Black Friday and Cyber Monday are pivotal events for just about every ecommerce business, with immense potential for revenue generation. While many ecommerce experts focus on aggressive discounts, promotional emails, and paid ads, there are often overlooked strategies that can drive even greater success. Let’s delve into those nuanced tips and strategies that are sometimes left out but can significantly elevate your sales and customer experience during these peak shopping days.
Optimize for Mobile Shopping
Many experts forget the importance of mobile optimization. A significant percentage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers use their smartphones to browse and purchase. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you risk losing these potential customers. For those of you that are changing up your graphics for your Amazon products, you also need to remember that there are three versions of the graphics being served up; desktop, mobile, and the Amazon app. Many experts forget that in the Amazon app version, you cannot “pinch” to expand pictures, and you therefore need to make certain that any text on the images that may look good on desktop and mobile, also look good in the app, where over 50% of the purchases are made.
- Ensure fast load times (under 3 seconds).
- Use responsive design to adjust to different screen sizes.
- Simplify navigation for smaller screens.
- Implement mobile-friendly payment options like Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Test Website Performance Under Load
Sales surges can cause website crashes. Don’t let downtime cost you sales. Conduct stress tests to ensure your website can handle high traffic during the times where your website will be used the most. Make certain that you have optimized everything.
- Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom to identify bottlenecks.
- Optimize image sizes to reduce server strain.
- Invest in scalable hosting plans.
Showcase Real-Time Inventory Levels
Scarcity and urgency are powerful motivators for shoppers. Display real-time inventory levels to encourage immediate purchases. For example, “Only 3 items left!” messages can drive faster conversions. Nothing gets a potential customer purchasing faster than the idea that the item is running out of stock. It also helps customers truly gauge their ability to get the item or items over the long weekend. If you are considering bundles, you will also need to gauge the inventory levels based upon products selling together.
- Make certain that inventory levels are accurate on your website to avoid complications post purchase.
- Update numbers throughout the weekend to make certain that they remain accurate.
- Keep inventory numbers visible to the website visitor.
Prepare For Customer Support Overload
Many businesses fail to scale their customer service during high-demand periods. Unanswered questions or slow responses can deter buyers, or damage your reputation after the sales event. Prepare your customer service team and if you don’t want to bring on additional help during the holidays, allocate other team members to help with the influx of calls. If you don’t already have chat on your website, it might be a good idea to get a simple chat installed, as the average chat member can answer anywhere from 5 to 10 chats at simultaneously.
- Use live chat or chatbots to provide instant responses.
- Prepare canned responses for common queries like shipping times and return policies.
- Assign additional staff to handle increased support volume.
Create Bundled Offers and Upsells
While discounts are common, bundling products or offering complementary items as upsells can increase average order value (AOV). I highly suggest that if you have the ability to use bundles as an option, that you do it. It increases sales significantly, and often allows you to bundle a less popular item together with a fast moving product, and benefit on both. Put them on your front page, and in all of your emails going out over the next few days.
- Highlight savings on bundles compared to individual items.
- Recommend add-ons during checkout.
- Promote gift-ready bundles to appeal to holiday shoppers.
Extend Sale Periods Strategically
Don’t limit your sales to just Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Extending the sale period, such as starting earlier or offering “Cyber Week” deals. This way you can capture late or indecisive shoppers. When I worked for both philosophy and LVMH, we generated just as many sales in the days that followed Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We would run extended coupon offers through the entire week after Black Friday, and couple it with email campaigns and text messages if they had opted in. Remember that there is really no rules about how and when you sell things during this weekend. The one thing is clear though, you have their attention and people will be looking for bargains everywhere. So spy on your competitors and make sure you price your products accordingly.
Address Abandoned Carts Aggressively
Cart abandonment spikes during major sales due to indecision or comparison shopping. Online statistics say that you can generally recover anywhere from 3% to 5% on most days, and during large sales like this, you should be able to recover 10% to 15% of abandoned carts. Use abandoned cart recovery tactics like:
- Automated emails with personalized offers.
- Countdown timers to create urgency.
- Discounts to incentivize completing the purchase.
Localize Marketing For Global Shoppers
For businesses with international audiences, localization is often overlooked. The easier you make it for someone to purchase, the higher the sales you will get. It really is a simple process. Money meets demand. Also consider:
- Currency conversion options.
- Displaying region-specific deals.
- Offering multiple language options for your website.
Provide Clear Shipping Deadlines
Uncertainty about delivery dates can deter holiday shoppers. Display clear shipping timelines prominently on product and checkout pages. Highlight expedited shipping options for last-minute buyers. Make certain that you clearly put your shipping times not only on the front page of the website, but also within individual product pages. If people do not think that they will get their order timely, they will not purchase. Or, your shipping times are not clear, and this leads to several hundreds of calls to your office over the next week, making things more difficult on your customer service team. Keep them clear and very visible.
Highlight Customer Reviews and Social Proof
In the rush to promote discounts, businesses often forget to showcase customer reviews or user-generated content. Reviews can build trust and reassure first-time buyers. This doesn’t just happen during sales, but in the average day-to-day. There is nothing wrong with including some user generated comments within your email campaign for the sale, along with making cure that you have reviews clearly visible on your website product pages. Referrals are the lifeblood of any business. If you are having issues getting people to leave reviews on your website, automated messages after their product is delivered with a promise of a coupon code after they leave a review might just help. Everyone likes to know that their opinion matters, and that it is worth something.
Key Takeaways
- Mobile optimization is critical for capturing sales from smartphone users.
- Website performance under high traffic should be tested to prevent downtime.
- Displaying real-time inventory levels can drive urgency and conversions.
- Scale customer support to handle the volume of inquiries efficiently.
- Bundled offers and upsells can boost your average order value.
- Strategically extend sales to capture early and late shoppers.
- Use abandoned cart recovery strategies to reclaim lost sales.
- Localizing marketing efforts can increase global appeal.
- Clear shipping deadlines are essential for customer confidence.
- Customer reviews and social proof help build trust during high-traffic sales events.
Final Thoughts
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are highly competitive, small adjustments can make a significant difference. Beyond the standard tactics, ensuring mobile optimization, preparing for high traffic and customer support, and leveraging tools like real-time inventory levels and abandoned cart recovery are essential. These often-overlooked details can improve customer experiences, boost conversions, and set businesses apart in a crowded ecommerce space. By integrating these nuanced strategies, ecommerce businesses can maximize their holiday season success while laying the groundwork for sustained growth. You also need to be prepared to pivot on potential adjustments and changes during the sales weekend. I can appreciate that Thursday is Thanksgiving, but every day after needs to be all-hands on to start the Q4 rush with a bang. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
