Cyber Monday: Is Your Online Store Ready?

Posted by teal on November 26, 2007 at 11:50 AM

You login into your work computer, respond to a few urgent emails in your inbox, check some weekend stats, grab some coffee (maybe the big mug today) and return to work, after all, it's Monday. Actually, it's Cyber Monday, so to heck with work. You've got shopping to do!

In November 2005, Shop.org, the National Retail Federation's online division, coined the phrase "Cyber Monday" to help create buzz around the sales increases online retailers were experiencing the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Cyber Monday offers online shoppers great deals, very similar to Black Friday deals but you don't have to wake up at 3am, stand in line, and wait 2 hours, only to find out the guy in front of you got the last $20 laptop.

To begin the Monday, ahem, workday, shoppers can visit CyberMonday.com and browse through the ads of 500+ online merchants offering special deals for this special day. According to Shop.org, shoppers are likely to find some great deals from a variety of online stores as,

72.2 percent of online retailers are planning a special promotion for Cyber Monday, up from 42.7 percent just two years ago.

Moreover, because more and more Americans have internet access at work, about 55 percent, online retailers anxiously await this year's flood of distracted workers. Offering deals like free shipping, free gifts and discounts on merchandise, merchants are taking advantage of the urgency many shoppers feel this time of year. In fact, Shop.org reports that

72.0 million consumers plan to shop online from home or at work tomorrow, up from 60.7 million in 2006 and 59.0 million in 2005.

Taking advantage of the online traffic from Cyber Monday and right on through Christmas is very important for online retailers. But how?

Gearing up for the Holidays
So how does your online store tap into the 72,000,000+ users that shop internet deals on Cyber Monday and the weeks leading up to (and after) Christmas? Not only would I recommend getting ads placed on CyberMonday.com, Black Friday Ads or other online coupon sites, but more importantly, set a strong and aggressive SEM strategy in place prior to the holidays so that come time for the big spenders, you're already there, advertising to them - full momentum.

Considering PPC advertising, search engine optimization, or social marketing (or a combination of) well before the shopping season sets in can be the difference between ho-hum holiday sales, and your biggest year yet.

Interested? Check out the following two white papers offered by Oneupweb which discuss what many online retailers are missing out on and the possibilities of social marketing prior to and during the holiday season:

• Secrets of Social Marketing Success: How 2007 Hot Holiday Products Are Being Marketed Online
• Internet Retailer Study 2007: Once Again... There's Still Money on the Table

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