Cyber Monday is the UK’s ‘Black Friday’
The busiest online shopping day of the year, known as ‘Cyber Monday’ is here. It’s the day online retailers expect their highest ever sales and it signifies the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
By Mike Flynn, CEO, Fast Web Media
Although it originated in the US following ‘Black Friday’ – the day after the Thanksgiving holiday where online retailers offer a day of discounted products to US customers, Cyber Monday has now firmly established itself in the UK as a landmark shopping day for esellers.
According to Experian, on Cyber Monday in 2012, British shoppers made a total of 112 million visits to retail websites, a 32 per cent rise in comparison to the same day in 2011.
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Online shopping website, Wayfair revealed Cyber Monday 2012 sales on its site were 56 per cent higher than the average daily sales made throughout the entire month of December 2012, and were 48 per cent higher than every other day in November. Amazon’s UK site saw 3.5 million items ordered on the site, at a rate of around 41 items per second.
So how can online retailers prepare their websites and themselves for this opportunity to maximise potential sales?
1. Update keywords
As the season approaches, start to add seasonal keywords to your website such as ‘gifts’, ‘Christmas’ and ‘holiday shopping’. Also, focus on the features of your products including colour, size or price. Yes, it might be time consuming, but if you don’t have the right keywords, how will shoppers find you over the thousands of other sites wanting their business.
2. Use highly targeted PPC campaigns
Online retailers often disregard pay-per-click advertising as expensive, but keyword-driven PPC can be very cost-effective during the festive period. Take the opportunity to run customised PPC campaigns using targeted keywords this season, which could be less expensive to run with them being in a niche category.
And why not try something new and target via the weather during this temperamental weather period? A tool that allows you to target ad’s according to live weather conditions, (such as weatherFIT) could help boost your campaigns.
3. Focus on capturing data and clients
Think about this season from the consumers’ point of view. They are looking for the best deals, so make sure your products are easy to find on search engines or price comparison sites. This is the best time to attract loyal consumers who you want to come back to your site after the festive season has ended.
One of the possible additions to your marketing campaigns could be a Communication Ad Extension, which allows consumers to sign up for your newsletter straight from a search engine. This way you’ll get contact details and grab potential future sales.
Be memorable to your customers by creating an innovative, but easy service that they would want to come back to. Provide a quick and hassle free check out process and ask consumers to sign up for a newsletter for future deals and offers.
4. Enhance customer shopping experience through design
Don’t clutter your site with images of Father Christmas or fancy seasonal designs. You need to ensure your website conveys that you are a legitimate and trustworthy business, which is often determined by the quality of the web design. Also, web design has a direct impact on conversion.
Keep it simple and focus on showcasing your products and offers. Make sure your best offers are highlighted on your home page or above the fold. Focus on the layout of your products and the ease of which consumers can find information about the product features. Don’t forget to add a review section so you can share the positive feedback and assure your clients of quality products, giving them more reasons to fill their shopping cart.
5. Deals and bargains are at the top of your list
Stand out from your competitors. Offer attractive discounts or free delivery. People are preparing for Christmas, so give your customers the best deals, like 3 for 2 or the more they buy the bigger discount they receive. This is also a great time to sell products that did not receive that much attention throughout the year. Give the best bargains and make it hard to resist!
6. Don’t forget about social media
Social media significantly raises awareness of products and drives sales so it’s important not to neglect this when it comes to shopping online. Adding social share buttons on every page goes without saying. Make it easy for your customers to share the products they’ve just bought via their social profiles by adding calls to action throughout the check-out process.
7. Don’t miss out on blogging
Not only do blogs boost your search ratings but they contain more specific content than a company website. Blog posts offer information in a fresher way and invites shoppers to interact with the brand, by adding their comments or sharing articles on social media. This creates the sense of personal communication.
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