It all comes down to this – a month and a half to add to an already successful year in ecommerce revenue, or just enough time to bring your online retail business into the black before 2015. Either way, Q4 of 2014 presents huge opportunities for ecommerce businesses to affect their bottom line in a big way, especially in the last 2 weeks of November. The following three days in particular should get special attention, some thoughtful planning, and maybe even a marketing checklist to ensure that major online sales revenue opportunities aren’t missed.
Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 27)
2014 Online Sales Prediction: $1.35 Billion (27% Increase from 2013)
According to the 2014 Holiday Shopping Prediction report published by Adobe Digital Index (whose past holiday shopping reports have been within 1%), Thanksgiving Day will see record online sales in 2014. After stuffing themselves full of Thanksgiving goodness, holiday shoppers will be grabbing their mobile devices (predicted 31% of online sales on Thanksgiving will be generated on smartphones and tablets) and picking up some gifts for the holidays. Is your ecommerce website optimized to sell on mobile devices?
Black Friday (Friday, November 28)
2014 Online Sales Prediction: $2.48 Billion (28% Increase from 2013)N
Normally thought of as primarily a brick-and-mortar shopping day, Black Friday is shaping up to be the fastest growing online sales day of the entire year. Online retailers – ignore this opportunity at your own peril. You competitors sure aren’t. On the mobile front, Black Friday also looks to be the largest shopping day of the year in terms of total sales at $644 million. Seriously, if you haven’t bought into mobile being a HUGE opportunity for online retailers this holiday season, you’re leaving money on the table.
Cyber Monday (Monday, December 1)
2014 Online Prediction: $2.60 Billion (15% Increase from 2013)
Last but not least, we have the granddaddy of them all – Cyber Monday. On December 1, 2014 online shoppers are predicted to spend $2.60 Billion, which would make it the largest single day for online spending in history. As Cyber Monday moves closer to crossing the $3 Billion spend mark (2015? 2016?), ADI predicts a few outcomes:
- “Out of Stock” and “Sold Out” messages will increase exponentially as online retailers struggle to keep up with Cyber Monday demand.
- In the U.S., Cyber Monday online sales will surpass the largest online sales days of Germany, Japan, France, and the UK combined.
- The expected Cyber Monday spend U.S. online consumer is $8.
Only a few business days remain before the largest online sales weekend of the year arrives. While the days leading up to and just after Christmas are also important for ecommerce store owners, they represent a small fraction of the sales opportunities that Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday do. Strategize, budget, and make one final marketing push so that your online retail store, products, and services are front and center during the most important time of the year.