Of course we are!

When it comes to international shipping and importing products for what is the most lucrative time of year for many, many businesses, the holiday season starts now.

At least, preparing for it starts now.

In fact for many, preparations for the holiday season are already well under way.

As a friend to your business, Universal Cargo Management wants this holiday season to be the most successful one your business has ever seen.

Power Link Expedite shared the infographic to the right with us about the increasing numbers in online shopping around the Christmas season and the “busiest shipping day” of the year.

Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving or Black Friday as it has become known for its power to get businesses out of the red and back into the black has been the biggest annual opportunity for businesses to reach out to consumers and make sales.

Trends are changing.

As the Power Link Expedite infographic shows, Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) is actually taking over as businesses’ biggest opportunity.

While percentages of consumers who are physically going to stores on Black Friday are shrinking, percentages of people who plan to shop online during Cyber Monday are increasing.

In fact, the numbers of people shopping online on Cyber Monday are well surpassing the numbers of people who physically go shopping on Black Friday.

I guess this doesn’t really come as a surprise to me as I haven’t gone out shopping on a Black Friday in years, but often shop online and usually check out Cyber Monday deals.

I’m sure you probably already knew Cyber Monday is a great opportunity to help launch profits at the beginning of the Christmas season, but maybe this infographic helps clarify just how big that Cyber Monday opportunity is.

Here at Universal Cargo Management, we want to give you a few pragmatic tips for preparing your business to make big profits this year on Cyber Monday.

Here are 5 tips to help your business make Cyber Monday, the biggest shipping day of the year, the most successful one you’ve ever had.

#1 – Import Now (Stock Up Now for Non-International Shippers)

Okay, this first one is mainly for businesses that import products to sell, but since we are a freight forwarder and most of our readers are shippers, whether importers or exporters, it makes sense for us to include such a tip. (Don’t worry, there’s a version of this for you non-international shippers too.)

It might seem like there is lots of time before Thanksgiving and the Christmas season get here, but it will sneak up on you fast. It’s now time to start shipping in your inventory to get stocked up for what could be the most successful Cyber Monday you’ve ever had.

Plus, with the ILWU still in negotiations with the PMA over the coast wide contract of dockworkers at the ports, delays are possible on imports. You don’t want to wait until the last minute and not get your goods in on time to effectively sell and send them to your customers.

For those of you who are not international shippers, it’s not too soon for you to start stocking up. You could get your inventory ready, taking pictures and preparing the web copy for it.

#2 – Offer Free Shipping

91% of online shoppers will respond to a promotion that offers free standard shipping, says the infographic. That’s a phenomenal statistic!

I know first hand that being able to list “free shipping” on a product helps sales. In my own side business of selling books online, when I put free shipping on books, they saw dramatic increases in sales. This is good to be able to do anytime of year to increase sales, but it is especially important for Cyber Monday as online shoppers will be looking for this and 47% of companies surveyed will increase free shipping offers this holiday season according to the infographic.

Even if your only Cyber Monday deal is free shipping, it could seriously help increase your sales.

Unfortunately, Universal Cargo Management cannot offer you free shipping as a Cyber Monday deal.

I hope that doesn’t sound too hypocritical, but we are a freight forwarder after all; international shipping is our product. We can always offer free freight rate pricing on your international shipping.

#3 – Optimize Your Website for Smartphones & Tablets

This one is not from the infographic data. People aren’t just shopping onine. They’re shopping online with mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

According to Buzz City more than 70% of mobile consumers shop onilne.

Mobile devices are quickly surpassing PCs and laptops in online shopping use. A quick way to make sure your site is mobile friendly is to view it on your devices. How does it look? How easy is it to read and navigate?

Make sure people can quickly see your deals on devices and easily buy from you there. The difference that could make for your Cyber Monday sales (and sales in general) is huge.

#4 – Offer an On-Time Delivery Guarantee

Back to the infographic. People want to know their purchases will arrive on time for Christmas.

87% of consumers will shop with an online retailer that can guarantee an on-time delivery date, according to the infographic. See, I told you I was back to the infographic.

First, know how long it will take to deliver your product. Often, when you’re talking standard shipping within the U.S., the time frame is something along the lines of 3-5 business days. For your piece of mind, you may want to add a day or two to the shipping time and then give that as the on-time shipping date you’re guaranteeing.

Having an idea of when they’re going to receive their purchases provides peace of mind. And I doubt anyone will be unhappy if their shipment arrives a little early.

#5 – Run Time Sensitive Deals

A key to closing any sale is answering the question, “Why now?” Why should I buy this item right now?

On Cyber Monday try running various time sensitive deals. Certainly offer deals that last all of Cyber Monday, ending at midnight or or 1 or 2 in the morning if you want to try to grab the late-night stragglers. But also try some time sensitive deals throughout the day.

Perhaps a deal that goes from 8am-11am or 6pm-8pm. These types of deals answer the “why now” question with a ticking clock and increase your chances of closing online sales.

I picked the above hours because there tends to be Cyber Monday online traffic spikes before normal work hours and after normal work hours. Of course, traffic is up all day long on Cyber Monday and you should consider time zones from coast to coast.

A special thanks to Power Link Expedite for sharing their infographic. And thank you for reading. May this holiday season be the most prosperous one your business has ever seen!