We've spent each day this week reviewing important marketing tips and SEO ideas as they relate to key shopping days in the holiday season. Today's topic is Cyber Monday, the heyday for those of you that have e-commerce websites.
This year Cyber Monday falls on November 28, 2011. Cyber Monday of 2010 was reported to have 1,028M in online sales according to comScore, but according to our own data it wasn't the highest day for online visitors to jewelry store websites. The biggest traffic day award goes to December 20, 2010, the Monday before Christmas.
The philosophy behind Cyber Monday is that disappointed shoppers from Black Friday and the weekend are still trying to complete holiday shopping but ran out of time over the weekend. Many e-commerce websites will announce Cyber Monday specials to capture the online sales.
Considering the traffic spike we always record on Cyber Monday, even if you don't have e-commerce on your site you should still try to entice some sales. You could help satisfy their disappointment by changing your home page to have messages saying "Black Friday shopping leave you empty handed?" or perhaps "Browse our online catalog and give us a call to have an item set aside for you."
The email company iContact recently published the eBook "A Holiday Marketing Story: The 12 Chapters of a Successful Season." Inside, we found a quite humorous and true explanation of Cyber Monday:
"For some prime-time buyers, there's nothing more satisfying than spending the day pretending to work while covertly filling online shopping carts."
In a 2010 study by ATG (Consumer Shopping Experiences, Preferences, and Behaviors), 70% of respondents reported that they abandoned online shopping carts because they learned that shipping charges were more than they had expected. To alleviate this issue, you either need to announce "free shipping" on all orders or perhaps clearly indicate "FedEx Overnight Shipping of $25 will be applied to all orders." Check with your jeweler's block insurance to find out the best methods of shipping.
Many jewelers will offer $25 FedEx Overnight on all orders less than $500 and free FedEx Overnight on anything over $500. Either way, make sure you state this up front... perhaps even on every product page.
Both Responsys.com and iContact reported that many online retailers sent out their Cyber Monday email solicitations on late Sunday evening or early Monday morning. This allows the email to be waiting in the buyer's inbox when they get to work on Monday morning.
Here are some Cyber Monday email subject lines:
"Best Jewelry Deals of the Season: Cyber Monday Online Offers"
"Free Shipping on all Jewelry over $100 for Cyber Monday"
"Cyber Monday Deal: Get Free Shipping at $100"
"Free Men's Ring for You with an Earrings Purchase for Her - Cyber Monday Only"
If you need a good source for low cost alternative metal men's jewelry take a look at Gold-N-Diamonds website at http://www.gold-n-diamonds.com. They have a great selection of men's rings and bracelets that you could easily use as free offers or even for sale at Key and Triple Key markups.
Another strategy that should help your Cyber Monday sales is making sure to provide quick links to price point pages on your site. From your hope page you should have links showing these choices:
"Jewelry Gifts for Under $100"
"Jewelry Gifts for Under $200"
"Jewelry Gifts for Under $300"
Etc.
Lastly, unless you are going to have a "Cyber Week" sale or announcement, you should make sure to change your home page back to normal on Tuesday morning.
