Here come the Hordes – Ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Posted on | November 19, 2007 |

Thanksgiving. It’s a time to appreciate each other and all of the blessings the year has brought. The very next day, it’s the time for retailers to remind everyone what they don’t have and that the holiday shopping period is right around the corner! The season begins with the famed retail holiday “Black Friday” when consumers use the energy acquired from their hearty Thanksgiving dinners to dig through newspapers packed with coupons and announcements about “Early Bird Specials,” followed by traffic jams and crowded shopping malls. As if Black Friday isn’t enough, the following Monday everyone goes back to work and shops for gifts online creating the e-commerce holiday “Cyber Monday”.

The Facts About Holiday Shopping in 2007:

• 37% of consumers say that they will be shopping on Black Friday (compared to 34% in 2006).

• The average Black Friday customer will spend an estimated $790 on holiday purchases (compared to the non-Black Friday customer who will spend $637).

• The term “Black Friday” was used as a search term 348% in November of 2006 compared to November 2005.

• Top sites will receive 2,145,000 clicks/minute on Cyber Monday· Online sales on Cyber Monday are 218% higher than any other Monday throughout the year (data from eMarketer and partnercentric.com).

Here’s some tips to make sure you’re engaging every potential buyer:

Tip 1: Get Ready –
Encourage site visitors to Sign-up for Email Newsletters that will alert you to great deals and exclusive discount offers. On SheFinds we promote exclusive deals every week in our SaleThursday newsletter. As a retailer use your newsletters to give subscribers early access to sales and additional discounts.

Snag the indecisive buyer by offering price alerts. There are sites you can partner with that will notify online by email shoppers when an item is marked down such as ShopitToMe.com, thereby driving bargain hunters to your site.

Tip 2: Get Set –Make sure your goods are offered shopping search engines. Comparison shopping search engines—sites such as shopping.com and shopzilla.com are frequently the first stop for shoppers looking to ferret out the best prices on commodity items – like Samsung and Sharp’s high-def screen TV’s - ultra-hot ietms this year.

Also partner with specialty search engines that specialize in your category – for instance thefind.com and like.com both specialize in fashion and accessories.

Tip 3: Go –
Get your merchandise up early – some sites like bluefly.com post new merchandise and deals at 6:30 AM — make sure your site inventory is updated for the early birds.

Get listed on Deal Specific sites – SheFinds’ Deal of the Day promotes great deals on fashion and beauty - Woot.com offers a huge discount on limited quantity one day one deal - mostly electronics.

Coupon Sites – Get the word out about tyour special promotions by listing your coupons and promo codes with the places people go to look for deals. Flamingo World, Coupon Cabin and RetailMeNot.com are all must-visits for couponers. Keycode.com distributes private label coupon sites to thousands of small publishers – see it in action at SheFindsCoupons.com - and also offers printable coupons to get those consumers who prefer the brick and mortar experience.

Seen any out of the box holiday promotions? Share them in the comments.

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