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Black Friday, Manic Monday, Cyber Monday: All Time High for UK Online Christmas Shopping

By Andrew Redfern @ 8th December 2010 10:57 am Black Friday

A £0.5bn shopping binge was forecasted for Sunday December the 5th and Monday December 6th by the IMRG, UK trade association for online retailers with a total online spend for the whole of the Christmas period expected to be £12.4bn.

The festive shopping season kicked off with Amazon UK’s “Black Friday” event which lasted throughout the whole of the last week of November created a massive rush towards a flurry of bargains. As “lightening deal” products were selling out in a matter of seconds, it was criticised by frustrated shoppers on its Black Friday

Forums and Twitter, the Advertising Standards Authority were ready to investigate complaints.

The hot bargains included the Nintendo Wii which was sold for £50, a massive 70% off the normal price and Take That’s new album, Progress for just £1, a saving of 88.8% but these deals where gone in seconds leaving shoppers to wonder how many of these deal items are actually available in the first place.

Black Friday didn’t quite catch on with other UK retailers this year, but with the publicity that Amazon’s deals attracted, it is likely that other retailers will be watching trends closely, thinking ahead to next year.

Cyber Monday, however, which ran from Monday 28th November until the 6th December sparked some more excitement within the UK online community. More online retailers provided greater discounts high street shops offered up to 20% discount online during this period.

A record £831,000 was spent online in just one minute on Monday the 6th December at 1:15pm with 128 transactions per second, compared to £732,000 in the busiest minute on Monday 7th December 2009. Sales have been increasing steadily since 28th November, the US’s Cyber Monday with yesterday being dubbed as Mega Monday in the UK with sales significantly higher than the previous Monday.

The first week of December is traditionally the busiest shopping week of the year, leading up to Christmas. People have received their November Salaries and are buying Christmas gifts with online deliveries arriving with plenty of time for Christmas. This year with the cold snap that we are currently experiencing, even more people are shopping online in the warmth of their living room rather than braving the freezing high street.

Selfridges stated its online sales soared 50% last week, while John Lewis said sales through its website increased by 62.2%. On Sunday eBays UK sales were up by 18% on the same day last year with 17 items being purchased every second, dubbed their “Super Sunday”.

According to analysis by online fraud prevention company Retail Decisions, the most sought after gifts that are being snapped up by internet shoppers this year are the Mini Micro T-bar Scooter, the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus game, Lego’s Winter Toy Workshop and the Apple iPod Touch. The chart below shows the search volume for each of the most popular gifts. The iPod, Wii and Lego all have similar volume online, the Micro Scooter has considerably less, people may purchase this on the high street rather than online.

Robin Goad, Research Director at Hitwise UK, said: ‘Last weekend was certainly the busiest of the pre-Christmas season so far this year, but the clue that we are not quite there yet is the comparison between traffic levels on Sunday (November 28th) and Monday (November 29th).

‘For most of the year, UK Internet visits to retailers peak on the Sunday and drop off on the Monday, and only on Mega Sunday / Monday do the traffic levels match. This didn’t happen this Sunday and Monday, implying that Mega Monday is still to come.’

PPC Tips for the Run up to Christmas

By Andrew Redfern @ 1st November 2010 4:44 pm Black Friday

While the basics of paid search behaviour and choice of keywords do not change throughout the run up to Christmas, the market conditions, however, vary by the way people buy, the way you sell and the way you compete.

Searches are more gift giving inclined, with increasing urgency as shipping deadlines get closer. As it is traditionally a heavily promotional time focusing on specific key dates – black Friday, cyber Monday and the increasing importance of shipping deadlines, sales and inventory levels vary significantly. As demand rises, competition heats up by existing competitors becoming more aggressive in their online marketing strategies and new competitors entering the market.

The chart below shows the volatile trends of the peak Christmas season last year (click on the graph for an enlarged version).

Peak Holiday PPC Seasons

The text ad is the first opportunity to answer to the searcher’s question, it must appeal to their gift giving intent, your promotions and distinguish itself from new and more agressive competition.

Alex Cohen, accomplished online marketer, blogger and presenter gives 3 tips to help increase click through rates and answer the most profitable holiday questions.

1. Segregate your brand keywords

Brand Keywords are unique, containing your brand name, they have high click through rates and low cost per click with high return on investment. Brand plus keywords contain your brand name and a category generic term. As there will be many brand plus terms, it is important to focus on the most profitable first for the Christmas period then to work through the rest in due time. The goal being to only attract brand plus queries, the last step to add your own brand terms as negative to any non brand campaigns

2. Manage your ads with ad parameters

The use of numbers in adverts, e.g. cost, inventory or discounts will help the ad to stand out against competitors, requiring a specific landing page which delivers the promise. You can add parameters to control changing figures for inventory stock or prices. The AdWords API blog has some good examples.

3. Query Mine for Winners

During the period leading up to Christmas, it is important to dig deeper into your search queries. People will search in new and different ways, especially as Google’s new ad format and Google instant have just launched and this is the first Christmas period that they will be used. It is important to focus on the highest volume/ cost terms and words that are converting profitably. These will separate out into unique ad groups with specific ad groups that address their intent.

Andy Donaldson (Hit Search Director) comments – ‘A Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign can either make or break a business over this critical period for online retail. Adopting a Christmas PPC strategy focused on a scalable return on investment should be the least your agency is focused on over the next few weeks…’

To ensure success in the run up to Christmas, paid adverts are critical. The best text ads are crafted by focusing on the specific Christmas intent in each search query. Use brand terms to break out your ad groups. Get specific in text ads with numerical parameters and mine search queries to fine tune even more directly.

MND-HS-011110

Adapted from Alex Cohen’s “3 holiday PPC Tips for Black Friday (and beyond)” http://searchenginewatch.com/3641490

$859 Million E-Commerce Spend on December 15

By Andrew Redfern @ 22nd December 2008 11:43 am Black Friday

comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported its tracking of holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 49 days of the November – December 2008 holiday season.

For the holiday season through December 19, $24.03 billion has been spent online, down 1 percent versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week of the season has seen several strong online spending days, including Monday, December 15 with $859 million in spending to rank as the second heaviest day of the season, behind Tuesday December 9 when $887 million was spent.

“With five fewer days of holiday shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, there is increasing pressure on consumers to make their holiday purchases in time for Christmas,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

“As a result, we’ve seen online shoppers continue to spend heavily even later into the season, with the most recent week including four of the top ten spending days of the season. Despite this positive development, the combination of the compressed holiday schedule and the challenging economic situation faced by many consumers means that retailers have their work cut out for them this season.”

This year’s holiday season from Thanksgiving through December 19 has seen average online spending per day of $643 million, 5 percent higher than last year. However, the core holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year is actually 16 percent shorter than last year, which underscores one of the key challenges facing retailers this season: an inability to increase daily sales at a rate sufficient to compensate for fewer shopping days.

Top 10 Online Spending Days for Holiday Season to Date

For the online holiday shopping season-to-date (thru Dec. 19), Tuesday, December 9 ranks as the heaviest individual spending day of the season with $887 million in sales. Monday, December 15 ranks second with $859 million, followed by Monday, December 1(Cyber Monday) with $846 million.

With the heaviest online spending days of the season likely to have already occurred, Cyber Monday 2008 will rank significantly higher in relative spending than it has in previous years. For example, Cyber Monday ranked as the ninth heaviest spending day in 2007 with $733 million in sales and the twelfth heaviest in 2006 with $608 million in sales.

Top Performing Retail Categories Since Cyber Monday

The fastest growing product categories during the period from December 1 through December 19 were Sport & Fitness (up 31 percent), Books & Magazines (up 18 percent), and Video Games, Consoles & Accessories (up 17 percent). Apparel & Accessories, the second largest online retail category by dollar sales, has seen sales grow strongly (up 15 percent) as a result of retailers’ aggressive discounting and unseasonably cold weather across many parts of the country.

Following a strong week of Cyber Monday, that was driven by large discounts on products such as flat screen TVs, sales of consumer electronics have slowed significantly in recent weeks. The softest retail categories include Music, Movies & Videos (down 24 percent), Office Supplies (down 19 percent), Jewelry & Watches (down 17 percent) and Home, Garden & Furniture (down 16 percent).

Would you like to know about Internet Marketing? If so, contact Hit Search, Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click & Social Space Marketing specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible.

Black Friday Coupons Pushed On Facebook

By Andrew Redfern @ 28th November 2008 9:42 am Black Friday

As we announced yesterday Black Friday, the unofficial start to the American holiday shopping frenzy, is now upon us and companies using Facebook using the Social Network to distribute shopping coupons.

Randi Zuckerberg on the Official Facebook blog posted on the blog about some of the examples. Take a look of how companies are using Social Media to push online users into the offline world.

Randi comments – “Shopaholics are waking up at dawn to get to the best sales of the year. Reports show that Black Friday sales are up amid the financial downturn.

The shopping buzz extends everywhere –- ads in magazines and billboards, websites dedicated to finding the best sales and of course, Facebook. Just as Facebook helps you connect with the people you care about and share information, you can also use Facebook during the holidays to get the most out of your shopping experience.

Become a fan of your favorite stores to get news about sales and special events, create an event around a shopping trip and invite your friends or update your status to tell your friends about a great sale you spotted or a recent purchase. You can also join one of dozens of Facebook groups for people who love Black Friday or give your friends a Facebook shopping gift.

Many of your favorite retailers, including Dell, eBay and Sephora are offering free shopping gifts in the Facebook gift shop. They range from shopping bags to ribbon-wrapped gift boxes and computers.

Retailers are also promoting sales and giving out coupons and discounts though Facebook Pages and Events. So, before you rush out this holiday season, log onto Facebook and search for your favorite stores to find the best deals. Make sure to keep a close watch on your friends’ Facebook status updates — after all, you won’t want to miss out on a great sale or a hot bargain.”

21% Increase in Black Friday Deals

By Andrew Redfern @ 28th November 2008 12:01 am Black Friday

Retailers have increased Black Friday sale offers by 21% over last year according to ShopLocal. This traditionally strong shopping day could be as big as ever.

In the current economic conditions consumers are looking for deals, and retailers have clearly communicated to them that they will see the best deals on Black Friday. Not only have retailers offered a higher volume of promotions, there has been an unprecedented early release of Black Friday deals, with a majority of major retailers announcing early this week.

“This year’s Black Friday sales could be bigger than ever. Consumers will not only find great deals on gifts, but could make additional purchases on items for themselves or their homes to take advantage of the deals being offered,” said ShopLocal CEO Vikram Sharma. “Retailers are offering great value to consumers in a difficult season.”

With fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and pent-up consumer demand, retailers are greatly increasing the amount of products they are discounting and giving access to the consumer by making the promotions available before Black Friday.

Retailers are doing a great job of using the Internet to promote their in-store deals and smart shoppers are visiting retailer sites to find the best deals before heading out to stores.

ShopLocal sites provide an indication of how some products will perform. Shoppers are showing strong interest in notebook computers from HP, Toshiba and Sony, HD TVs, the iPod Nano, GPS systems and men’s and women’s outerwear with discounts between 50% and 65%.

The latest and greatest promotions from retailers can be found through the ShopLocal website and updates on the holiday shopping trends and real time updates are available at the ShopLocal blog.

Black Friday facebook groups gear up

By Andrew Redfern @ 27th November 2008 11:01 am Black Friday

After our recent worldwide SEO series we, through our partners, are keeping a much closer eye on the different global sectors. Today there is one thing dominating sales and marketing (both traditional and online) over in America. Black Friday is almost upon us. It’s a term that leaves many people around the world bemused whilst in the US it will have been on the radar for weeks.

It’s interesting how such a localised phenomenon can take on such importance globally. The sales figures generated tomorrow will immediately be seized upon as a barometer for the US retail sector and a good Black Friday could be seen as a shot in the arm for both balance sheets and consumer confidence.

It’s only one weekend but it is that important.

It does permeate into a wide range of places. We notice at least two Facebook groups devoted to Black Friday bargain hunting :

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS!!!

Black Friday Sales Ads – (Be the First to Know)

On Monday the result will be poured over and analysed but for now Americans can enjoy their thanksgiving turkey and then get ready to shop ’til they drop.

Pre-Black Friday Traffic Up 58%; The Online World Waits..

By Andrew Redfern @ 27th November 2008 9:42 am Black Friday

Its nearly that time again folks! Black Friday the Friday after Thanksgiving in American, which historically brings a start ot the Christmas shopping season.

According to new data from Experian Marketing Services, consumers have started to look for Black Friday deals early with online traffic to a custom category of Black Friday advertising Web sites increasing 58 percent for the week ending Nov. 22, 2008, versus the week ending Nov. 17, 2007 — the week prior to Thanksgiving last year.

Further indication that retail traffic has rebounded to the same level as last year is the 1 percent increase in online visits among the top 500 retail Web sites overall for the first time in 11 weeks.

Based on data from Experian Hitwise(R) and Experian CheetahMail(R), Thanksgiving Day has traditionally been the busiest day online, as traffic increased 15 percent in 2007 compared with 2006 among the top 500 retail Web sites. Black Friday traffic increased 13 percent, and Cyber Monday visits increased 22 percent. This is also reflected by the volume of emails sent out on Thanksgiving Day which, according to CheetahMail, grew between 2006 and 2007.

“As online traffic continues to grow, we also anticipate an increase in email volume on and around Thanksgiving day, despite this year’s tough economy,” said Ashley Johnston, vice president of marketing for Experian Marketing Services. “In general, we have seen significant growth in the number of companies leveraging email marketing to drive online and offline sales.”

Top visited Black Friday Web sites
1)    BlackFriday.info
2)    Black Friday Advertisements
3)    Black Friday Ads
4)    Black Friday
5)    Black Friday @ GottaDeal
6)    BlackFridayAds.com
7)    BlackFriday.fm
8)    Blackfday.com
9)    iBlackFriday.com
10)   Deals of America – Black Friday

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