Are You Ready for the Holidays? 3 Large Online Shopping Dates to Keep in Mind!
Believe it or not, Holiday shopping is already in full swing this year! I am sure I am not the only one who noticed holiday decorations out in the large box stores in September! This means many consumers have already begun looking for those special gifts. Many of those gifts will be purchased online rather than traveling to a traditional brick and mortar location. Despite this, some retailers may still be having a hard time getting those online shoppers through virtual checkout lines, so how does this affect you as an online retailer?
As an online retailer, you have a couple of dates to keep in mind…
Black Friday – November 25, 2016 – The day after Thanksgiving… Most of us want to stay in bed and sleep off all that turkey and gravy, but this is also a great time to get your online shoppers pumped for sales! Heck, you can start these sales Thanksgiving night, as more and more online merchants are starting to do. Typically, this is a large shopping day for brick and mortar retailers, but in the last few years, more and more online merchants are running huge promotions and sales! You can too!
Cyber Monday – November 28, 2016 – This is by far, the largest online shopping day of the year. According to Wikipedia, In 2014, Cyber Monday online sales grew to a record $2.68 billion. Considering Cyber Monday has only been around since 2005, those are pretty great stats! If you aren’t going to market for Black Friday, you most definitely need to run specials and promotions for Cyber Monday!
Free Shipping Day – December 16, 2016 – This is the newest Holiday shopping day and is especially great for all your customers who procrastinate. On the promotional holiday, consumers can shop from both large and small online merchants that offer free shipping with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve. If you missed out on offering those Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, why don’t you try a free shipping promotion?
According to their website, FreeShippingDay.com, Free Shipping Day, became the third-heaviest day for online shopping in U.S. history just two years after it was created. Free Shipping Day beat Black Friday’s online spending two years in a row by over $250 million. To participate, or for more details on Free Shipping Day’s free service, visit: http://www.freeshippingday.com/merchant-sign-up/
Nexternal Tip – Send an email to your customers ON Free Shipping Day to advertise your participation. Sending it beforehand may cause sales to decrease in the days leading up to it since people would be looking forward to the Free Shipping.
*To qualify, Nexternal clients can offer the peace of mind for on-time delivery by turning on the Preferred Delivery Date feature in Settings/Site Options/Expected Fulfillment. This will allow users to specify their ideal date of package arrival.
Coming from a medical and non-profit management background, Taryn has extensive experience in customer service and marketing. She is a Senior Account Manager for Nexternal and loves working with her clients to develop social media and marketing strategies to improve their online presence. In her spare time, she also runs a successful eCommerce jewelry and essential oils business.
