Prepare your online business for Black Friday & Cyber Monday

It wasn’t so long ago that online shopping didn’t even exist. Now people spend hundreds of billions of dollars over the internet every year.

Clearly, e-commerce is hugely popular and here to stay.

Case and point? Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Total shopping extravaganzas, people everywhere hop onto their computers to snap up the discounts being offered by their favorite brands.

Now, you’d think that’d be all good news for retailers.

Yet these two notorious days can inspire equal parts joy and fear!

After all, a major surge in sales can cause a host of problems if you aren’t ready for it. Do you know the struggle and want some advice on preparing your business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Read on.

Stock Your Shelves

The first and most important step is to have enough inventory to meet the steep rise in demand. Trust us, it’s the only way to take full advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Why?

Because you won’t be leaving money on the table.

You’re less likely to run out of anything, which means everyone clamoring for your products can get their hands on them. That’s good news for your brand image too. After all, there’s nothing more frustrating for consumers than “out of stock” notifications and delivery delays.

Having the foresight to stock your proverbial shelves ahead of time (especially with your best sellers and other popular items) will keep everyone happy.

Don’t forget to stock up on your essential packaging supplies from Total Box & Supply too! Having enough shipping boxes, packing foam, shipping labels and tape on hand is essential to deal with the orders you get will be just as essential.

Improve Your Website

Another vital step is to prepare your website for the surge of traffic that’s to come. More specifically, you should work hard to improve its user experience.

Imagine the shop floor of brick-and-mortar stores.

They have to look, feel, and function in a manner that satisfies customers, guides foot traffic, and, ultimately, facilitates sales, right?

Well, it’s a similar story for your business website.

For best results, it should have an attractive, modern design, and be both fast and easy to navigate on every device (especially smartphones). Fail in any of these ways and visitors are likely to click back and jump ship to your competitors’ sites.

Engage Your Customers

No matter how prominent Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become, savvy business owners never assume customers will flock through their digital doors.

Instead, they generate as much interest and excitement as possible beforehand to give themselves the best shot at success.

Do the same by posting on social media and sending personalized emails to your audience. Let them know about the deals you have lined up! You could also send discount codes, run competitions, and pay influencers to market the products you’ll have on sale at this time.

Of course, you could run paid ad campaigns on platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram too. Just be wary of the high fees if you do.

So many businesses compete for attention on either day (and in the lead up to them) that advertising prices always go up.

Get Ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are perfect examples of how popular online shopping has become. Millions of people turn on their computers and take out their credit cards, ready to purchase branded items at discount prices.

Needless to say, it’s an amazing opportunity for retailers.

But one thing’s for sure: you have to be well-prepared and ready for everything to take full advantage of it (and avoid expensive mistakes along the way).

With any luck, the suggestions in this article will help in that regard!

If you’re looking to bulk buy high-quality packing materials to make life easier on these two hectic events, we can help. Click here to get started now.