use Zenventory, you are never alone. Our product experts are standing by to ensure your online marketplaces always have the most up-to-date stock counts, your order fulfillment process is optimized, and you get the lowest USPS shipping rates in the industry!
>> Book a call with one of our product experts to learn more <<
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