Daily online offers
Maintaining momentum is one of the most challenging aspects of an extended BFCM campaign. Merchants can keep customers coming back during peak season by promoting a different offer each day. This type of promotion creates opportunities to focus on individual customer segments, and may improve email open rates, since each day features fresh content and a new limited-time offer.
Gift with purchase (GWP)
GWP promotions can be incredibly motivating to customers and are a highly recommended alternative to sitewide discounts, as they provide a way for customers to feel like they’re ‘scoring a great deal’, while helping the merchant protect their margins. Here are some ways to execute a GWP offer:
- Encourage buyers to spend more by offering a free gift with a purchase over a certain threshold. One way to do this is by using a script to discount the “gift” item, as shown in this free gift with purchase script example.
- Free gifts that increase in value based on how large the customer’s cart is. For example, “spend $35 and get a free product sample, spend $50 to get a small travel-size product”
- The “gift” doesn’t have to be a physical item, it can be a donation to a specific charity or cause, i.e. “15% of every order will be donated to X cause”
- Make an exclusive product only available as a GWP. To extend your gift with purchase approach further, consider offering a limited quantity exclusive that can only be obtained by purchasing certain items or reaching a certain order value threshold. For example, a bikini brand might offer exclusive accessories that match their print patterns, but cannot be purchased – the only way to obtain them is as a gift with purchase.
Bundles
Consider bundling dead or dying stock with top selling stock in a capsule wardrobe, a ‘buy the look’ bundle or a ‘free gift’ offer in order to spread the margin losses across the order. You can find some bundling discounting templates here (Buy X, Y and Z, Get W% off and Buy X, Y and Z, Get $W off).
Tiered discounting
Tiered discounting (a.k.a. ‘Spend and Save’) is an incredibly effective technique that enables brands to increase average order values significantly during sales. For example, spend $100 and get 20% off, spend $150 and get 25% off, etc. Another approach is to combine tiered discounting with retention activities, for example: spend $100 and get 10% off now, plus $10 off your next purchase.
Limited quantity exclusives (flash sales)
Whether a merchant has limited stock of a new line, has reserved some stock of an old style favourite, or is artificially keeping the quantity of a new product below expected demand in order to generate buzz and exclusivity, a flash sale is a great way to generate excitement with buyers.
Daily online offers
Maintaining momentum is one of the most challenging aspects of an extended BFCM campaign. Merchants can keep customers coming back during peak season by promoting a different offer each day. This type of promotion creates opportunities to focus on individual customer segments, and may improve email open rates, since each day features fresh content and a new limited-time offer.
VIP access
Since a merchant’s top 20% of customers likely bring in the majority of their revenue, merchants can celebrate their VIPs by offering them exclusive promotions, such as:
- Offering premium shipping rates, like free express delivery or discounted shipping
- Providing exclusive VIP access to locked content on their site. Using an app, like Locksmith, is a simple and effective way to implement this. Bonus points: create mystery and drive store traffic with an email campaign guiding customers to the merchant’s
locked content.
- Holding a virtual event offering top customers the opportunity to see holiday products first
- Increasing the amount of loyalty points earned per dollar spent, based on the VIP tier the customer has reached
Create moments of delight
Discounts aren’t the only way merchants can celebrate their customers this season. Here are some creative ways merchants can reward their best shoppers:
- Make a charitable donation in a customer’s name
- Send handwritten thank you cards with orders
- Surprise customers with hidden gift cards in their orders
- Offer gift-wrapping services
- Feature a customer on your website in a “story of the month”
- Hand-deliver a local VIP their products in person on the same day they ordered. The merchant can even get it on video and share on their socials.
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