6 Strategies for Winning on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

By  Christina Zarrello
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the ceremonial kickoff days to the holiday shopping season. With less disposable income, consumers will be combing the Internet this week to find the best deals out there. Is your organization prepared to deliver substantial promotions to this year's cost-driven consumer? Here is what retailers such as Border's, Cabela's, Meijer and Hot Topic are doing to attract holiday sales.

Online retailers will debut thousands of promotions to show what Web sites have to offer this holiday season. More than 80% of online retailers plan to offer Cyber Monday promotions and 28.6% of retailers plan to increase online marketing on Black Friday promotions according to the eHoliday Survey, conducted by Shopzilla for Shop.org.

Here is just a short list of retailers, provided by the NRF, that are offering Cyber Monday promotions:

Beauty.com: Free shipping on all orders
Borders: 40% off all DVD boxed sets
Cabela's: Free shipping on all orders over $100, plus one-day deals on specific items (see next sheet)
eBay: $1 holiday doorbusters, Bid from $1, daily deal
Fashion Bug: 40-60% off entire site plus free shipping, no minimum
Golfsmith: 10-25% off at Golfsmith with code: EPS848THA
Hot Topic: Buy one get one 50% off on rock tees
Home Shopping Network (HSN): Free shipping and handling; introducing HSN Vision
Lindt & Sprungli: 50 free Lindor truffles with a $50 purchase ($25 value)
Meijer: Cyber Monday only: $5.00 off $50.00, $10 off $100, and $20 off $150 with code Web bucks
White + Warren: 20% off entire site

Aside from promotional offers, retailers are leveraging the following six strategies to attract consumers to their sites during the holiday season.

1. Use the Web to promote Black Friday specials. While there's been a big push for Cyber Monday promotions, retailers also are embracing the Web to promote their stores' Black Friday specials. Though retailers will be going all-out for Cyber Monday this year, many are also planning to use their Web sites to drive traffic to stores for Black Friday. One-fourth of retailers (28.6%) plan to increase online marketing of Black Friday promotions this year according to an eHoliday study. Marketing will include e-mails about stores' Black Friday deals (74.3%), mention of Black Friday deals on the retailer's home page (62.9%) and search marketing (54.3%).

2. Post coupons on your Web site. When consumers shop online and are ready to check out, they may notice a small box on the page that asks for a discount or promotional code. These codes can be a source of unexpected savings for consumers such as extra discounts of 10 to 50 percent, instant discounts off purchases and free or upgraded shipping.

3. List specials so consumers can compare deals. List hot Black Friday and Cyber Monday specials and feature downloadable circulars and coupons. Consumers also want to find out which products come with rebates and which offer free shipping.

4. Offer lower prices online. If a consumer finds a product in a flyer at a seemingly low price, they oftentimes go online to determine whether they can get it elsewhere for less. Sites that offer comparative pricing among Web retailers such as Pricegrabber.com; Shopping.com and Shopzilla.com are frequently visited by holiday shoppers.

5. Offer relaxing returns policies. Many retailers will be adhering to more generous merchandise return policies this holiday season according to the NRF. Some retailers are extending the amount of time for returns to be made and being more flexible to customers without a receipt.

6. Post special offers on CyberMonday.com. More than 600 retailers will post holiday promotions and special savings both on Cyber Monday and throughout the holiday season. CyberMonday.com is powered by Mall Networks and created by the NRF for retailers as a one-stop shop for consumers looking for the best Cyber Monday promotions. Retailers can post hundreds of special offers on the site including free shipping specials, dollars off, percentages off and free gifts with purchase.