Lessons for affiliate marketers from the holiday season
Now that holiday season has faded into history, affiliate marketers can examine the results of the shopping feast and look for trends that might help them succeed this year. In fact, understanding the nuts and bolts of the holidays can help you increase your affiliate marketing results all year long.
E-Commerce Continues its Upward Trajectory
The recent holiday season has brought good news for affiliate marketers and e-commerce business owners. According to IPWatchDog, e-commerce transactions dominated Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with many shoppers who might have otherwise braved long lines turning to their online browsers instead.
This was Cyber Monday’s tenth anniversary, and a decade of online shopping has made a significant dent in in-person shopping. In fact, Cyber Monday generated an unprecedented $3.1 billion in revenue for online retailers, with nearly $1 billion of those transactions originating on a mobile device.
What does this mean for affiliate marketers? There’s no reason to fear the death of e-commerce sales. If this trend continues, consumers will increasingly turn to the Internet when they want to make a purchase, whether they’re shopping for handbags or health products.
Big Brands Dominated the Sales
A VigLink infographic reveals that some of the world’s most well-known brands fared the best during the the holiday rush. Big box stores like Walmart and Target generated significant profits, but so did online giant Amazon and deal-buster Groupon.
Brands like Nike and Microsoft performed extremely well. Unsurprisingly, Best Buy outdid itself in the electronics market, though Newegg also held its own. Etsy, the handcrafted online marketplace, also placed among the top earners over Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Apparel Outperformed Electronics
VigLink’s infographic ranks the products that attracted the most purchases on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you think that consumers bought more flat screen televisions and gaming systems than anything else, you’d be wrong. Apparel items sold the most products, from sneakers and outerwear to gloves and boots. In the electronics market, however, many items still flew off the shelves, including Samsung televisions, Apple tablets, and gaming systems.
Studying the best sellers can give you an idea of what you might want to seek in affiliate partnerships. High-dollar items and smaller products that sell well can vastly increase your profits.
In Conclusion
Media pundits and skeptical bloggers predicted record sales lows in the weeks leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, Black Friday actually beat projections by more than two percent.
It’s important for affiliates to remember that predictions don’t mean everything. Instead of following the media forecasts, trust your own research and data to make decisions about your business. This is especially true over the holidays because even the smallest detail can make a big difference in the outcome.