We are all well aware of the “holiday” that immediately follows Thanksgiving – Black Friday. This event is something that a large part of the U.S. population hates, while the other part happily forfeits enjoying turkey leftovers in order to map out their 3am Friday game plan. However, there is also another consumer “holiday” that has become increasingly popular in the past 5 years – Cyber Monday.
What are the perks of Cyber Monday versus Black Friday for consumers? Well for one… you can sit safely at home and approach a promotional item with simply the click of a mouse, as opposed to outrunning the herd of eager shoppers before you get trampled to death from those who want $50 laptops, and dodging Sally Savings’ shopping cart that she is viciously whipping around in her final attempt to beat you to that last item. Secondly, you do not have to wait in line for 3 hours to checkout if you were one of the lucky ones to get what you were shopping for. Lastly, your overall shopping experience is more likely to be a success because you have more time to order all of the items you want since you are navigating online.
If you have an eCommerce business, Cyber Monday is a monumental revenue driver for online sales. Now that the end of November is swiftly approaching, here are three factors to consider.
IT’S WORTH IT.
Statistics show that Cyber Monday shoppers significantly increase every year. In 2014, U.S. in-store sales on Black Friday generated $1,505 million, while online spending on Cyber Monday generated $2,680 million. It was also reported last year that 52% of ALL Americans shopped online during Cyber Monday. Moral of the story- Cyber Monday is a critical time for your online business and is worth the promotional efforts.
STUDY. STUDY. STUDY.
Companies are catching on to this online phenomenon, so while this day leaves enormous revenue potential, it also carries strong competition. Do your homework and make sure what you are offering is competitive with other offers in your industry. Also, don’t just study your competition, study your audience. What are the latest trends and “must-haves” in 2015? Make sure you understand what your audience is looking for and make it blatantly obvious that you are the company to give it to them.
BE PREPARED.
The absolute WORST thing that could happen after you have spent promotional time and money leading up to Cyber Monday is having your website crash because it is not prepared to handle a large spike in traffic. Providing a poor user experience leads to potentially losing that customer for life, plus anyone they tell in their irate frenzy to dismantle your reputation for standing in the way of them and their 65% off beige recliner. So be prepared and ensure that your eCommerce website is setup to handle the heat.
The holidays are when retailers earn a large portion of their annual revenue, so the fact that there is now a nationally recognized day of online shopping before Christmas is an opportunity on which all online stores should capitalize.
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