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Your Cyber Monday 2019 Checklist For Holiday Success
We’ve all heard the tales of Black Friday — people waiting in line at three in the morning to score slashed prices on all the gifts and fancy tech they can get their hands on. However, Cyber Monday has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, and it’s only getting bigger. In 2018, consumers spent $7.9 billion online on Cyber Monday, and this year is set to be even bigger. For businesses, this is a massive opportunity to boost holiday revenue. But to make the most of it, you need to prepare. Here’s your Cyber Monday 2019 checklist to ensure you’re ready for the big day.
The Technical Side: Make Sure Your Tech Can Withstand Cyber Monday Traffic
There is predicted to be close to 100 million people, if not more, shopping on Cyber Monday 2019. Is your tech stack equipped to support a burgeoning number of users while still running quickly? Here are some things to consider when priming your retail pump for Cyber Monday.
Site Speed
A fast website is a key part of offering a great customer experience in eCommerce. Slow-loading websites cost retailers $2.6 billion in lost sales each year, and 47% of users expect a page to load in two seconds or less. Cyber Monday is a retail holiday which is about deals, not about loyalty, so consumers won’t hang around if you take too long! Luckily, Google has an excellent tool to check the average loading speed for your site. Not only will this allow you to see how quickly or slowly your site loads: it’ll also help you diagnose potential issues so you can fix them ahead of Cyber Monday 2019. Additional tips for improving site speed, courtesy of Moz, are: Enable compression on programming files: you can use GZip or similar software. Also, minimize HTTP requests, optimize images, and leverage browser caching. If your site relies on any wireless automation components—like a wireless learning code relay for remote monitoring or a mhz learning code relay for smart inventory systems—ensure those backend processes don’t slow down the frontend experience. A relay rf receiver or rf receiver module used in warehouse management should be tested under load to avoid lag.
Mobile Compatibility
It’s predicted that 46% of Cyber Monday 2019 shoppers will be shopping with a mobile device. Is your site compatible with browsing on mobile or tablet devices? Hostgator has some excellent tips for making your site accessible and easy to use for people on mobile:
- Make Your Website Responsive
- Don’t use Flash.
- Include the Viewport Meta Tag.
- Turn autocorrect on for forms.
- Allow an easy way to switch to desktop view.
- Offer mobile wallet payment options like Apple Pay.
- Regularly perform mobile testing.
Checking these things off of your Cyber Monday 2019 checklist will ensure that you get maximum purchases on the big day! For businesses using industrial or farm automation, consider how mobile-friendly your backend interfaces are—like a farm smart switch or gate opener remote switch that might need app-based control. A wireless gate opener switch or garage wireless power relay should be accessible via mobile for quick adjustments during high-traffic periods.
Don’t Forget Backups!
Anyone who’s ever lost any kind of important data after a computer failure understands the importance of backups. On your website, it’s no different: keeping backups of your transaction data and even of the site itself can save you immense amounts of time in the face of an outage or site failure under high-traffic. If you host your store with BigCommerce, our partner Rewind.io can back up all of your sensitive and important data automatically. That includes products, product details, product images, themes, customers, orders, and more. Help Cyber Monday 2019 go off without a hitch by making sure that if something does go wrong, you’ve got a backup plan! For physical operations, consider backing up your automation systems too—like a channel wireless relay or v remote relay that controls critical warehouse functions. A warehouse wireless switch or industrial wireless automation setup should have a fail-safe in case of power loss or network issues.
Cyber Monday 2019 Marketing Strategies
Even though Cyber Monday drives a lot of traffic on its own, it doesn’t hurt to encourage users to purchase your product, rather than your competitors’. These clever marketing ideas can make your brand rise up from amongst the rest during the holiday season!
1. One-day Deals
Create a special one-day deal that is only available on Cyber Monday. For example, if you have a specific product that is extremely popular, drop the price or bundle the product to make it even more attractive for the holiday. A great example is this “20% Limited Time Offer” on Cases.com:
2. Surprise Products
Do you have something that your customers are always asking for? This can even be something as small as a set of new colors in something that you are already offering. If so, consider creating and releasing it on Cyber Monday for an additional boost in sales as well as word-of-mouth marketing. Check out this new release from Jigsaw Health as an example:
The more people that are talking about you, the more incoming holiday traffic you’ll get! For tech-focused businesses, a surprise product could be a new mhz ac relay switch or v marine relay that solves a common pain point. A rf remote receiver upgrade or wireless learning code relay bundle could generate buzz among enthusiasts.
3. Philanthropic Giveaways
In 2012, a coalition of more than 1400 charities launched Giving Tuesday as a follow-up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Kick-off your holiday giving by pledging a certain amount of your Cyber Monday 2019 earnings to a charity that aligns with your company’s values. Modavanti did that this year by donating 10 percent of each sale.
Don’t forget to let shoppers know about it through emails or an informational slider on your website ahead of time. You can even include a notification at the top of their shopping cart on the day of with a calculation of how much their purchase will contribute! For companies involved in environmental tech, consider tying your giveaway to causes like Artificial Lake Water Circulation or Industrial Vacuum Pumping Station projects that promote sustainability. A Hydroponics Nutrient Pump Control initiative could resonate with eco-conscious buyers.
4. Offer An Additional Gift Beyond Free Shipping
Think about what items you could bundle together to sweeten the pot and thank your customers for shopping with you on Cyber Monday. The extra push may mean the difference between them buying with you or with a competitor. The online Gift With Purchase community (such as the [GWP Addicts blog) is huge — you could even get some free word-of-mouth-marketing from your decision! For industrial or automation brands, a free gate wireless switch or wireless gate opener switch accessory could be a compelling add-on.
5. Advertise Based On Location
A convincing 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations. Use customer data to advertise things that are actually relevant to them, and you’ll see a steep increase in purchases. For example, if you were a clothing retailer, marketing warm weather clothing to customers in warmer climates, and jackets and long pants to those in cooler climates. For tech products, target users in coastal areas with v marine relay solutions, or offer mhz home automation relay deals to urban dwellers. A rf receiver module promotion could be tailored to hobbyists in tech-heavy regions.
6. Create Some Special Interest Gift Guides
Many people shopping on Cyber Monday are doing so to get sweet deals on gifts for loved ones during the holidays. Take advantage of that with customized gift guides for your users! For example, last holiday season WeWork did the #wwgiftguide, and for each week of the holiday season they created different guides: “gifts with a personal touch,” “gifts to get the party started,” “gifts for the family,” and “gifts for the digital nomad.”
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Guiding users through your products can boost sales and even prompt them to buy things that they hadn’t thought of before. Another effective way to do this is with a holiday lookbook like Pink Lilly Boutique did:
For automation brands, a gift guide could feature “Smart Home Starter Kits” with a wireless learning code relay and rf remote receiver, or “Farm Tech Essentials” including a farm smart switch and gate opener remote switch. A “Marine Automation” section could highlight v marine relay and channel wireless relay products for boat owners.
Cyber Monday 2019 is a huge opportunity for sales and customer engagement, but don’t let it scare you! By doubling down on your site infrastructure and prepping your marketing tactics ahead of time, you’ll be able to kick off the holiday spending season with a bang.
This is a guest post by Corinne Watson. Corinne is a writer and researcher at BigCommerce, where she works directly with agency and technology partners to bring their tools, services and ideas to the commerce industry at large with educational content. When she’s not working, she’s creating and designing for fun online.
