10e20 Blog

Online retailers, take note. It’s time to begin preparing for November 24, 2007. Black Friday isn’t only for in-store purchases only — there’s just too many people to compete with.

Why face the long lines and pushing-and-shoving if you don’t have to?

This past Black Friday saw a record number of unique visitors, now up 42% on online retail sites. comScore, which presented these results on November 2006 spending, says:

With 42 percent growth versus the same day last year, it’s clear that many consumers opted for the convenience and sanity of shopping from home in order to avoid mayhem at the malls and to take advantage of the extremely attractive deals being offered online. This growth figure is especially encouraging for online retailers when taking into account that much of the country saw beautiful weather on Friday.

That’s right — online deals aren’t half bad either. The New York Times profiles a number of buyers in today’s article, indicating that there was a 6% increase in users opting to shop online, totaling 114 million potential buyers.

What is responsible for the popularity of buying — and how can you improve ROI for next year’s big sale day?

• Offer free shipping. This year, 83% of online retailers offered free shipping, according to Shopzilla.com. That might explain why the National Retail Federation’s claim that 47% of consumers — nearly half — are intending to purchase at least one holiday item.
• Incentives, incentives. The New York Times called this the “aggressive price cut.” One day only sales? Sure. But let’s go a step further. I noticed that on sites I frequented (many of which were not as well known) that contests drove traffic and in turn translated searches into sales. It also brought these retail sites to the attention of a lot of new prospective buyers due to word of mouth.
• Utilize SEO methods. Make it easy for people to find the products you’re going to sell on the search engines. If you’re looking to buy ad real estate, make sure your keywords are targeted appropriately. Be specific, not generic.
• Ensure that your buyers know where your products are. Highlight those important products and make them easy to find. Your site should be very usable and accessible.
• Be prepared. As a buyer, you might be overwhelmed by the sales and the sheer amount of people who chase after well-publicized sales. Consider your position as the merchant. Make sure your site can handle the load and traffic.

While it’s a year away, it’s never too early to begin preparing for the future, because online shopping is only expected to go up.