For years shoppers have been going crazy for Black Friday sales, embracing the sport-like event and battling it out (literally) for bargains in-store. In more recent times though, we’ve seen a significant shift in the way shoppers choose to operate.

Customers are savvy to the fact that a wider range of bargains can be found online and in addition, know they can complete the shopping process in a fraction of the time. Goodbye, long car-park queues!

Consumer behaviour – and their demands – are making the big retailers stand up and listen. More and more physical shops vanishing each year, and being replaced with Online Stores.

So how do the smaller players – like solo online sellers – compete with the big players and compete in seasonal cyber-selling?

1. Spend money to make money  

As the old adage goes, you have to spend money to make money!

For starters, invest in some paid Facebook advertising, which you can use on any budget. With this method, choose your audience based on demographics, behaviours or contact information. Using the advert reporting tools, watch how these adverts have impacted your business. Learn about the pricing structure involved with this type of paid advertising here.

In addition, implement a pay-per-click (PPC) management software to your site. PPC software consolidates your campaigns, giving you all the visibility and control you need to launch, manage, analyse and optimise your paid search advertising.

2. Entice with incentives

Considering the vast amount of competition in the eCommerce sphere, relying on only your product to bring in the sales won’t do – you need to create an advantage over your competition.

Introduce incentives such as:

  • Free shipping
  • Empty basket promotions
  • Free gift with purchase
  • Store credit with purchase

In addition to listing these on your website, publicise theoffers by emailing your client database and by creating awareness on social media.

3. Add some urgency

Have you ever bought something  you don’t particular need right now but you’re worried you’ll miss out on getting it later? The fear of missing out is real.

Create some major ‘FOMO’ in your promotions by giving people a deadline to buy your product. Urgency is a form of influence, which works well when combined with promotional offers. By generating anxiety within the buyer, it can make them feel like they might lose out if they don’t act swiftly.

Use key phrases like “one day only sale!”, “last chance to buy!” or “limited stock” in your promotion. In addition, implement a countdown clock on your page to show how long they have left to purchase.

4. Stock up on supplies

Make sure you can service your customers properly. If you generally get a lot of traffic to your site, be prepared for an overload of users during this period – especially if you have ticked the above tips off your list.

Cyber Monday is the holiday literally dedicated to online sales and people will be ready to click like there’s no tomorrow. Make sure you have enough stock to actually fulfill your orders – customers won’t hold back giving you a bad review if they don’t receive their product in a timely fashion!

5. Optimise for mobile

In the 2016 holiday season, according to independentretailer.com, mobile phones accounted for half of online retailers’ traffic and nearly one-third of their sales.

“A 2016 study found that more than half of mobile users would leave a site that takes longer than three seconds to load. Your category and product menus should be easy to navigate on a small screen, and your mobile checkout process should be easy and secure to reduce cart abandonment”.

For more information on how to optimise your eCommerce store for mobile, check out Tradegecko’s guide here.

6. Open a World Account 

By setting up a World Account, online sellers can access seven currency accounts from one easy-to-use platform.

Online sellers can make and receive foreign payments, directly from their account – making international transfers simpler and faster.

Whether it’s accepting foreign currency payments from global customers, paying salaries overseas or making supplier payments directly from your account,the platform makes it easier to unlock new markets and pursue international growth.

Check out the below video:

Speak to a WorldFirst currency specialist today to find out more on +61 2 8298 4997 or visit our website

 

 

 

 

 

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