Ways to maximize your online sales on Green Monday

Recent research indicates that during the months of November and December, revenue generated by eCommerce ads continues to increase. One of the most profitable holidays for retailers during this season continues to be Green Monday.

Green Monday, which falls on the second Monday in December, remains one of the most lucrative retail sales days, just behind Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Given the high rate of e-commerce sales on this day, Green Monday is often referred to as Cyber Monday 2. In essence, it is a second chance for all online customers who did not complete their purchases during the previous two key dates: Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Therefore, to boost your sales and gain a competitive advantage on Green Monday 2023, it is crucial to prepare your website to face the competition. Here’s how to do it:

Optimize for mobile searches

In 2023 and beyond, mobile web optimization is more important than ever. Mobile search and shopping is becoming increasingly valuable, and is expected to soon surpass desktop shopping. According to the latest data, the proportion of online consumers using smartphones for holiday shopping continues to grow.

 

 

Check your site’s speed

It is vital to check the usability of your website on mobile devices. Tools such as Google’s mobile friendliness test can be of great help. Just enter your URL and the tool will provide you with a detailed report on the mobile friendliness of your landing pages, as well as additional resources that can help you improve mobile friendliness.

If you find that your site is loading slowly, here are some steps you can take to speed it up:

• Switch from a shared hosting plan to a managed hosting plan.
• Invest in a content delivery network.
• Use Google AMP to create lightweight mobile pages that load instantly.
• Reduce CSS and JavaScript to eliminate unnecessary lines of code.
• Reduce the size of images. For animations, use MPEG4 format, and remember that PNG is still the best choice for static images.

Make your site easier to use for mobile buyers

You want to make your site generally friendlier and easier to use for mobile users. This is where you should start with your overall UX design, and test your forms to ensure that all fields work. As it turns out, many customers looking for key dates as Green Monday deals will reach you through mobile. Make sure all links, buttons, and fonts are big enough to read and click on from smaller screens. Search options and intelligent autocomplete features will also take mobile users’ experiences to the next level.

Enhance your checkout process

When optimizing your website, your goal is to drive traffic and convert it into sales. You can only really do so if you optimize your checkout processes, and it’s crucial for a time like Green Monday. Here are a few easy steps that may boost user experiences:

• Minimize the number of checkout steps, long checkouts are conversion killers. Only require the customer data that you really need. It’s ideal to fit the entire checkout process onto a single page.
• Add security seals and credit card logos to the checkout page to boost customer trust.
• Let users continue shopping from the checkout page. Don’t make them go back if they forget to add an item to the shopping cart.
• Have a solid privacy policy. A FAQ page, and live chat support to answer pre-sales questions from customers are essential elements.
• Show progress throughout the checkout. Adding a progress bar to let them know how many steps they need to take to finalize the purchase can be effective.
• Provide guest checkouts, meaning that the user does not have to create an account to make a purchase. You can also ask them to save their data after the purchase.

Boost your site’s search options

Buyers that use search features are 4-6 times more likely to convert. 

One of the major problems users face when conducting product searches is the “No Results Found” page. If a customer doesn’t find what they were looking for they will most likely ditch your site without making a purchase.

Instead of just informing a user that you don’t have the product they’re searching for, why not ask them to enter a more generic keyword? You could also recommend products related to the one they seek. This is how you will boost user experiences and get them to stay on your site. Some eCommerce brands even let customers set alerts to get informed when the product they wanted is available again. 

You absolutely need to observe user searches regularly. If you notice that certain keywords for products you have on your site appear in high volumes, it’s time to optimize your site for them. This is where Google Analytics can help your eCommerce business a lot. More specifically, it has a feature called Search Term Report that will tell you what phrases, products, and items your customers are searching for on your site. This may be an immensely valuable feature when targeting profitable keywords or revamping website search options, especially during Green Monday. 

Be active on social networks

Social networks are a crucial aspect of your online store’s promotion on Green Monday. They present an awesome opportunity to raise brand awareness, build strong relationships with your customers and, above all, create buzz around your products and deals. 

Evoke nostalgia by sharing festive content

Holiday preparations are a stressful time for most of your customers, so why not use social networks to engage with them? Create and share content that will boost people’s interactions with your brand and show its human side. Above all, this is a great opportunity to learn more about your customers and turn them into brand advocates. 

Create polls on Instagram Stories. This is one of the latest Instagram features that gained a lot of popularity among brands. Ask simple and personal questions such as, “Have you written your shopping list for Green Monday?”. 

Start sharing quizzes. They’re popular among online customers because they’re interactive and personalized. For example, you could ask a customer about their preferences and, based on them, recommend the best product for them to buy on Green Monday. 

Most importantly, share gorgeous photos and videos that evoke emotions. These could be holiday-themed videos, infographics, animations, memes, etc. Encourage customers to create content using your products and brand tags. You can also take “making off” photos, that is, behind the scenes, during the holidays, showing how you have decorated your business, for example, to humanize your brand and win the affection of customers.

Use hashtags!

When used properly, social networks can maximize your reach and boost conversions, and this is where using hashtags helps. For starters, use some generic holiday-related hashtags, such as #HappyHolidays, #GreenMonday, #GreenMondayDeals, #WishList, etc. You can also use your brand’s hashtags for those customers who already know you and want to be aware of your products.

Improve your communications

During the holiday season, there will be a spike in your brand and product mentions. Invest in a solid social media monitoring tool that will let you stay on top of your mentions. You should also improve your live chat services to ensure that your customer support doesn’t suffer as the traffic grows.

Promote special deals & offers

We’ve all seen the images of customers camping out in front of big stores just to take advantage of massive deals. Even though your store is online, you can still build hype around it. 

For example, create special sales for your store’s fans only, such as your newsletter list members or Facebook group members. They will be honored to be a part of an exclusive group and will be more likely to convert.

Create an effective holiday option on your site to evoke FOMO (“fear of missing out” acronym), in your customers. Give them an attention-grabbing headline, such as “Green Monday Massive Sale” and add a large countdown timeline. You should also craft a persuasive call to action, such as “Get your coupon immediately” or “Sign up now to get a 50% discount.” 

Are you ready for Green Monday? 

Green Monday is rapidly approaching and you need to prepare your eCommerce site for it. Make it user-centric, and use analytics tools to check its performance and see what needs to be fixed. Make sure your site is responsive, and improve user experiences during the checkout process. Most importantly, generate hype around your online store. These tips go far beyond optimizing your site for Green Monday – they will ensure that your customers will keep visiting you all year round.

 

Raul Harman, editor in chief at Technivorz blog. He has a lot to say about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. You can reach him on Twitter.