How to get the most out of black friday & cyber monday
With Black Friday right around the corner, Amazon sellers are getting ready for the giant sales day. As you probably know, Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year in the US. And in recent years, more and more shoppers are staying home and shopping online for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday to get their holiday deals. According to Statista, online spending via desktop devices on Cyber Monday reached six billion dollars in 2020. As more shoppers get their holiday gifts online, Amazon sellers must prepare themselves for the shopping heyday. Here we’ll go over promotion ideas for sellers to reap the greatest profit and get the most out of the holiday shopping season.
advertising
One of the best ways to garner attention for your business before holiday shopping is to advertise. Business owners often run huge marketing campaigns in preparation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is important to give your buyers some information in advance about what the sale is going to look like. One great way to engage consumers is to give them a sneak peek before the actual sale day. Sellers can do this by showing a few of the products that are going on sale. Sneak peeks get customers excited for the big sale and create suspense leading up to the holidays. Sellers can advertise the upcoming sales in many ways. Some of the most common promotional strategies are email marketing, SMS (text) marketing, social media, and video ads. Sellers should diversify their advertising strategy by advertising directly on Amazon and off the platform as well. Amazon offers various options for advertising such as Sponsored Ads and Amazon Stores. To learn more about the different types of Amazon advertising, check out our blog here.
product release
Another way to make the most out of Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping is to release a new product on the sales days. Releasing a new product is a great strategy because it creates attention all on its own. Customers are always ready for new products and releasing something new is a surefire way to get more consumer engagement and increase sales on the big day. As a part of your advertising strategy, sellers should build up to the product release through advertising in the weeks prior. Sellers can release the product on Black Friday and make it only available through Cyber Monday. This will draw consumers in to see what the product is and create a sense of urgency for them to buy it before it’s gone.
free shipping
Free shipping is a must-have for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In of itself, the offer of free shipping is always enticing to consumers. So much so that in a 2017 survey, 73% of shoppers stated that free shipping greatly impacts their decision to buy a product online. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it is especially important to offer free shipping because consumers are expecting big sales. Free shipping will further push consumers to purchase more and will psychologically make them feel like they are getting a bargain.
extend sales into cyber monday
A great way to keep the profits coming in is to extend your sales into Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday came to be as the Monday following the shopping extravaganza that is Black Friday. Many businesses wanted to continue to make a profit, and so started offering the same deals on what is now known as Cyber Monday. Offering deals through Cyber Monday gives consumers a lot more time to purchase your products. Sellers can differentiate between the two days by offering exclusive products on Black Friday, and different products on Cyber Monday. It is also acceptable to simply offer the same deals from Friday through Monday. Many consumers appreciate the extra few days to browse the products and do not like to feel rushed. Extending sales to Cyber Monday will prevent website crashes and other issues that can arise from too many people trying to order in one day.
rewards
A great incentive for customers to buy your products during holiday shopping is for you to offer free gifts with a purchase on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Sellers can get creative with the gifts and have them be Christmas-themed. This makes Black Friday shopping all the more fun for customers and gets them in the holiday spirit. Additionally, consumers love hearing the word “free”, so advertising a free gift is an effective way to get higher click-through and conversion rates, even on an ordinary shopping day. Sellers can also offer rewards for buying during holiday shopping. For instance, you can offer coupons or promotion codes that customers will be able to use later in the year as rewards for shopping on Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
online aesthetic
Just like stores decorate for the holidays, it is important for online sellers to create the proper aesthetic for consumers during the holiday season. To get consumers excited about holiday shopping, sellers can decorate their product listings that will be promoted the most with holiday graphics. Amazon sellers can take advantage of A+ content here and make listings look festive and holiday-themed to draw customers in. The same goes for your Amazon Stores page and any advertisements you release prior to the big day. Everyone loves the holidays so consumers will have positive associations with your brand if they see your listings dressed up for the season. This also makes shopping more fun for consumers and will further motivate them to browse your products. Sellers can extend this to packaging as well and include festive packaging for products sold on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This will give customers that extra something that will keep them coming back to your brand.
charity incentive
Finally, a wholesome way for sellers to promote Black Friday deals is to pledge to donate a certain percentage of profits to a worthwhile cause. Sellers can take creative agency on this and make the pledge for specific products, or for Black Friday sales in general. Offering to donate part of the profits is great for a brand’s image and reputation and will also work very well as the theme of an advertising campaign you can release before the holiday sales. If consumers know your brand will be doing some good on the holidays, it will create positive associations with the brand and entice shoppers to browse your products. With pledging to donate, sellers should determine what percentage of sales and which products to make the pledge for makes sense for their profit margin.
All in all, there are many ways to get creative for the holiday shopping season and release successful promotions leading up to Black Friday. As it is the busiest shopping day of the year, sellers will want to put in the proper time and resources to really take advantage of the unique selling experience. Now you have everything you need to launch successful promotions for Black Friday and see success and growth during the holiday season. Happy selling!