Three Most Wonderful Days of the Year for Your E-Commerce Store
Can you believe the festive shopping season is about to begin? Here are three important dates to make the most out of your e-commerce store.
The fourth quarter of the year is an important time for all businesses, but especially e-commerce stores. This is because the final three months of the year account for a huge chunk of annual sales. According to the Office for National Statistics, e-commerce sales in Q4 2021 totalled more than £8.5 billion—that’s a lot of potential revenue!
To tap into this massive opportunity, you need to make sure your e-commerce store is prepared for Q4. That means having a solid plan in place for the most important shopping days: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the run-up to Christmas. Keep reading to learn more about these key dates and how you can use them to drive traffic and boost sales at your online store.
Black Friday - 25th November 2022
If you're looking to boost sales and drive new traffic to your store, Black Friday might be the right promotion for you!
There are a few things you can do to make the most of Black Friday as a fashion or homeware brand. Firstly, make sure your store is fully prepared for the influx of traffic. This includes having enough product variety to meet demand, as well as ensuring your website and checkout process are functioning smoothly.
Think about what types of deals and discounts you could offer to entice customers to shop at your store. You should also start promoting your Black Friday sale early—the week before is usually when shoppers start looking for deals—and make sure your website can handle the increased traffic. Finally, don’t forget to promote your Black Friday deals on social media and in multiple places on your website!
By preparing for and taking advantage of Black Friday, you can give your ecommerce store a boost in the fourth quarter and maximise your sales potential. But if you're unsure whether offering deals and discounts is right for your business, why not check out alternative promotions?
What about alternative Black Friday promotions?
If you're a small business with little room to offer discounts, you don't need to miss out on Black Friday! Alternative Black Friday promotions have garnered attention over the past few years, and it's a great opportunity to promote alternative benefits to purchasing from your store.
There's more to a brand than just its sales and profit margin. Consumers are interested in how brands contribute to society, which is why simply promoting your brand's sustainability credentials and good deeds can actually have an impact. This was the thinking behind 'Do Good Friday', an alternative to Black Friday created by sustainable fashion brand This Is Unfolfed last year. On Do Good Friday, people are encouraged to shop with businesses that make a positive impact and most importantly, avoid fast fashion brands.
Or you could pledge to donate a percentage of sales instead of traditional discounts. Paynter, a sustainable fashion brand, chose to donate a small percentage of sales over the Black Friday weekend to charity instead of offering discounts for Black Friday last year and has seen nothing but growth since.
This is a great way to ensure you're still connecting with consumers in your target market without having to offer conventional discounts.
Cyber Monday - 28th November 2022
Cyber Monday is traditionally the busiest online shopping day of the year. What’s more, Cyber Monday has become increasingly mobile—in 2021, nearly 60% of online products were sold via mobile device—so it’s more important than ever to have a responsive (mobile-friendly) website if you want to cash in on this Christmas shopping bonanza.
To prepare for Cyber Monday, start by creating a promotional plan that includes discounts and other incentives that will encourage customers to buy from your store. The peak time for online traffic on Cyber Monday 2021 was 9 PM, and you could offer time-based incentives to promote more sales at the busiest point of the day.
You should also make sure your website can handle the influx of mobile traffic by testing it with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix. And don’t forget to promote your sale across all your marketing channels, including email marketing, social media, and paid advertising if you have the budget!
Small Business Saturday UK - 3rd December 2022
Small Business Saturday (SBS) is a national grassroots campaign that encourages consumers to shop locally at small businesses in their communities. It's a great opportunity for you and your business to get involved in the community, whether that's locally or within a particular niche online.
Whilst the main day is important for boosting small businesses, the campaign team behind Small Business Saturday also offers promotion and support for small businesses year-round.
No matter how you choose to participate, Small Business Saturday is an excellent way to join your community and boost awareness of your small business.
If you're interested, register your small business at https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/my-small-business.
Final Thoughts 💭
We're gearing up for a busy Q4 here at Inkthreadable, with more printers coming online and extra staff to prepare for the influx of orders. We wish all our merchants well as they prepare for the busiest shopping days of the year!
If you need any help preparing your store, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Our team is ready and waiting to help you make the most of this festive season.
Further reading:
The Rush is Coming: How Your Business Can Win Black Friday. By business.com.
Should your business participate in Black Friday? By smallbusiness.co.uk.
4 Alternative Ways to Approach Black Friday in 2022. By buffer.com.