Introduction
Are you feeling the buzz and energy in the shopping and eCommerce sector now? Yes, it is almost that time of the year! The Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) sale is just a few weeks away. But are you ready and well prepared for it? Let’s find out!
In the BFCM sales in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had set in worldwide, Shopify merchants made sales worth an astounding $5.1 billion, 76% higher than 2019. This spike shows the shift from physical brick-and-mortar shopping to online eCommerce shopping.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still not over, there is a high chance that this trend will continue even this year. But it’s best not to leave all the planning till the end for such a massive scale. Therefore, we have put together a checklist that you should follow before the Black Friday Cyber Monday sale begins.
Planning to Upgrade Your Shopify Store for Black Friday Cyber Monday Sales?
The Shopify development store allows you to test your app and change the look and function of the themes. But an event like the BFCM sales calls for an extra amount of preparation. And what better way to step up the game than by upgrading your Shopify store to Shopify Plus?
With Shopify Plus, you can customize your entire checkout stage and make it more intuitive, scale your business to higher levels, leverage the power of data and analytics, and a whole lot more! These upgrades will help you make your store ready for the BFCM sale storm.
What is the Best Time to Launch Your Black Friday Cyber Monday Sale?
A common misconception among Shopify merchants is that the Black Friday Cyber Monday sales begin on Black Friday only. But the truth is that to maximize your output from this event, you should start as early as possible.
Surveys show that more than half of the customers begin their BFCM research and shopping even before November commences. The best thing you can do is start planning and strategizing much before the event.
You can then start subtle marketing and promotions for your deals and offers towards the end of October or at least two to three weeks before Black Friday. But ensure that you ramp up your advertising and promotion campaigns during the BFCM week.
Checklist to Help You Rock Sales on Cyber Monday!
Prepare Your Website For Increase in Traffic
During the BFCM sale, a surge in website traffic goes without saying. What is important is that you should ensure that your website is ready to handle that surge. If it isn’t, then your website may crash during spikes in traffic.
Naturally, customers get frustrated when an eCommerce store crashes. Such things hinder your brand reputation, and you also lose out on sales. While Shopify is well equipped to handle sudden spikes in website traffic, you can use their analytics and tools to analyze the traffic and test your website.
Activate and Check Coupon Codes
Another issue that can be disastrous for your brand during the BFCM sales is if the coupon or discount codes don’t work during checkout. Offers and discounts are the whole reason for the sale, thereby making them highly crucial.
To avoid any issues, activate and check if the coupon codes are working. On your Shopify dashboard, ensure that the discount details, start date, end date, etc., are all perfect.
To attract more customers, you need better BFCM deals. Here are a few Shopify Black Friday deal ideas to boost your sales.
- First X people get 50% off, the next Y people get 35% off, and so on
- Buy for a chance to win a specific prize
- Get a bonus gift on a specific cart value
- Get a free gift on every purchase
- Buy 1 Get 1 Free (BOGO)
- A fixed-per cent discount with free shipping
- A fixed amount off on all products
- A fixed percent off for all new customers
Check Inventory
Like checking your coupon and discount codes, check if your inventory is stacked up for the big sale week. If a few products are unavailable, place an order for them as soon as possible to avoid any last-minute mishaps.
Ensure Staff Availability
An online eCommerce store needs staff members to complete and ship orders. Ensure that your workforce is ready and available for sale. Hiring additional staff or getting some help from friends and family during the sale period can also turn out to be an excellent decision.
Double Down on Paid Promotions
Paid promotions include promoted posts on social media, pay-per-click (PPC) ads on search engines, video advertisements, etc. Such promotions help you reach out to a larger audience and thus enhance your brand awareness.
Double your efforts and inputs in paid promotions during your marketing campaign to enhance reach and drive more traffic to your website.
For instance, you can collaborate with an influencer on social media platforms like Instagram. This way, your brand name increases through the influencer.
Speed up Your Website
As mentioned in the first point, customers can get frustrated if your website crashes during the sale. Similarly, customers can also get annoyed and may even abandon doing business if your website is slow.
To avoid such problems, use Shopify’s tools to check your store’s speeds and enhance its speed if needed.
We also need to ensure that any app you own is not slowing down the store speed.
Conclusion
The Black Friday Cyber Monday sale is one of the biggest events of the year for any business. Follow the checklist mentioned above, add more items to the list according to your requirements, and keep ticking those boxes as you near the BFCM sale to make the most out of this event.
If this is your first Black Friday Cyber Monday, treat it as a learning experience. Stay motivated and ambitious, set realistic expectations, and remember to enjoy the ride.
To further capitalize on the BFCM sale, you can also get in touch with Centous Solutions. We can help you develop your Shopify eCommerce store so that it is ready for the event. We also assist in marketing strategies to enhance your brand awareness.
Contact us, and let’s create the path for an amazing Black Friday Cyber Monday sale this year!
