Increase your profit margin this Black Friday and Cyber Monday

What is Black Friday and Cyber Monday ?

Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving in the US. It’s been a tradition for over 60 years, regarded as the day Christmas shopping begins — and an ideal time to get most of it out of the way. Partly due to massive online platforms like Amazon, the tradition has made its way over to the UK, despite no Thanksgiving Day beforehand.

Cyber Monday, on the other hand, is a marketing term coined by the US National Retail Federation. The idea was to get more people to shop online. And, after over a decade, it too has become something of a tradition. The two days fall around the same weekend each year, with 24th and 27th November set in stone for 2017.

Tip : Simple Strategy, Improving sale on ThanksGiving. Gives you an opportunity for much better sale on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and Year long.

How black friday and cyber monday can play major role in online selling ?

Thanks to America’s influence, Black Friday has become the unofficial beginning of the Christmas shopping period.

It’s no secret that holiday shopping season is a crucial time for retailers — and e-commerce looks to crush its brick-and-mortar competition this year. According to an annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the National Retail Federation, 59 percent of U.S. consumers plan to spend most of their holiday budgets online instead of brick and mortar stores

In 2016, Cyber Monday sales hit an all time high, with consumers spending $3.45 billion USD in a single day. And, in the same year Black Friday traffic was up 220% over a regular day.

Now, more than ever, small and independent businesses have a real opportunity to get in on the action.

How to stand unique in Black friday and Cyber Monday ?

Most consumers wait until at least November to start their holiday shopping. Online sellers should be prepared for a spike in website traffic coming Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

According to our customers, their suggestion on “What attracts online buyers to buy from your e-commerce store over your competitor”

Free shipping (94%)
Buy online, pickup in store (49%)
Expedited shipping (19%)
Same-day delivery (12%)
On major shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can expect a surge of customer support queries.Get ready for this by scheduling your best people during the busiest periods.

Start planning your support strategy now, to capitalize on your store’s surge in traffic and turn bargain-hunting holiday shoppers into year-round customers.

Start promoting holiday offers at-least a week ahead

• The idea is to become your customers best choice when they think about where to shop/search for this years holiday purchase
• If you don’t want to bring up everything too soon, start with publishing some teasers in landing page or sending promotional emails to remind your customers of visiting your store on the big day to catch the deal
• Include SMS marketing in your campaign. There are third-party services that allow you to integrate text messages into your marketing strategy, enabling you to reach more users in more ways
• Reach shoppers on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Optimize mobile version of your website

• Customers are looking to purchase at all times of the day and are constantly searching for deals on the go, in the office and at home.
• Ensure that your site is mobile-ready by performing user testing in advance of Cyber Weekend, so that you are fully prepared for all eventualities.
• Optimising your site for mobile is crucial, as the figures prove. Last year, PayPal confirmed that a third of all Black Friday payments were made via mobile.
• Discounts should be clearly marked, with the original price alongside to showcase the appeal of a bargain. Strong calls to action are also a must, with straightforward navigation and user experience guaranteeing a smooth path to conversion
• Mobile users accounted for 50% of shoppers last year with smartphones and tablets.In that 50%, 31% made purchases totaling $38.34 billion. This was a 23% increase from the previous year.

“Mobile first. It refers on how starting with the smallest devices and working their way bigger”

Simplify the checkout process as much as possible

With so many options to grab a bargain available to the customer, combined with the user’s time-limited mindset, it’s vital that you don’t draw out the process by asking for information which isn’t absolutely necessary.
The likelihood is that customers are shopping on multiple sites, both for the best deals on a certain product and for a range of items they’ve been looking to purchase

Remarket to customers who don’t complete the purchase

There will of course always be customers who don’t make it to checkout for one reason or another, but abandoned basket campaigns ensure that hope is not lost. You can still drive sales by reminding shoppers of your offers as they continue to browse, staying at the front of their mind even after they leave

Be Sure To Stock Up

You’ll want to use your planning to predict any increase in sales as a result of Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing efforts and offers, and make sure that you have the capacity to meet demand.
You don’t want to miss out on a huge segment of your potential market, so planning ahead and starting any promotions well in advance is a must.

Tip :Selling in bundle improves your chance on getting more traffic and sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
With Yaali Inventory Management Software, manage all your products with an ease of a single click