One of the biggest shopping days of the year, besides Black Friday, is of course Boxing Day. Annually Boxing Day brings in billions of revenue for retailers, but there has been a new pivot in spending with consumers as they continue to turn to online sales. That means a boost in cash flow for ecommerce businesses during the busy holiday season.
In fact, marketing research company eConsultancy reports that 2013 saw a 40 percent increase from previous years in Boxing Day shopping online just in the UK alone with consumers making 113 million visits online to do their shopping. But the most interesting takeaaway is that most of these sales are being done right from a smartphone or tablet. Holiday shopping online or on a mobile device is only going to increase over time as more consumers have easy accessibility to both and want to avoid the holiday rush of traffic and people at brick-and-mortar stores.
But what makes an ecommerce site so successful to beat out a traditional storefront on Boxing Day? There is more to it than just letting consumers find your website or products online and then having the money roll in; savvy firms still need to organize marketing tactics in order to get the most out of this holiday as well as capitalizing on future trends.
Using mCommerce for more sales
Globally ecommerce has begun to share sales with mcommerce, or transactions made straight from a mobile device. The share of consumers buying from their smart devices grows every year and that means you need to be prepared with the right strategy, such as ensuring your website is mobile friendly and responsive.
This emphasis on better mcommerce even became a necessity for Google. The search giant e is beginning to reward businesses that have mobile adaptive websites with a higher search rank and text underneath their URL on the search listing that indicates it is easy to navigate on a mobile screen.
If you make searching and shopping for any of your products simple on mobile as well as desktop, then you’ll already be surpassing your competition to that final sale. Mobile commerce is still gaining traction and that means there is still more than enough room for your business to weed out competition.
Social is integral during (and before) Boxing Day
Reaching out to the most customers in a single blast can be successfully done through social media marketing. Messages on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and even incentives on Pinterest or Instagram are great ways to bring Boxing Day shoppers to your site but you need to plan out your strategy before hitting that publish button.
Most importantly, create urgency with your posts and ads on social media, making sure that customers know how great your deal really is (and how short the promotion will be). As a B2B firm, your promotion should be tailored to a different clientele than if you were a B2C company.
Leading up to Boxing Day, remind customers that you’re having sales coming so that it’s fresh in their minds. Also, make the content compelling with catchy wording and enticing, eye-grabbing graphics. A brightly colored graphic is going to be remembered more on social media than just simple text stating your Boxing Day deals.
Email can be a secret weapon
While most customers are inundated with emails promoting sales and promotions, especially throughout the holidays, you can still make an impact with your email marketing and nab some Boxing Day revenue. Email blasts need to be consistent and more of an “extended” version of your social media efforts, in a sense. Using a punchy subject line (“This Sale Only Last for 24hrs!”), attention-grabbing graphics, and clickable content once they have opened the email all create an experience that could entice your potential clients.
Email marketing is also about timing, with experts saying that the best times for emails is between Tuesday through Thursdays in the early mornings while people are headed to work or during the afternoon when they would be taking their lunch. Regardless, this could be different for your business and you may find the best results during the weekend or even on Mondays. You can even time your email blast with your social media so that the most customers are reached and know where to shop on Boxing Day.
Think outside the brick and mortar
As an ecommerce business, you have the upper hand when it comes to sales on Boxing Day—it even shows in the data. You can focus on messaging your clients they don’t even have to get out of their PJs to shop for your products. Take that, retail outlets!
By being agile with mobile response, utilizing the power of social media and email, your ecommerce site can boost sales during this busy holiday and especially on December 26.
