From Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the five days in between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday are grouped together and known as Cyber Five. With online shopping becoming the more efficient and popular way to Black Friday shop, Cyber Monday has been one of the top ways to get good holiday deals. However, Cyber Five is rapidly becoming the most popular way to holiday shop. 

In 2021 Cyber Five grossed $24.2 billion in sales in the United States, people are logging in sooner than ever to lock in holiday deals. With eCommerce websites offering better deals earlier than ever, it is no wonder why Cyber Five will be overcoming Cyber Monday. 

The Difficulty of Black Friday Shopping

During the pandemic, shopping in-store caused difficulties, so many people opted to stay home and cash in on Cyber Five deals rather than risk shopping in a physical store. Since this, more people have enjoyed the benefits of being able to enjoy Black Friday deals from the comfort of their homes rather than stressing out over getting to the stores early on time.

 Over the years Black Friday has been on the decline in popularity with $600 billion in online sales in 2019 showcasing the demand for commerce shopping. Many people will choose to participate in Black Friday since some retailers offer good in-store-only deals, yet, the appeal of Cyber Five will continue to increase the number of online sales versus in-store. 

The spirit of Black Friday will live on in the essence of Cyber Five. Retailers and eCommerce will continue to adapt to what is the most popular and convenient for their customers and Cyber Five is rapidly becoming the new way to celebrate the Black Friday holiday season.

Supply Chain Issues

Since 2020 there has been a struggle for empty shelves due to issues with distribution from supply chains. There are still expected to be supply chain issues in the upcoming Black Friday shopping season which is another reason why prices may seem more inflated than usual. Supply chain issues are another reason why Cyber Five is on the rise to take over Cyber Monday, since many people are shopping online earlier, a lot of in-demand items will be going out of stock before Cyber Monday even starts. 

One benefit of these supply chain issues is that retailers are in need to move excess products that came in late 2021, so consumers will be able to get good deals on these items that were backlogged due to shipment/delivery issues. 

Businesses small or large, are preparing to try and meet the demands of the large influx of consumers, but the supply chain demands are making it difficult for both consumers and retailers to have a smooth Cyber Five. 

Many stores are trying to shift consumers from getting items delivered to their homes since there could be issues with shipments arriving on time for the holidays. Instead, they are encouraging consumers to buy online and do in-store pick-up to ensure that the products they want/need are available on time. 

Inflation on the Rise

Unfortunately for Black Friday shoppers, inflation is a big factor that accounts for many of the holiday deals this year. They have estimated that Black Friday prices will increase by 2.5%, and retailers are trying their best to minimize the cost of these prices, but due to the rise in inflation and supply chain issues, shoppers will find themselves spending a bit more than in previous years. 

There are a lot of ways to try and beat the high Black Friday prices, such as shopping online during the Cyber Five holiday. This can help compare prices instantly to ensure that you are getting the best deal. Using online couponing browser extensions such as Honey will help shoppers save as much money as possible because it instantly pulls up working coupon codes that you would not be able to use in stores.

With how early Black Friday deals have started, it should assist when consumers sit down to plan out what they need to buy during the Cyber Five shopping frenzy. 

Take into consideration the inflation costs while promoting your business’s holiday sales as well, to try and make sure your clients/customers are getting the best deals they possibly can. Keep track of any competitor prices and do your best to match that or if you do not wish to draw attention to competitors, try and offer reasonable discounts to entice visitors to buy through your website.

The Growth of Cyber Five

The previous year of Cyber Five from 2017-2019 had an increase from 17.3% sales volume to 20% sales volume. This rapid growth of Cyber Five will continue, especially with retailers such as Amazon projecting their online sales sooner than ever. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still the two most popular shopping days of Cyber Five. 

Additionally, some stores will be closed on Thanksgiving day just to allow their employees to spend time with their families for the holidays, while their online sales can soar, hence why Cyber Monday has been the tip eCommerce shopping day since 2010.

Online shopping will constantly remain the most popular way to buy, so now it is a matter of retailers and small businesses pushing sales earlier to make Cyber Five grow exponentially. The holidays are considered to be the most stressful time of the year, but getting shopping done earlier can alleviate some of the stress that comes with finding the right gift for the right price. 

Starting Cyber Five Sales Early

With high anticipation for both Cyber Monday and Black Friday, some businesses are offering online sales early to give a preview of sorts to the upcoming Cyber Five deals. The majority of businesses start their sales as early as the week before Thanksgiving, but it seems stores such as Walmart are starting to put out sales early on in the month of November. 

Inflation has been a big concern regarding how it will affect these Cyber Five deals, so to counter those worries retailers have noted how early shoppers are starting their holiday shopping and are making these door-buster sales available. Since early November focuses on election season, many businesses are counting on Cyber Five to make up for lost sales during the election season. 

Whether you start your holiday shopping in October or early November, there really is nothing that beats the convenience of online shopping. Cyber Monday has always gathered large numbers in sales from people shopping from their smartphones or laptops, but now more than ever people want to get good deals as early as possible to avoid the rush of Cyber Five shopping. 

How to Prepare Your Business for Cyber Five

If your business wants to be prepared for the upcoming Cyber Five Holiday, then it is a good idea to start promoting your deals early. More and more businesses such as Best Buy are doing ‘Door Buster’ deals for their online stores way earlier than Black Friday. Promoting to your customers what sales you’ll be having will increase traffic and revenue toward your website. 

Be sure that your website is fully optimized to handle a large volume of traffic. In the previous year, smaller businesses and retailers experience a 501% increase in sales during Cyber Monday. Making sure your website can handle a large volume of traffic and not crash on the big deal is very important to have a successful Cyber Five.  

Also, be sure to promote heavily to gather excitement and attention to your company’s sales. By promoting on social media or Google Advertising, you can bring a lot of revenue to your website during Cyber Five. 

If you have an established following of loyal customers now is the time to reward them with good deals, especially if you have a loyalty program on your website. This will also continue your customer relationship into the next year to make your happy customers return for next year’s Cyber Five deals as well. 

Understanding the flow of your network traffic will help your business succeed, preparing metrics such as Wait Time and Webpage Response throughout not just the month leading up to Cyber Five, but throughout the year will help your website run at optimal speed and pace. 

How to Implement Marketing Strategies for your Business During Cyber Five

eCommerce retailers are heavily celebrating Cyber Five, coming up with new marketing tactics such as “Mobile Wednesday” which was a campaign created by eBay to promote shopping ahead of Thanksgiving. This is just one marketing example that produces a lot of results, since a majority of people have never heard of Cyber Five, it is an excellent tactic to promote a sale during one of the Cyber Five days as something else. 

Like ‘Saving Sunday Sales’ something catchy that supports a big sale you’re having in between the Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates. This is mainly due to the fact that Cyber Five is still slowly gaining popularity as online shopping becomes more and more the new normal for holiday Black Friday shopping.

Take the Stress Out of the Holidays

Be mindful when coming up with marketing tactics during the holidays that this time of the year is very stressful for a majority of people. Your business should try and alleviate some of that stress, which is why tactics like “Order now and receive your products before Christmas,” these kinds of shipping deals are appealing since it gets rid of the worry of consumers getting the product they need before the big holiday.

Getting Customers Ahead of the Curve

Sending newsletters with exclusive offers and coupons is also a good way to reward those loyal customers who have signed up for your newsletter and or rewards program. Previewing your sales and deals via email can allow your customers and clients to prepare for the upcoming sales and allow them to be aware of what new products and services are available for Cyber Five or what sales on previous items or services are needed.

Remember this is the season of giving, and giving back to your customers new or old is always a good way to build trust and appreciation between your brand and customers. 

Personalization is also a very useful tool, using specific data based on different consumers' clicks and data on their spending habits on your website. Targeting and highlighting specific areas that can be more personalized will make Cyber Five will make people gravitate towards your website and brand more. 

Social Media Marketing

Social media advertising may also indirectly boost your  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) score, since if you have more viewers/traffic coming from social media, then you're more likely to rank higher if you're focusing on specific SEO keywords. Promoting your sales on social media and using SEO tactics on both your social posts and advertisements on social media will bring more traffic to your website during the actual days of Cyber Five.

By showcasing your deals on social media you have a whole variety of new customers to appeal to by specifically targeting the niche of your brand to its direct audience. If your team isn’t social media expert, hiring a digital marketing agency will cover you and assure you more traffic and attention to your website before, during, or even after the Cyber Five holidays. If you have been keeping your social media completely organic, then this time of the year is perfect to bump up your social posts! With more free time due to the holidays, more people have been scrolling through social media, so it is a great time to increase not only brand awareness but social engagement as well.

It is difficult to say if Cyber Five will officially overthrow Cyber Monday, but the demand for online shopping is getting earlier and earlier every year. With supply chain and inflation issues, more customers want to start shopping as early as possible. Be sure your business/brand can stay on top of the demand for the best possible sales. Promoting your Cyber Five business plan can create more volume and traffic for the holiday season. 

If you’re not sure you can tackle digital marketing this holiday season on your own, LSM is here to help!  If you're interested in utilizing our expertise in digital marketing strategies for your business, book a free consultation with LSM today!

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