Cyber Monday—the Monday after Thanksgiving—isn’t the largest online shopping day of the holiday season, according to Coremetrics. The San Mateo, CA-based provider of Web analytics and marketing solutions says that online merchants should expect their greatest traffic on Cyber Monday but that they’ll see their greatest Web sales the following Monday, Dec. 4.
After Dec. 4—which it has dubbed eDay–Coremetrics predicts the second-busiest day in terms of online sales will be Dec. 11, followed by Dec. 6, Dec. 5, and Dec. 12.
To maximize sales during these peak days, Coremetrics offers the following suggestions:
• One week after eDay, use personalized e-mail campaigns, paid search, and comparison-site placements to “communicate a sense of urgency.” The goal is to persuade shoppers to order before items sell out or they miss the cut-off dates for Christmas delivery.
• Two weeks after eDay, “highlight the store finder, in-store pick-up and in-store promotions to drive sales from last-minute shoppers.” Also, restore your paid-search budget and click prices back to their preseason levels.
• Throughout the season, if applicable, promote top gifts by gender and by price to help direct site visitors.
• Because many shoppers research online before completing their purchase in the store, if you have a brick-and-mortar channel, make sure your Website features all the items that your stores are selling.