November 15, 2024
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Our UX designer and marketing strategist’s guide to getting your store going in time for Cyber Monday
Written by
India Thakar
Senior Designer
Our UX designer and marketing strategist’s guide to getting your store going in time for Cyber Monday
Ah, November. The restful period between the peak of Autumn, and the first snowfall. The once bright, red and yellow leaves on the trees have nearly completely fallen, and faded into a rusty brown shade.
A strange feeling of calm has settled over the country. This calm is temporary, as we all know what comes after Thanksgiving when the clock strikes midnight.
“BLACK FRIDAY SALES!”
Shoppers will rush to the stores, waiting in long lines for hours on end to secure the perfect deals on holiday presents. The only lights that will shine brighter than the colorful strings outside the trees and windows are the red, yellow, and green traffic lights. It seems as if the world, and everyone in it, has been thrown into a holiday preparation panic.
And yet, many choose to stay cozy, inside their homes and a phone in their hand. They await a different day of buzz - Cyber Monday.
In our digital world, it is amazing how many consumers prefer to shop for gifts and everyday items online. Just as well, stores and small-business owners typically earn a majority of their sales from online purchases.
For many online store owners, Cyber Monday and the holiday season are one of the most critical times of the year. The holidays provide opportunities for businesses to boost sales and increase their customer base.
If you own an online store, you only have two weeks to prepare your shop for the incoming flow of Cyber Monday shoppers! Now is the moment to provide your customers with a seamless online shopping journey while promoting your products and services strategically to engage them and boost sales.
Here’s some ecommerce holiday readiness tips from me – UX designer and marketing strategist – that you may take to capitalize on this season.
When beginning to prepare your online store for incoming traffic, it is best to begin with the bones: User Experience(UX). Your customers are much more likely to make a purchase if their shopping experience is easy, and seamless. Not to mention, great UX is one of the key components to determining whether a site visitor will return, or not. Here are some of the key actions you can take to ensure your store exhibits a harmonious digital shopping experience.
1. Smooth Navigation
When clicking on your url, your customers need to know where to go!
Ensure your site’s navigation is intuitive by clearly organizing your navigation bar to send visitors to the right place. The basic links that need to be included are “Home,” “Shop,” and “About,” however to increase your site’s usability, you can include specific links that are relevant to the items you are selling, and the sales you are promoting.
For example, you can include tabs such as “Cyber Monday Sale,” “30% Off,” and “Final Sale.” You could also use tabs related to the holiday season, such as “Stocking Stuffers,” “Perfect Gifts,” or “Cozy Season.”
Finally, if you have already done some great marketing and know that your customers will be visiting your shop seeking specific items or collections, you can include those names in the navigation bar, and filter those items by pages. And, if you offer one, make sure to include “Gift Card” in your nav bar, as these are extremely popular during the holiday season!
2. Checkout Process
Remember, your goal is to get sales! As beautiful as your products might be, and as seamless as a UX your site may have, if your customers find it difficult to make a purchase on your site, they will easily give up, and decide to save, or spend their money elsewhere. The longer it takes for a customer to receive the message “Thank you for your purchase,” the likelier they will leave your site. That is why your checkout process needs to be self-explanatory, and quick.
Avoid all unnecessary steps. As a rule of thumb, the entire checkout process should be able to be completed on one page of your website.Your order form your customer needs to complete should include only what is necessary for them to receive their item and receipt, and for you to receive your payment. Basically, it should ask for your customer’s name, email address, physical address for shipping, physical address for a mailed receipt (if they prefer), and their preferred payment option.
When it comes to payment options, the more options you accept, the more purchases you will likely receive. For example, aside from all major debit and credit cards, it would be efficient for you to accept Paypal, Cashapp, and Apple pay purchases as well, if you so choose to create these accounts.
Reduce your process by eliminating the “sign-up” field to create an account with you ( allow guest check-out), and remove any extra promotional pop-ups you may have added.
Finally, ensure the payment gateway is quick and secure.
3. Mobile Optimization
Can you believe that in 2023, mobile shopping accounted for 79% of all Cyber Monday e-commerce traffic! Many consumers find mobile devices convenient for browsing and purchasing, especially for quick or impulse buys during time-sensitive sales, like on Cyber Monday.
For this reason, it is vital that you test your website’s usability and performance on various devices and browsers. Ensure that your navigation menu has been optimized for mobile and tablet usage, all buttons are easily clickable, images are clear, text is readable, the layout adapts well to smaller screens.
4. Site Speed
If the digital age has impeded one characteristic in us, its impatience. If your site is slow, online shoppers are more likely to leave it, due to their lack of patience, impulse purchase habits, or time sensitive schedule.
Thus, you must ensure that your site is speedy.
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to test your site speed, and optimize loading times. If your site is loading slow, some steps you can take are to compress images, use lazy loading, cache your site, and minimize CSS/JavaScript files.
5. Inventory Visibility
If all goes well, your products and services will be falling off their digital shelves! On all product-based online stores it is important to clearly show the inventory for each item to both ensure correct purchases, and promote customer urgency.
Underneath each item on your shop pages, be sure to list the number of items left in stock past within a certain quote, for example, 30 items left. Once your store reaches below that quota, include a CTA such as "Only 3 left in stock!" to encourage purchases before the item is sold out.
Additionally, be sure that your site shows which items are “SOLD OUT,” so that no fraudulent purchases are made!
6. Customer Support Readiness
Online shoppers need store clerks too!
Make sure you have a customer support plan, either via a live chat box, FAQ section, “contact customer support” link in the footer with a link to an online form or your customer support phone number, or all three!
This will help you handle inquiries on purchases, and build trust with shoppers.
Nothing sums up the importance of marketing and advertising in the shopping experience better than this quote from Don Draper, of the hit television show, Mad Men:
“"Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. And do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay.”
Making the online shopping experience seamless for your customers is one thing, but getting your customers to your site, well that’s a whole different ballgame.
Marketing is a long-term battle, and since you only have two weeks until Cyber Monday, you are limited in your tactical strategies. However, there are still many methods of marketing your products and services in the short-term, to bring shoppers your way come Cyber Monday.
1. SEO!
Think of Search Engine Optimization(SEO) as the shining streetlights, leading your target audience to your website. There may be thousands of people out there seeking the products and services you specialize in, but without SEO, how will they find you?
The first step you can take is to update your meta tags. In short, make sure titles and headings of your pages, products, and blog include correct meta tags. Include relevant keywords in the descriptions and body text on your site, as well, to attract your target audience. As a tip, use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find relevant, high-traffic keywords related to Cyber Monday in your industry.
Next, in terms of Cyber Monday, you can include the deals, discounts, or sales you will offer in your meta tags. For example, "50% off Cyber Monday Deals | [Your Store Name]."
2. Holiday-Themed Content:
An effective strategy to increase visits to your website is through generating educational based content such as a blog – why do you think we’re writing this?!.
Write a quick blog post or gift guide that can help you rank for Cyber Monday-related keywords in the Google search engine. For example, if you sell homemade candles and scented oils you could write “Best Cyber Monday Deals for the Homebody in Your Life”, or create a gift guide based on what customers can purchase from you for the various people in their lives, Dad, Mom, Teacher, etc. Link these back to your products.
3. Banner and Pop-Up Promotions:
Treat your online shop just as you would a brick and mortar store during the holidays– turn it welcoming, merry, and bright!
Add eye-catching banners on your homepage or landing page with direct links to sales, holiday-themed categories, and highlighted products or services. Be sure to make these banners high-quality, with visually appealing images or graphics, and an enticing call-to-action. Use lifestyle shots, close-ups, or 360-degree views to help buyers visualize their purchase better.
A pro tip is to design the banners directly within your website platform, rather than to create a banner image and insert it into your website – these can be low-quality and load slowly.
You may also feature timed pop-ups or lightboxes to remind visitors of the discounts or the limited-time nature of the sale.
4. Email Marketing Campaigns:
Speak directly to your target audience, through their inbox.
Plan an email sequence leading up to Cyber Monday for your email subscribers, and past customers. Start with teasers about your deals, followed by a “countdown” email, and finish with a last-chance reminder.
Remember, you are potentially speaking to your most loyal customers, so as much as you want to be effective, do not be too salesly. Include humor and personality that resonates with your brand, design your newsletter to echo the design of your branding, and make it well-written. There is nothing more annoying than email spam, so make your email more like a love-letter to your customers.
5. Social Media Campaigns:
Social media is the modern day billboard! Make sure your target audience knows about you.
Highlight your Cyber Monday offers on social media with reels, images, and carousel posts focused on your products and services. Use Instagram Stories, TikTok, and Pinterest to reach a broader audience.
Be sure to utilize engaging imagery, interesting captions, and link your website in your bio!
And so, dear reader, as the calm of November slips into the frenzied shopping season, you’re ready to brave the retail battleground, albeit digitally. Armed with banners, SEO strategies, and customer support plans, you’re poised to dazzle those caffeine-fueled, late-night Cyber Monday shoppers.
Because, in the end, isn’t it all about offering a touch of “retail therapy” from the cozy safety of their couch?
So take a deep breath, polish that website to a mirror shine, and remember: you’re not just selling products—you’re delivering joy, one click at a time.
May your traffic be high, your load times be low, and your carts be full. Onward to the holiday rush!
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