‘Tis the season to shop ‘till you drop, with a growing number of ecommerce holidays offering deep discounts and other fun promotions. As a marketer, do you know how many ecommerce holidays we have in the last two months of the year?

More importantly, do you know how to stand out besides offering discounts?

We’ve got you.

 

End of year ecommerce holidays and how to make them profitable (besides impressive discounts)

The overarching theme for all ecommerce holidays is the same – great customer experience, great products, great prices – but we’ll give you some practical tips to increase your bottom line in each one.

Let’s start counting.

1) Singles’ Day (November 11)

If you’ve ever been single for an extended time period, you’ve felt the pressure everywhere – from your family to the movies. No matter what you accomplish in life, society will still define you by your singlehood. At a certain point, four college students in China had enough of that, and they created Singles’ Day, a day where singles claim their status and treat themselves.

They chose 11/11 as the date, since it’s like 4 singles standing together.

Surprisingly, couples have claimed this day too. Many choose to get married on 11/11, so…

Should you promote Singles’ Day to couples?

=> If you’re in the wedding industry, yes.

=> Otherwise, we recommend empowering your single customers. Couples get celebrated plenty in this culture. Be the one to encourage singles to celebrate other relationships – with family, friends, pets and mainly with themselves. In a world that puts them down, you can be the voice that builds them up and celebrates everything else they’ve got to offer.

As Statista puts it, “compared to Singles’ Day, Cyber Monday and Black Friday, the biggest online shopping days in the United States, look like exercises in frugality.” Therefore, Singles’ Day is definitely an opportunity for a messaging boost. If you do this well, you could turn this immediate revenue increase, combined with emotional connections with your customers, which are bound to keep converting long term.

Source: Statista

 

2) Black Friday (November 25)

Back in 1869, two investors drove up the price of gold and crashed the stock market. For many businesses, the resulting financial loss was the origin of Black Friday, reports Business Insider. In the 1980s, retailers turned the meaning upside down, it added:

=> Accountants marked earnings in black and losses in red.

=> Retailers turned Black Friday into the ultimate shopping holiday, to increase sales and generate great profits – to be in the black.

Nowadays, some retailers offer Black Friday deals for an entire month, or even the entire holiday season.

Differentiate your company in the ocean of non stop Black Friday promotions

=> Provide the best customer service – post-purchase, too. You can have the best deals, but if you offer a terrible customer experience, many customers will go elsewhere.

=> Offer deals that are actually worth taking… and talking about with friends and social media followers.

=> Present promotions that go beyond discounts. You could give shoppers access to webinars or offline get togethers with experts or influencers to maximize success with their purchases, or offer that they participate in a roundtable regarding your next product launch.

 

3) Small Business Saturday (November 26)

In 2010, during the recession, American Express introduced Small Business Saturday to encourage Americans to support small businesses and empower communities. Additionally, when you buy from a small business owner, you’re directly impacting their ability to provide for themselves and their families or to realize their other dreams.

Empower your community and bottom line for Small Business Saturday

=> Partner with complementary, yet non-competitive, businesses to cross-promote each other.

=> Throw a community-based event. For example, if you sell musical instruments, offer free guitar workshops or let locals perform at your store.

=> Give back to local nonprofits. Maybe a percentage of your profit that day can go toward a charity. Instead, maybe you can give extra discounts to customers who donate.

 

4) Cyber Monday (November 28)

The sprint of ecommerce holidays continues with Cyber Monday – the first Monday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. But here, too, offering discounts is just the first step.

Ensure your website is ready for Cyber Monday

=> Verify your website, customer service and logistics can handle the extra work.

=> Make your website easy to use for everyone – decently sized fonts, convenient page division, efficient on-site search and as many accessibility options as you can provide.

=> Personalize customers’ experience as much as possible – from the ads their segment gets to the products that are offered to them on your site.

 

5) Green Monday (December 12)

In today’s culture, Green Monday might sound like an environmentally friendly ecommerce holiday, but it actually represents the big bucks of one of the most profitable days of the year. The term was coined by eBay in 2007, when environmental awareness was even less at the forefront than it is now.

Earn the big bucks on Green Monday

=> Ensure purchases’ Christmas arrival. Alternatively, if you can’t, be clear on that. Keeping customers’ trust is easier than earning it from scratch after they’ve been disappointed.

=> Claim Green Monday’s environmentally friendly associations. Customers care about the way their purchases make a difference. Buying decisions are easy ways to make an impact on such a huge challenge. Highlight any green products or packaging you have, or raise money with shoppers for an environmental cause.

Source: Deloitte

 

6) Super Saturday (AKA Panic Saturday) (December 17)

Super Saturday takes place the last Saturday before Christmas, and it’s usually responsible for super sales for retailers from panicked customers, who haven’t finished their holiday shopping yet – hence both names. Super Saturday is all about in-store foot traffic, since it’s usually too late to ship presents and have them arrive in time for Christmas, but your website can play a significant role in this shopping holiday, too.

Make Super Saturday a super ecommerce holiday (whether or not you can ship in time for Christmas)

=> Retarget cart drop offs from other ecommerce holidays. Some customers might still be on the fence regarding gifts, and your ad could be just the thing they need to make a choice.

=> Overcome the “can’t ship by Christmas” challenge by offering in-store pickups or marketing Super Saturday as the chance to buy yourself something for the new year.

 

7) National Free Shipping Day (December 18)

Who wouldn’t want free shipping and guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve? National Free Shipping Day is the day to offer both for late shoppers, or to just anyone that wants to save a few bucks, especially in an expensive season like this. It’s a great way to generate sales from customers who would have otherwise left a purchase for “one day,” or to get customers to choose you over competitors if they still need Christmas Eve deliveries.

But before you offer free shipping, run some numbers to verify you can actually afford to do so, and make a plan to minimize risk.

Minimize risk and increase your gains on National Free Shipping Day

=> Limit free shipping to anything above a certain order value.

=> Alternatively, consider lifetime value instead of present day order value. There might be a long time customer, a big spender, that only needs a small product on National Free Shipping Day. This customer is still worth your investment because it pays off in her/his lifetime value and advocacy.

=> Offer free shipping to customers who sign up to your members’ club, or at least your email list. This way, you get the opportunity to keep nurturing the relationship and encourage them to buy again.

=> Make sure your logistic systems are set to meet delivery deadlines. You work so hard up the chain to wow your customers – you don’t want to lose them over that last mile.

 

8) Boxing Day (December 26)

Once upon a time, Boxing Day meant boxing up gifts to give to those in need. Now, for many people, it means shopping boxes. Celebrated mostly in the United Kingdom and countries that used to be its colonies, it’s a day dedicated to time with loved ones, sports and shopping.

Earn some extra revenue right before the year ends

=> If it’s relevant for your business, link your products to upcoming new beginnings. How can your products support customers in realizing dreams in the new year? Alternatively, focus your messaging on enjoying the present moment of the long awaited holiday season.

=> Some customers will use this holiday as an opportunity to return gifts. Welcome that opportunity with open arms. Offer deeper discounts than those you already offer on Boxing Day, or store credit, to encourage them to try another product, and see how valuable your business can be for them.

 

Do you need to celebrate all ecommerce holidays to finish the year strong?

Not necessarily. Some businesses will definitely benefit from celebrating all ecommerce holidays, while others are better off focusing on one holiday and making it the best their customers have experienced.

You need to consider what’s doable for your business. This includes how much in-store and back office support you can provide, how much traffic your website can handle, whether you can ship products in time for the holidays, and how much you can afford to reduce prices.

Once you figure it out, you can turn your attention to wowing your customers with so much delight, that these ecommerce holidays convert into long term, mutually beneficial, relationships.

 

With user acquisition being a major cost for most m-commerce apps, here are some helpful tips to get you into the end of the year, holiday season.

As the holiday season is approaching (it’s never too early to start preparing), tens of thousands of businesses begin to prepare for their busiest time of the year. If you run an eCommerce business or you are a developer of an eCommerce mobile app, chances are you’re already planning a creative campaign to attract more customers during the busy holiday season.

Although it is true that the upcoming holiday, Nov-Dec season provides a huge opportunity to increase sales, it is crucial to prepare in advance and establish a well-defined strategy to approach their audience in a timely and effective manner. While successful campaigns have turned some mobile apps into million-dollar businesses, misread market analysis or poorly constructed strategies can lead to a waste of money and a missed opportunity for app owners and retailers.

The following tips will help you build a solid Q4 mCommerce strategy so your business can maximize its sales potential this season.

Keep the Key Dates in Mind (2022 update)

While Christmas and New Year are especially famous for their preceding shopping sprees, there are a few other days in which online sales reach record numbers. Although some of these dates are busy mostly in the United States, they represent a great opportunity for app owners and other online business owners:

• October 31st — Halloween Day marks the beginning of the holiday season and is one of the busiest days for online purchases all around the world.
• November 11th — Single’s Day or Double 11 – is a shopping holiday popular among young Chinese people that celebrate their pride in being single. What started as a local holiday quickly expanded to singles worldwide celebrating big promotions on Chinese e-commerce sites mostly.
• November 25th — The “Black Friday” following Thanksgiving in the United States is the busiest shopping day in the country since 2005.
• November 28th – Cyber Monday – Perhaps the most important date for app developers, as this “Cyber Monday” is considered the busiest day of the year for online sales.
• December 18 – Super Saturday, as the name suggests this is the Saturday before Christmas and that’s when people tend to do their last-minute shopping. AKA “Panic Saturday”

Give Away Freebies and Discount Codes

It should come as no surprise that during the busiest period of the year for both online and traditional business competition gets fierce. Freebies and giveaways are great strategies to attract new customers and reinforce brand loyalty among existing ones. All advertisers are out there trying to fight for those engaging users. Kids get a higher allowance as gifts during this time- and that’s when they want to spend it- on new games- or upgrading existing ones.

Use technology in your favor and make sure to publish any special deals or discounts extensively across all social media platforms. While special deals are always effective, publishing them in advance can help you stay ahead of the competition even before the end of the year approaches.

Time to Get Creative

If you are planning to attract new customers, you need to put creativity at work and produce innovative marketing campaigns. Although it is true that Q4 is a great time for mobile apps, you must consider that your competition will also try to take advantage of it.

Go beyond the regular marketing tactics and don’t be afraid of innovation. Gaining attention is key in these times, so following the common patterns is hardly a good idea. Plan ahead and brainstorm all ideas regardless of how crazy they might seem.

We know that coming up with ground-breaking marketing campaigns is much easier said than done. If the nature of your app is suitable for it, don’t be afraid of adding a little holiday-themed fun to your apps and sites: snowflakes, Santa hats, and Christmas trees are a great way to start.

Prepare for Traffic Peaks

Just like any other eCommerce business, app developers must prepare to see a significantly higher number of downloads and user activity during peak holiday seasons. Weeks spent in the development of effective campaigns can become useless if you are not technologically prepared to deal with a sudden increase in the number of new users.

Keep in mind that the mobile app is only a part of a larger business which commonly includes support websites and sometimes even phone helplines. Make sure to have everything ready for these secondary components to escalate as your app’s downloads keep growing.

Update Your App For The Latest devices and Operating Systems

Just as application developers, large mobile phone manufacturers commonly release their new products before Q4. Your job is to gather as much information as possible on the product specifications of these devices and optimize your app to run smoothly in them.

If you are planning to optimize your app before the holidays, make sure to do so at the right time, as virtual stores such as Google Play or the Apple App Store have special holiday categories where you can be featured.

Spend Your Budget Wisely

If you are considering paying for an advertising campaign on a social media platform or a traditional media outlet, it is important to have a clear image of your target market and be a realist about the goals you want to achieve. While a Facebook campaign might work well for some specific applications, the investment might not be worth it for others.

Take into consideration that many of your competitors will also engage in paid advertising campaigns, and try to think about alternative ways to reach your potential customers. Go wide as possible, your target audience isn’t just in one place, they have multiple apps being used daily, use several social media outlets (are you in the TikTok game?) and don’t forget to measure everything that you do. The only way to go up is to learn from the things that work best.

Have a happy m-commerce holiday 🙂