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How To Sell Out Your Cyber Monday Sales In 30 Minutes

By Jim O’Hara, President of Ecwid

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Cyber Monday looms large for e-Commerce retailers and committed shoppers everywhere. Last year, Americans spent a whopping $2 billion in desktop online sales on the virtual holiday, a 17% increase over 2013. Any e-Commerce web site with worthwhile offerings of its own easily can claim a piece of the pie. Simply put, it’s proven already that the holidays are a great time to be in the retail business.

Here are a seven essential steps to ensure your online store has a Cyber Monday worth remembering:

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1. Publicize your sales in advance. Cyber Monday is only a few days away, so make a push now and let your customers know that your online storefront is a must-visit stop among their other shopping destinations. Hit your social channels — it’s free and easy to let your Twitter and Facebook followers know that your store is doing something special for the shopping holiday. Low-impact reminders help drive home the message that your business is a go-to site this shopping season. Your customers only know what you tell them – so have a clear message and make sure to send an unobtrusive email to your customer list in the final week leading up to Cyber Monday.

2. Communicate the nature of your sales in plain language. Will you offer a flat percentage off of everything you sell? Are there free items for your customers to claim if they spend a certain amount? This all is up to you of course, but it’s important to make sure that everyone is aligned to minimize confusion regarding offers. Any sale or discount that cannot be expressed in a few words likely is too complicated. Consider “25% off of everything” or “Free [item] when you spend $100 or more.”

3. Feature items that are historically slower to sell. Call attention to inventory that doesn’t move as quickly as other items and offer it at a discount. This is the time of year when consumers will consider all kinds of items that they normally might not purchase the rest of the year.. Make it as easy as possible for them to do so, and clear out your inventory for the new year.

4. Bring back sales that have performed well in the past.  Now is the time to reprise and improve on successful online sales campaigns from the past. Include the “retro” sale in your publicity push. For example, “We know you loved our Labor Day sale when we gave you 15% off of everything in the store. For Cyber Monday we are outdoing ourselves: everything is 20% off.”

5. Be well-stocked and ready to ship. Customers want their items as soon as possible. Don’t leave logistics behind – avoid back orders and be ready to ship right away. Your customers will thank you by coming back again and again.

6. Have a well-thought-out backup plan for the inevitable mishaps. Consider what could possibly go wrong, and come up with a workaround plan that you can execute on the fly. Be prepared with alternative plans for shipments. If you usually work with one shipping partner, be sure to have a second in line. In addition to snafus getting the product delivered to your customers, be ready for selling out of the businesses’ most coveted items as well. If you think there is potential for a product to sell, sell, sell, have a pre-drafted message to customers, notifying them that the item has been backordered and will reach them as soon as possible.

7. Remember to always think mobile. Mobile commerce now accounts for nearly 30% of all e-Commerce sales, so make sure your site is easy to find and navigate from any device. Last year’s mobile share of Cyber Monday online retail traffic hit 41%, so if your business doesn’t cater to the vast audience and tailored preferences of mobile consumers, you’ll miss out on some major sales as growth will surely continue to expand this this year.

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