What will it take to get online shoppers to buy from you this Cyber Monday? Is it a quality product? The convenience? The ability to leverage pricing intelligence?
Perhaps it’s a great deal. Cyber Monday promotions are big business. KMPG’s Global Online Consumer Report noted that 46 percent of consumers shop online due to an online sale or better prices than in-store. The right promotion can draw in a lot of shoppers.
In fact, the National Retail Federation estimated each consumer this holiday season will spend more than $1,000 on average, good for total holiday spending up to $720 billion this year. More than half of that money is expected to be spent online.
So, how do you get a piece of the pie? Through effective Cyber Monday promotions. Let’s look at a few options.
The BOGO Promotion
One of the more effective Cyber Monday promotions is Buy One, Get One, or any variation—like Buy Two, Get One—on the classic promotion.
Speaking with Shopify, jewelry brand Bird + Stone explained that this type of promotion prompted customers to increase their average order value and improved click-through-rates for her company’s promotional emails.
In general, BOGO deals are typically viewed more favorably by consumers than other types of promotions. You can also use BOGO to move less-desirable inventory by bundling with best sellers, and, perhaps most importantly on Cyber Monday, attract more visitors to your website.
The Site-Wide Percent Off Promotion
Next up is the site-wide percent off promotion. Like BOGO, this tactic can work well to drive shoppers to your webstore at the desired time.
Site-wide percent off deals are most effective when offered for a limited time. This creates the perception of exclusivity to the deal and further hones the limited-time offer feel of the entire Cyber Monday holiday. For example, consider running this type of promotion from midnight to 2 a.m. This helps to position your business as a destination on Cyber Monday.
Another perk of this deal is that it doesn’t limit the savings to a specific category or product like a BOGO might. Given that it is a site-wide promotion, shoppers feel like they’re saving money on everything you offer. As KMPG found, the most important factor driving online purchase decisions was price and promotions.
The Free Shipping & Returns Promotion
Why shop online? For many, the answer is for that sweet, sweet free shipping. Whether or not you offer free shipping and returns year-round, you absolutely should promote this perk during Cyber Monday. The same KMPG study reported 29 percent of shoppers buy online for free shipping deals.
You can either tie free shipping to a minimum price point or offer free shipping across all items. Connecting this Cyber Monday promotion to a price helps increase average order value, although site-wide free shipping is just as valuable from a shopper’s perspective.
One of the biggest perks of free shipping and returns is to keep your business competitive with major retailers on Cyber Monday. Free two-day shipping has been one of the staples of Amazon’s Prime membership since its introduction, and Walmart, Target, and others offer free shipping throughout the year. It’s something shoppers have come to expect and promoting it on Cyber Monday helps get them to your webstore instead of just buying from Amazon.
Win with Your Cyber Monday Promotions
Cyber Monday is the most important time of year for online retailers. It, along with Black Friday, is the start of the holiday shopping season. There are billions of consumer dollars up for grabs, and the retailers who offer the best promotions could be the ones to get the biggest shares of the pie.
Are your Cyber Monday promotions ready to go? If not, fine-tune your strategy with Wiser’s promotional insights. Track competitor promotions and get the most out of your marketing this holiday season. Happy selling!
