Cyber Monday is a great online event idea to work with the traditional brick and mortar Black Friday sales events to kick off the holiday shopping season. This year, with the economy in a slump, retailers will need to find new ways to lure shoppers to their sites and stores. Average spending is forecasted to be almost half of what it was per consumer this year so trying to wrestle those dollars out of the hand’s of consumers will take more then your usual free shipping offer.
Start early - in year’s past you might be able to guage sales and then create some last week quick ship and late shopper sales to capture some additional sales. I wouldn’t wait this year to create interest and traffic with your best offerings. Give them time to get out there and try to beat your competitors with best offers. You may not get a second chance at consumers making that ‘ just one more gift ‘ purchase. Assume the budgets will be tight and get what you can.
I would also concentrate on total cart value this year. You have a better shot using effective up sells and cross sells to add to average order value then you do with larger ticket items. If you are selling hats, make sure gloves, ear muffs, and scarves are on the quick add to cart list. Seems obvious, but incremental items in the cart, especially lower price items, could improve your revenue per order. Mercado is a great tool to serve up automatic cross sells and upsells. If you don’t have it, take a look at your data often and switch up the cross sells according to your ‘also bought’ stats.
