For the past five years, Cyber Monday has been the biggest online spending day of the year, with Black Friday coming in a close second. Since 2006, global online sales on Cyber Monday have increased by 20% yearly on average, and in 2014 the sales record was broken – yet again – with $2.68 billion spent worldwide.

Any predictions for 2015? You can bet that it’s going to be another record-breaking year, and we’re here to help you get a piece of the action. So a few tips on how you can make personal history and break your own sales records:

Give Buyers a Discount Deadline

Decide on discounts, and make some only available for 24 hours on Cyber Monday, or for an hour on Black Friday, or until midnight. This will create a sense of urgency, encourage shopping and increase sales. A great example for the success of “limited-time shopping” is Groupon. They built their entire business around 24-hour discounts.

Consider Free Shipping

In a 2014 study, shoppers voted free shipping as their number one priority when buying online, beating out all other options at a staggering 81%. If you haven’t done so already, consider offering free shipping together with your Cyber Monday deals, and advertise your free shipping offers. A great way to tackle your shipping needs and at the same time gain credibility is through Fulfillment by Amazon.

Prepare for Global Sales

Don’t assume Cyber Monday and Black Friday are just about the American post-Thanksgiving holiday shoppers, rather also UK and other European Amazon marketplaces are part of the rush. On Cyber Monday 2014, more than 16 million units were ordered worldwide from Amazon sellers.

Send Themed Email

Start sending special discounts, gift certificates, special offers, coupons, etc. themed exclusively around Cyber Monday and Black Friday. However, be sure your emails will stand out. A good example of a successful email campaign was from Loft, with a short subject line that simply read “OMG!”, which will definitely pique a person’s interest. After opening the email, it simply read “This is Huge”, in really tiny letters. First, humor is always a good way to go. Second, such a statement will raise curiosity and bring people to click on the link to see what the fuss is all about.

Quality Service & Speed of Delivery

On Black Friday and Cyber Monday people are actively shopping, not just casually browsing. If they can’t find the answer right away, they’ll move on to another store. So be sure to put emphasis on your customer service during this period, maybe even bring in some additional help. And of course – make sure your merchandise actually arrives on time for the holidays! In 2013, Amazon offered $20 gift cards and refunds on shopping charges to customers after undergoing delivery problems. How can you be certain this won’t happen to you? Be prepared for last minute shoppers, and make sure to only promise delivery deadlines that you can meet.

For more information on how to plan, build and execute your entire marketplace seller strategy, download the Marketplace Sellers Guide.

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Last year, Cyber Monday was the biggest single online shopping day on record- $1.25 billion spent online that day. And guess what? This year, they’re expected to spend even more. But things have changed in recent years.  Cyber Monday has morphed into Cyber week- a last chance opportunity for deal-seekers to score big savings before Christmas. It’s no doubt that Cyber Week is an exciting time for eCommerce sellers and to help you get the most out of this time, we want to offer a few Cyber Week selling tips:

Segment Your Audience

If you have multiple audience segments, consider multiple deals. For instance, a marketing campaign promoting your higher end products should have a different offer than a campaign promoting lower end items. There’s no such thing as one great offer for all of your customers.

Get Social

If you’re active in social media, consider offering exclusive deals to your Facebook fans and Twitter followers. After all, this is probably one of the reasons they’re following your brand, and it’s certainly something they’ll appreciate.

Offer Creative Promotions

More and more, eCommerce shoppers expect free shipping, and while it can get you attract some shoppers, you’ll likely have to bring a little more to the table in order to get the sale. Try things that will encourage repeat customers and purchases, such as offering gift cards, or by creating a membership club in which customers get exclusive deals throughout the year.

Get Ready to Spend

So you spent all this time coming up with the perfect Cyber Week deals, only to realize that nobody hears about them. During Cyber Week,  be prepared to spend some money in order to get the word out on your brand and promotions…

• Increase your  pay-per-click budget
• Leverage email marketing (Utilize your own lists and find external lists with relevant audiences)
• Make sure your affiliates know about your promotions
• Consider promotions on daily deals websites
• Launch a Facebook ad campaign. Check out our guide: FB Ad Tools for E-tailers

Be Prepared for Fulfillment Demands

The huge shopping frenzy combined with all of the one-day deals can easily make Cyber Monday overwhelming for eCommerce sellers. Make sure you can handle traffic spikes on your website as well as the fulfillment rush, meaning you have enough inventory, supplies and staff. If you don’t think you can handle it, now is a great time to find out how “Fulfillment by Amazon” (FBA) Can Increase Your Holiday Sales.

Our Predictions for the 10 Most Purchased Items During Cyber Week

1. HDTVs
2. Tablets
3. Smartphones
4. Clothing, specifically shoes
5. Laptops
6. Children’s Toys
7. Video Games
8. Microsoft Xbox One
9. Sony PlayStation 4
10. Nintendo Wii U

We hope you have wonderful and prosperous Cyber Week.  Do you have anything to add to our suggestions?  Tell  us in the comments below!