Tips To Prepare Your D2C Store For Black Friday And Cyber Monday

October 7, 2020DIRECT TO CONSUMER, ECOMMERCE

Get ready for a busier Cyber Monday

As you may have predicted, this year’s biggest shopping weekend will be predominantly online. With less of a possibility for door-buster deals, it’s more likely that online sales will start earlier this year and last longer than the usual Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. 

What you may not know is that over two dozen major retailers have signed on for a brand new holiday shopping event — 10.10. Hence the name, it begins on October 10 and its goal is to pull holiday shopping into October to lighten the usual burden on retailers in November.

“In a survey by Shopkick, 34% of U.S. shoppers indicated that they would make their holiday purchases before Thanksgiving” this year, most likely due to the effects of the pandemic.

Many shoppers have decided to trade the time they’d usually spend standing in line for finding the best deals online instead. Make sure you’re actively communicating your Shopify store’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday offers as early as possible this year. Also, be prepared to extend your offers beyond Black Friday/Cyber Monday to keep up with the competition, as long as you can afford to.

Organize your upcoming sales

Look at, and take note of, all of the products you offer and the inventory you have available. Use what you learn to plan your deals and discounts ahead of time rather than putting on a last-minute sale. Getting the word out early allows for your offers to reach the right sets of eyes in time. 

Learning how to set up different discounts to your Shopify store can help you sell inventory you have more of, rather than just enabling a store-wide discount. Be sure to thoroughly review your margins and inventory when applying discounts to avoid any hiccups during this primetime of year. The last thing you want in 2020 is for your store to procure a bad reputation from unfulfilled customers.

Retarget past visitors and customers

When you retarget previous visitors, you’re reaching out to people who may have just been browsing your store before they were ready to make a purchase. Remind them about your store and let them know that you’ve got sales coming up for the big shopping weekend.

You can also retarget your previous customers. On average, a whopping 65% of sales come from repeat customers. This means that spending time retaining them is often much more cost effective than acquiring new customers. 

With existing customers being generally easier to successfully market to than brand new customers, they’ll be especially receptive to your latest Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.

If you’ve already set up a Facebook Pixel on your store, now’s the time to use it. 

Turn seasonal shoppers into year-round customers

Don’t let your new customer relationships end after Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Instead, take steps to communicate with them the rest of the year. Even if they wait to buy until the next year’s big shopping season, they’ll think of you first. 

Keep your customers engaged throughout the year by staying active on social media and sending out post-sale emails to your subscribers. If those seasonal, one-time shoppers didn’t subscribe to your email list or follow your social media accounts, then circle back around to retargeting and give them another chance. Invite them back to your website with attractive ad copy, and entice them your latest or most-relevant products.

Marketing automation is a great way to send out regular emails, not to the point that they’re overwhelming, but enough to keep your customers engaged. If used correctly, it can allow you to target customers based on data from things like behavior, preferences, and previous sales increasing the lifetime value of a customer. Letting visitors know that you care enough to remember them can ensure that you’re the first place they think of when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Here’s to a successful Black Friday Cyber Monday

As a Shopify store owner, preparation, proper planning, and early implementation are going to be driving factors for a successful Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Following these tips is a borderline scientific formula for success, both during and after this year’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday. It also wouldn’t hurt to toss a little good luck in, due to these unpredictable times. Stay motivated and ambitious, set realistic expectations, and remember to enjoy the ride.

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