Black Friday is coming fast, you’ve heard about it, thought about, but — you haven’t set up any sales yet.
You know it’s the biggest revenue opportunity of the year, but maybe you got caught up with your other job, or life in general — and you still haven’t caught up on sleep.
Well, procrastination can actually help you think more creatively. Turns out Kurt Cobain wrote a lot of Nirvana’s songs last minute!
So to get your juices flowing, we collected a list of simple sale ideas you can easily run on your Shopify store. Most of them can be set up in just a few minutes, and all of them are easy to automate so you can spend more time managing your business and less time tweaking.
Let’s count them down!
10. Run a store-wide flash sale
Image via: promotions.newegg.com
This one’s a classic. Putting your whole store on sale is a quick and easy way to get people to add more to their carts. You can also put different sets of products on sale, like a collection, brand, or hand-picked items you want to include. You can do all this without coupon codes using Bold Discounts.
While you’re at it, check out these 3 insider tips to running profitable flash sales this Black Friday.
9. Offer a free gift with purchase
Image via: frugalcouponliving.com
Motivate customers to buy more by giving them a reward when they reach a spending goal. It’s easy to set up with Bold Motivator! This useful app displays a banner that tells customers how close they are to a reward every time they add something to their cart. Need a hand setting this up? Learn how to run a “free gift with purchase” promotion.
8. Use daily deals
Image via: Cabelas.ca
Set up “deals of the day” and schedule them to run on your store automatically throughout the weekend. Run one deal or several at a time like in the above example. Use a countdown timer to let customers know that it’s a limited offer, and if they don’t buy it now they might miss out! You can do this on your eCommerce store too with the Bold Discounts app.
Looking for daily deal tips and strategies? Check out the art of the daily deal.
7. Offer buy one, get one (BOGO) offers
Image via: hellosubscription.com
Offer customers a discounted or free product when they buy another at full price. This is another great way to increase your average order size, help customers find everything they need, and sell slower moving products, or products your customers might not know about. Try to pick products that you think customers would be interested in more than one of. Two vacuums for the price of one? Try again. Chocolates, makeup, hats, anything consumable — or that someone can’t have enough of — makes for a perfect BOGO special.
Check out 4 rookie mistakes to avoid this Black Friday for some useful tips on running BOGO offers.
6. Try product bundling
Image Via: youniqueproducts.com
Merchants have been doing it for hundreds of years! Product bundling is simply the act of offering two or more items at a reduced price if you buy them all together.
This works really well for items that can be used as a set. Whether it’s a gaming console, controller, and game sold together, or three pieces of pottery that compliment each other, if customers see the value in buying a bundle they will be likely to spend more to get a better overall value.
There are many ways you can bundle products using the Bold Bundles app. Learn how to make more money with these product bundling secrets.
5. Offer free shipping
Image via: utahsweetsavings.com
One of the main obstacles that eCommerce merchants face is customers abandoning their cart. What do you think the main reason for this is? There are many factors that lead to cart abandonment, but one of the main ones is undesirable shipping costs.
You know that feeling when you think you’re getting a great deal, then suddenly the price spikes (due to shipping)? Remove this roadblock by running a “spend $X and get free shipping” promo with the Bold Motivator app. Not only does it eliminate the obstacle of shipping costs, but it motivates customers to increase their average order size so they can unlock the free shipping offer. It really works!
Learn how to use free shipping to boost your Shopify sales this Black Friday
4. Email a promo code
Image via: pure360.com
in 2018, Email was the highest converting channel for Black Friday, beating out “direct,” “search,” and “social” traffic. There’s a reason for this. A customer who subscribed to your email list is closer to making a purchase than one who stumbles across your site, or clicks on your social media ad. In fact, if they joined your mailing list they are probably waiting to hear about your next deal!
Emailing a Black Friday promo code is an excellent way to make loyal customers feel special, cart abandoners think again about that item they wanted, and new customers have a reason to check out your sale.
Hot tip: people get tons of emails at Black Friday time, so make sure write a catchy subject line that will cut through the noise.
Building a VIP email list is your secret weapon for success this Black Friday!
3. Run a social media contest
Image via: warehouseone.com
More and more, eCommerce stores are using social media to promote their products and advertise their sales. Facebook has made it easy for Shopify merchants, allowing them to sync their Shopify stores to their Facebook page and run targeted campaigns. Learn how to add your Facebook pixel to a Shopify store. Companies are also using Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest and more to run sales, contests, and promotions.
2. Create a mystery sale
Image via: wccftech.com
What is a mystery sale? It could be just about any kind of offer. The point is that you include some element of mystery. Some examples could include “win a mystery gift with any purchase,” or “buy a $20 mystery bundle.” It could also be a “spin or scratch and save,” promotion, where customers get one chance to unlock the discount they are going to get off their purchase. This might not be an appropriate sale for every store, but if it works for you and your customers it can be a lot of fun.
1. Upsell your products
Upselling is the classic tried-and-true sale tactic for Black Friday. Upselling and cross-selling are great ideas for raising average order value without jamming a “sale” down your customers throat. In fact, unless they are fairly eCommerce savvy, they might not even know you are running a promotion at all.
Upselling is the subtle ask at checkout if they would like to either upgrade to a higher-priced (but better value) item or if they would like to include an additional, complementary item in their purchase. Looking to raise your average order value this Black Friday?
How do I run these sales in my store?
Check out the Bold suite of apps. They are easy to install on your Shopify store and give you the power to run all these sales and more!
This article was originally published by our friends at Bold Commerce.
