We’ve barely turned the page on a new calendar year, but it’s not too early to plan your mobile strategy to make Cyber Monday a top-producing event this year. If you’re like most marketers, Cyber Monday 2013 proved to be the single largest day of online spending in your history.
According to a report released by consumer analytics firm Custora, the recent holiday
e-commerce season produced 20 percent more sales over 2012. Sales on Black Friday were up by 16.2 percent and Cyber Monday sales increased by a whopping 18.2 percent.
The researchers at Custora also found that:
- One in three purchases was conducted on mobile devices on Cyber Monday.
- Apple dominated e-commerce with 80 percent of mobile orders, but Android devices gained share, representing 20 percent of mobile orders, up from 13 percent in 2012.
- Social commerce didn’t happen on Cyber Monday: social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, generated less than 1 percent in e-commerce sales on Cyber Monday.
Writing for Vocus, Jim Dougherty spelled out lessons learned from Cyber Monday 2013 that integrated marketers can embrace for their efforts this year.
- Some mobile platforms matter more than others do. Dougherty recommends looking at mobile optimization and tailoring it to match observed purchase behavior. For example, a smartphone page tailored for a ROPO (research online, purchase offline) customer could look different from a sales-optimized tablet page.
- Grow marketing distribution channels all year long. Don’t wait until the holiday to cultivate customers and prospects through various vehicles. “Whether it is email, or push notifications from a business-specific app, or social media audience, the separation is in the preparation,” he advises.
- Rethink email and social acquisition tactics. When Cyber Monday began, it referred to consumers who shopped from their work desks thanks to the availability of a high-speed Internet connection. Today, mobile users shop virtually any time, from anywhere on Cyber Monday. To reach them, Dougherty wrote, study buying patterns for traditionally strong sales periods and optimize email, notifications and social media to match the period of consumption.
Before the holiday shopping crunch this year, get to know your audience better. For some tips, read, “How To Give Mobile Customers What They Want, Fast.”