Scot Wingo, the co-founder and former CEO of ecommerce services provider ChannelAdvisor, no longer writes about the sales statistics and trends from the “Cyber Five Weekend.” But the company is offering advice to retailers who hope to succeed in an ever-changing environment, not just the shopping binge weekend of the year.
Customers want deals year-round, won’t be content to wait in line outside stores, and retailers must respond. Even as Black Friday sales surge and Cyber Monday is expected to be another record-setter, ChannelAdvisor, which has customers worldwide from the largest retailers to startups, says the environment of pre-Thanksgiving deals is changing.
“Remember the way you talked about Black Friday just a few short years ago? Friends and relatives swapped strategies for where they would be at 6 a.m.? Which stores had the best deals, which stores had the worst lines, which stores would be open the earliest? And if you didn’t get there, you’d miss out on the deal of the year.
“What changed? A lot. But most importantly? Consumer behavior.”
As buyers and would-be-buyers search for the best deals 7 x 24, 365 days a year, retailers must up their game, ChannelAdvisor says.
“Customers first”
They must more than ever stress “putting customers first.”
“Your consumers are learning just how many deals and products they have waiting around each corner — and they don’t want to camp outside your store anymore — so you need to continue expanding your scope in how you reach them,” ChannelAdvisor warns in a blog post.
“That means bidding up keywords in your digital marketing campaigns beyond the standard holiday windows. It means promoting loyalty codes via email to existing customers weeks in advance. It means thinking mobile-first. It means giving consumers a reason to follow your social media feeds. It means getting a jump on repricing your marketplace listings before — and after — the holidays to snag half-interested consumers in search of better deals. It means promoting your products through tools such as Amazon Marketing Services, eBay Promotions Manager and others — not just during peak holiday seasons, but year round.”
The Triangle-based company, at which Wingo continues to serve as executive chair, says “another holiday is always around the corner. And [customers] know it.”
Read the full blog at: https://www.channeladvisor.com/blog/industry-trends/thanksgiving-black-friday-cyber-monday-its-all-about-the-consumer/
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday: It’s All About the Consumer
