6 Tips on How to Prepare Ecommerce for Black Friday/Cyber Monday
The last few days of November are extremely intense in the sales market. More and more ecommerce stores decide to organize not only Black Fridays but also entire Black Weeks! What’s more, Cyber Monday is also becoming increasingly popular. So, how should you prepare an ecommerce Black Friday strategy for this hectic period?
Table of contents:
- Black Friday And Cyber Monday In A Nutshell
- How To Prepare E-commerce For Black Friday/Cyber Monday?
The last three months of the year, called the Golden Quarter, are the most profitable days for most retailers. This is the time of sales peaks that start before Halloween and end after Christmas or New Year. However, Black Friday is certainly a day when we can observe the greatest changes which can be seen in the graphic below:
The Criteo report shows that Cyber Monday, the electronic version of Black Friday, ranks just after Black Friday.
Black Friday And Cyber Monday In A nutshell
Black Friday
Black Friday is the first Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season – this is when consumers expect the most attractive offers and discounts. In the past few years, we could have observed a growing popularity of this event also in Europe.
What do we frequently buy during this time?
Cyber Monday
This is the first Monday after Black Friday sales. Cyber Monday is a celebration of online shopping and it develops as quickly as the ecommerce industry. It’s an alternative to traditional shopping, however, many stores combine this day with the Black Friday period and decrease prices for these few days.
This year, Cyber Monday is on 29 December.
How To Prepare E-commerce For Black Friday/Cyber Monday?
Since we’re done with the basics, now you can learn how to prepare your online store for this intense period. If you haven’t been thinking about this issue, keep reading our entry!
Below, we’ll show you 6 tips on how to prepare your e-commerce for Black Friday/Cyber Monday!
1. Take care Of Your Website
A properly optimized website is the cornerstone of every e-commerce, not only in the Golden Quarter. It’s worth mentioning that it’s best to start SEO before you start selling. After all, people need to find you.
It’s a list of a few elements you should keep in mind:
Responsive And Mobile Web Design
Every year, more of us use mobile devices to shop online. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that users can conveniently navigate your website, regardless of the device they choose. If a site isn’t displayed properly and doesn’t adapt to mobile devices, visitors will probably close it.
Website Loading Time
Recommended page loading time shouldn’t be longer than 2 seconds. It definitely affects user experience. Each subsequent second means a risk of a higher bounce rate. Therefore, it’s crucial to minimize this probability. Wondering how to decrease page loading time? Check out our blog.
Keywords
Optimize your website content for the upcoming Golden Weekend. Highlight phrases such as: “Black Friday”, “Cyber Monday”, “discount” or “special offer”. Tailor the words to your offer – check what people are looking for and target your message accordingly.
UX (user experience)
Make sure that navigating your website is a pleasure. Pay attention to elements like:
- Usability
- Visual aspects
It’s crucial to ensure that the page is intuitive and helps users shop efficiently. Analyze your offer and ask yourself a few questions. Is the information about discounts marked? Does your discount code work?
Think about elements beneficial for your website. Maybe it would be good to filter special offers? Maybe you should create a separate landing page or subpage? Make yourself stand out from the crowd. If a countdown timer helps you do that, go ahead! All tricks allowed 😉.
2. Offer Discounts Earlier
Let customers become acquainted with your offer earlier. Inform them when you plan to start discounts and remind them about it regularly. Make sure that people are going to wait for your products or services.
Remember that your e-commerce business isn’t the only store that prepares for Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Be as visible as possible. Advertise your range in social media, benefit from email marketing and include relevant information in a newsletter. Possibilities are endless.
It might be a good idea to invest in advertisements. Get to know your recipients and target messages accordingly. This might be a recipe for success during this time of the year. However, remember that rates will probably be higher than usual.
3. Stand Out From The Crowd
Choose eye-catching CTAs, intriguing keywords, attractive contests and graphics. In the Black Friday season, the competition is so big that your activities can’t be run of the mill.
Offer attractive discounts, but make sure that your store can afford them. After all, you want to gain, not lose, right?
It’s worth mentioning that a 10% discount won’t allow you to conquer the online world. Therefore, if you can’t offer more, perhaps it’s wiser to give up on the action instead of making your store infamous.
4. Be Prepared
Since we’re talking about advertisements, you should carefully analyze your black friday e-commerce strategy. Be ready for more orders, make sure that there are enough products in stock, focus on your top brand products.
Think about your website, employees, and suppliers. Is your team big enough to face up the challenge? Are you able to offer efficient shipment? Can your server handle the load? It’s worth thinking about these and other issues to avoid unpleasant surprises close to Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Take advantage of the upcoming period to create and maintain a positive brand image and it’ll surely pay off in the future.
5. Go For Cross-selling
Take the bull by the horns and maximize your profits from specific transactions – believe us, the upcoming (holiday) season is perfect for that. Focus on cross-selling and help customers buy products that create a coherent whole. If your store offers everything potential buyers are looking for, they won’t have to check elsewhere.
6. Take Care Of Regular Customers And Acquire New Ones
Don’t forget about regular customers. Offer them special discounts or extra incentives. It’s a good idea to take care of your PR. Besides, the nature of the coming time frequently means that customers are more willing to choose your rivals. For this reason, you should show that you value and appreciate relationships with your loyal customers.
At the same time, give new customers a reason to come back to your store. Inspire their trust and don’t end promotional activities just after Cyber Monday. Try to attract the same buyers for longer. How? Don’t let them forget about you, monitor abandoned shopping carts, expand your remarketing lists, encourage people to sign up for your newsletter or inform them about upcoming holiday offers. Notify users that they can also count on you during the holiday season.
A Few Words To End With
The crazy time of shopping sprees is just around the corner. Benefit from it and improve your sales. In order to do it, it’s crucial to:
- Optimize your website,
- Act in advance,
- Stand out from the crowd,
- Be ready (financially, logistically),
- Cross-sell,
- Attract new customers but don’t forget about the regular ones.
Good luck!
