Prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM)
Make the most of this year’s biggest shopping event.
The shopping season is upon us.
Sales generally increase around this time of year, but there are certain days that are particularly crucial for sales. If you sell online, then Black Friday and Cyber Monday is one that you should be paying attention to.
BFCM
For the uninitiated, Cyber Monday is the digital version of Black Friday, originating in America in 2005. It began when retailers recognised the opportunity to extend the popularity of Black Friday sales in their physical stores into their online channels. Retailers offer significant discounts and promotions with the intention of encouraging large volumes of sales.
Since 2012 Cyber Monday has taken over as the #1 shopping day of the year globally – and it is especially true this year. With Covid-19 still looming, the option to browse bargains from the comfort of your couch is more appealing to consumers.
If you want an opportunity to promote your business ahead of the Christmas period, BFCM is a great place to start. Read on for our promotion ideas below.
BFCM Promotion Ideas.
Pick the promotions that are relevant to you and get started with setting them up on your website. Some may not be as relevant to you as others, but the key is to use this season to generate sales and entice customers to come back for more.
Put some products on sale.
The best place to start with a sales promotion is to offer some discounts on your products. A good approach is to create a theme to help you decide which products to discount.
For Cyber Monday, you could discount some of your online-only products or a standard discount store-wide. Look at your margins and discount products, which have a higher percentage markup to maximise your profit from the promotion.
Whatever your approach, it’s easy to create promotions on a Storbie website. You can specify the products on sale by their assigned tags to give a dollar amount or a percentage discount.
Read more about how this works here.
Cart Discounts
Cart Discounts discount products once they are in the cart. This is a great way to increase your average order value because it encourages people to add extra items to the cart that they otherwise might not have purchased.
Make sure you give a consistent message to your customers. It can be confusing if some products are discounted and others aren’t, so it is best to keep things simple.
One option is to offer a percentage discount when a customer spends over a certain amount – say 10% if they spend over $100. Cart discounts are also a useful tool to create multi-buy promotions, such as buy two get one free on a certain brand or product type.
To set up a cart discount, this article has everything you need to know.
Coupon Codes
Coupon codes are a great way to give customers an 'exclusive offer' and make the connection between your website and your physical store. A simple promo code can encourage people to browse your website and make a purchase they might not have otherwise.
With Storbie you can create a custom coupon code and send it out to your customers – Use flyers in-store, your social media pages, or even your email subscriber list. This will maximise the opportunities to connect with your customers online and in-store.
Learn how to set up a coupon code on Storbie by reading this article.
Voucher Competitions
Voucher competitions are a fantastic, cost-effective way to reach people beyond your existing customers and followers. The most simple version of this is using social media.
Create a post announcing that you have a voucher to give away. To enter the competition all users need to do is like and comment on the post. You can also ask people to tag someone they would bring shopping with you if they won.
The benefit of this approach is that it makes your post visible to people who don’t follow you. Friends of your followers who comment on the post are more likely to see the post show up in their feed, providing you with free publicity. This increases awareness and might even get you more followers and future customers.
Read more about setting up a voucher here.
Here’s a graphic you can use in your post – or you can substitute it for a product image or a picture of your store or staff. Click here to download this image
Remember, these promotions are about the long game.
Running promotions at this time of the year isn’t simply about making more sales, it’s also a great way to convey value to your customers and build their trust in your brand.
If a customer visits your website, gets a great deal, and receives their order without hiccups – where do you think they will go when they are ready to purchase again? This puts you in a great position as your customers start to think about their gift-buying needs.
It is much easier to retain existing customers than it is to attract new ones, so why not grab the low-hanging fruit this shopping season?
Communication is Key: Order Status Email.
Communicating regularly on order fulfillment will save you time in the long run.
Storbie's order status emails will automatically send email updates to your customers as you process their order, letting them know when their order has been sent or is ready for collection. You also have the ability to customise these messages, allowing you to better match the tone of your brand.
The one that got away: Facebook Retargeting.
Facebook Pixel enables you to remarket to potential customers that have previously been on your website but abandoned their cart.
Cart abandonment is when site visitors place items in their shopping cart but don’t checkout. You can use Facebook Pixel data to run highly targeted cart abandonment ads to cart abandoners (low-hanging fruit) and hopefully persuade them to convert.
Higher cart value: Buy Now Pay Later options.
Buy now, pay later options work to increase basket size and improve conversion rates, all while making purchases more affordable for your customers. When buyers select the “Pay by Afterpay” option at the checkout, they are required to pay just one-quarter of the total cost upfront before receiving their order. The remainder owing will be paid in fortnightly instalments.
The sale is immediately completed and Storbie shop owners receive payment from the gateway.
Storbie currently supports AfterPay and LayBuy.
Need some help?
If you have any questions or need further assistance with promotions, contact our support team at support@storbie.com for guidance.