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<p>The clock is ticking for merchants as Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner and shoppers are expected to buy more this year than ever before. Despite a slowing economy, online retailers are expected to rake in more than <a href="https://www.retaildive.com/news/online-holiday-spending-210-billion-2022/633684/">$200 billion</a> this holiday season (up 2.5% from last year). And while the holiday season usually spans from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, shoppers began buying this year as early as October.&nbsp;</p><p>This holiday season, some businesses are capturing up to 90% of their annual revenue. With inflation on the rise, people are still hungry to shop but buying more pragmatic items like dishwashers and toasters. <a href="https://www.bolt.com/blog/apm-breakdown">Alternative Payment Methods</a> (APMs) like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) are also experiencing growth as buyers become more budget-conscious.&nbsp;</p><p>Ecommerce merchants can take advantage of these evolving consumer trends by offering discounts and personalizing products that shoppers want. Read on to learn more about Black Friday and Cyber Monday.&nbsp;</p><h2>What’s the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?</h2><p>Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving and is the second biggest shopping day of the year right after Cyber Monday. The famous shopping event has been around for decades and even though it started in the United States, it has now spread to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. Whereas in the past, Black Friday signaled the beginning of the holiday shopping season, more and more people are now expecting to shop earlier for their gifts.&nbsp;</p><p>Following the massive success of Black Friday, Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) is a more recent phenomenon that started in 2005. Since then, Cyber Monday has surpassed Black Friday as the number one shopping day of the year. Black Friday’s longer history also means it occurs in physical stores as well as online, whereas Cyber Monday is mostly online.&nbsp;</p><h2>Should retailers participate in Black Friday and Cyber Monday?</h2><p>The short answer is: yes. Tens of millions of people shop on both days with the goal of buying gifts for the holidays. So what’s in it for merchants? Cyber Monday and Black Friday offer priceless marketing opportunities to attract new buyers to your brand. With the right kind of SEO optimization, targeting and personalization, merchants have the ability to increase their consumer reach like never before.&nbsp;</p><p>To get you holiday ready, below are tips and strategies for merchants on how to successfully attract and retain customers during these two major holiday sales.&nbsp;</p><h3>Prepare for an uptick in website traffic</h3><p>Holiday shoppers usually have a long list, so you don’t want to keep them waiting. Unpredictable website traffic can cause performance issues, and even force your store to go offline. You can test your <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/google-core-web-vitals/#how-to-measure-core-web-vitals">site loading times</a> to ensure that every page loads efficiently and that you’re prepared for peak traffic periods.&nbsp;</p><p>To avoid interruptions, work with your website hosting company to ensure your disk space and bandwidth are increased sufficiently for the upcoming holiday season. Cloud hosting services are available, and some website hosts will offer flexible bandwidth that automatically adjusts according to your site traffic.&nbsp;Rather than using shared hosting, you can <a href="https://www.hivelocity.net/blog/six-benefits-dedicated-server/">use a dedicated server</a>, giving you complete control. The only downside is that it will require more maintenance.</p><h3>Ensure a speedy checkout process</h3><p>Imagine a checkout process where customers don’t have to type in their personal information every time they check out. Integrate a seamless solution like <a href="https://www.bolt.com/businesses">Bolt One-Click Checkout</a> into your online store in minutes just in time for the holidays, so you can convert more shoppers with a speedy checkout. Reduce form fields and save customers as much time as possible by auto-filling forms and verifying data entry. Even better, you can personalize your shoppers’ checkout experience with product recommendations based on their preferences.</p><h3>Offer promotions to attract new customers</h3><p>Targeting the right customers with coupons, freebies, loyalty programs, free shipping and low prices can get their foot in the door. User creative strategies such as <a href="https://www.bolt.com/thinkshop/shopping-cart-abandonment">cart abandonment emails</a> and <a href="https://www.bolt.com/blog/bolt-summer-product-release-helps-merchants-thrive">embedded shopping solutions</a> to reach users where they are–whether it's on social media or at a mall.&nbsp;</p><p>Over the holidays, you’ll likely get customers outside of your typical followers. Whether you offer a guest checkout or not, you should adjust your checkout to allow guest checkout – and make it clear, and accessible – for the holiday season. This will help you capture conversions from visitors who are not regular customers. The last thing you want to do is turn away potential new customers.</p><h3>Stock up on inventory</h3><p>In addition to stocking up on inventory, holiday shipping windows are also getting smaller, where retailers saw a 30% slowdown for first-class mail in 2021. Preparing for the right amount of inventory based on historical sales and consumer trends will save you money and increase conversion rates.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://smallbiztrends.com/2021/12/supply-chain-issues-affecting-holiday-shopping.html">Research shows</a> that many retailers, especially those selling tech products are experiencing a chip shortage are expected to see major inventory shortages this holiday season. It’s just as important to make sure you don’t overstock yourself and add unnecessary expenses.&nbsp;</p><h3>Enable fraud protection</h3><p>Ecommerce fraud spikes during peak shopping days like Cyber Monday and Black Friday, up <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/news/e-commerce-fraud-up-holiday-shopping/">178% last year</a> and many businesses lose money without the right protection. Providers like <a href="https://www.bolt.com/fraud-protection">Bolt</a> make it easy to automate the necessary steps to safeguard retailers from existential threats and protect customers from unwanted risks.&nbsp;</p><p>Instead of having to search for a third party fraud solution, all Bolt merchants have access to its proprietary fraud protection. For businesses like <a href="https://www.bolt.com/case-studies/how-drive-in-autosound-used-bolt-to-speed-ahead-of-competition">Drive-In Autosound</a>, having access to an all-in-one fraud <i>and</i> checkout solution gave them a piece of mind.&nbsp;</p><p>As the leading auto accessories retailer began scaling, they needed a better fraud solution in addition to an easy checkout process. Combining the best of both solutions led them to according to Kylee Anderson, Marketing Director at Drive-In Autosound.</p><p>“What sold us on Bolt is the simplified one-click checkout process and the built-in fraud protection. It was everything we needed, rolled into one,” Kylee said. “It was a no-brainer for us to move over to Bolt.”&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.bolt.com/thinkshop/how-to-prevent-ecommerce-fraud">Bolt’s fraud protection</a>, in particular, feeds hundreds of behavioral signals into a supervised machine learning model to prevent fraud early and often. Doing so has allowed Bolt to approve an industry-leading 99% of orders.</p><p>For many ecommerce businesses, the holiday season can feel like a never ending marathon. But with the right strategies and technology solutions, merchants can be equipped to not only increase conversion but also strengthen their brand. Sign up now for <a href="https://www.bolt.com/businesses">Bolt One-Click Checkout</a> to attract more shoppers, reduce the steps customers must take to complete purchases and decrease abandoned carts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.</p>