Cyber Monday marketing numbers for 2013 were up compared to 2012, according to Vocus Marketing Cloud. Those numbers are expected to climb even higher this year.
Statistics from 2013 showed:
- A 77 percent increase in push notifications through retail apps.
- As much as 88 percent of retailers sent promotional emails on the event day, which marked the highest for marketing compared to any other holiday.
- Though only making up 2 percent of overall sales, social media made somewhat of an impact for certain businesses. For IBM and Adobe, the average buyer through Facebook and Pinterest referrals spent $97.81 and $92.40, respectively. Their Twitter referrals spiked 24 percent as well.
- 17 percent of all sales were through mobile devices.
- Consumers visited websites twice as much through smartphones than through tablets, yet sales for tablets were doubled compared to purchases of smartphones.
Preparing for 2014
Extrapolating from these numbers, it’s fair to say that mobile marketing is strong and will stay strong for Cyber Monday this year. It’s important to make your business website mobile-friendly.
No doubt: there will be more smartphone marketing for 2014. Businesses like Macy’s will encourage consumers to forgo the physical challenges of heading to an actual department store and shop at Macy’s online, enjoying the thrill of shopping from the comforts of home and finding great deals through your mobile device.
One of the biggest nuggets of knowledge learned from 2013 Cyber Monday’s statistics, according to Vocus, is the need to continuously grow marketing distribution channels in order to make as big of a splash this year. Smart preparation includes improving email listings, push notifications through a marketing app or promoting sales through all facets of social media.
Many stores are stretching the event over an entire week, as Amazon, Target and Walmart did. Amazon, for example, offered a new sale every 10 minutes.
Ramping up promotions incrementally as Cyber Monday nears is another tactic businesses used. Rue La La, a members-only shopping site, swelled consumer interest for Cyber Monday by holding a “Cyberthon” the day before, strengthening its site visits that much more on the day of the event.
Offering free delivery to local buyers or giving an even deeper discount to shoppers who spend X-amount of money on your site, which Macy’s did, is also an effective Cyber Monday strategy. These types of enticing promotions will help you stand out from the rest of the Cyber Monday hype. Anything free or discounted grabs a consumer’s attention. Use that to your advantage.
If you’re new to Cyber Monday, be sure your business infrastructure is solid and can handle the load of visitors who will go to your site. Also, be sure your system is secured. Cybercrime over the holidays cost businesses, on average, $500,000 each hour.
A no-brainer here, but the more creative you can be, the more success your business will enjoy. Take Patagonia for example. It advertised hanging on to what clothes you have instead of going out and buying new. Though the campaign didn’t encourage consumers to go out and buy new stuff, it did gain some credibility for its honorable stance on a greener living. One commercial, for example, included a woman with a Patagonia jacket with patches, which she stated the longer you hold on to a piece of clothing, the more stories it accumulates. For some people, it indirectly encourages you to purchase Patagonia clothing so you, too, can begin your “worn wear” experience.