In North America, sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday – November 29 to December 1 – are expected to be around $87 billion USD. November 11 marked Singles Day for Chinese E-commerce giant Alibaba. It’s their biggest sale of the year. In 24 hours the online retail giant grossed $38.3 Billion US dollars in sales shattering single day records.

The numbers don’t lie. Consumers are looking for deals in November and retailers that are prepared will reap the benefits.

As a business offering services through Shopify with Sesami you are in a unique position to benefit from the Black Friday frenzy.  Small online retailers and physical stores will have to compete with the likes of Costco, Walmart and Amazon. You sell experiences and by virtue of that, operate in your own marketplace.

The question remains, are you ready for Cyber Weekend? Have you defined any special offers? Have you updated your website and do you have a marketing strategy in place to drive traffic?

If the answer is no, it’s not too late. Here are 5 promotion ideas that can help generate interest and increase sales of your services.

1. Gift Card

Most Black Friday shoppers are on the hunt for Christmas Gifts. What better gift than an unforgettable experience? A weekend getaway, a massage, a styling session all make wonderful christmas gifts. An incentive in the form of a discount, say a $100 service for $80, should be enough to sway visitors in purchasing your gift cards on Black Friday.

2. BOGO: BOGOs

Buy One Get One promotions are typical for retail brands on Black Friday. For services, the appeal is even greater. A promotion for Buy One Get One at 50% Off on a service such as a haircut and styling turns into an activity the gift giver and receiver can do together. It’s more meaningful than a scarf or a Starbucks Mug.

3. A good old discount

If you shy away from discounts, Black Friday weekend is the one time of year where you should make an exception. Consumers are seeking out deals and your service could very well appeal to them. A discount on pet grooming for example can be very appealing to pet owners or to people looking for gifts for pet owners.

4. Bundle Up

Another great example is to bundle a product with one of your services.The perception of more value for the price is sure to sway potential customers looking for an experience or to gift a loved one with a nice experience.

5. Launch Your Reward Program

BFCM is the time of year to boost sales but what if you could ensure those sales turned into loyal customers? Loyalty programs such as Smile.io have created point systems that customers can earn by completing certain actions such as spending more or writing reviews. In turn, they can use those points to purchase from your website. Providing an incentive to join the Loyalty program or providing additional points to people who sign up on BFCM can help kickstart your loyalty activities.

Get ready for BFCM

Selling services to consumers with Sesami for Shopify is a lot like selling products. Therefore it’s important to have a strategy for selling services on BFCM. We’ve outlined 5 promotions that can help boost your store’s sales this year. You still have time to set up your special BFCM offers. We hope this article has helped motivate you to do so!