With nearly every company running a sale during the holiday season, it can be difficult to stay competitive and know whether your promotion will actually turn a profit. In general, the numbers surrounding holiday sales are staggering! In their series, Holiday Unwrapped Facebook notes that during a flash sale or mega sale “shoppers are 73% more likely to be high spenders” and that “consumers are greatly influenced by price” and often decided on whether or not to buy a product or service based on that price alone.

That is why flash sales are invaluable when it comes to promoting a product or service and gaining immediate attention from customers and members. 

What Exactly Is a Flash Sale? 

Essentially, a flash sale consists of three main parts:

1.Building hype about a sale that will only last a short period of time (anywhere from a few hours to a few days).

2.Making sure consumers are engaged at the time of the sale. 

3.Turning leads into new customers and benefiting from the lifetime value of that new customer.

According to Shopify, a flash sale “is a discount or promotion offered for a limited period of time. These short-term sales can be great opportunities to sell a large number of products in a few hours…”

But, you don’t have to sell physical products to benefit from the large revenue boosts that a flash sale can bring. In fact, our agency has run FOUR successful flash-sales for a credit union this year, and each one broke loan closing records for that credit union.

One of the reasons why running a flash sale around a holiday is so useful is because consumers are “three times more likely to buy something for themselves” as noted in that same Facebook series. This makes for a great increase in profits as consumers are willing to buy more when there is a promotion associated with the product or service. 

When Should I Start Planning a Flash Sale? 

Short answer? ASAP! Dhruv Vohra, Industry Director at Facebook, notes that “consumer interest in sales day shopping starts eight weeks in advance… during which brands should start influencing their customers with product-centric ad creative. And then, remarket to them as interest peaks up to three days in advance.”

This means that, at the time of posting this blog, consumers have been thinking ahead to post-Thanksgiving holiday sales for almost two weeks. 

The good news is, you can run a flash sale any time of the year! In fact, our most successful flash sale to date was a two-day-only Leap Year sale. A little outside-of-the-box thinking and a great deal are all you need!

Need help getting started on your next flash sale? Let’s talk! 

How to Plan a Successful Flash Sale

While companies shouldn’t wait to start planning a sale, there are a few things to keep in mind before running a promotional campaign. Wix suggests that companies take stock of their “selection and stock availability of products” and while “on average, flash sales generate a 64,000% lift in monthly GMV” be sure your website and your shipping methods are fully equipped to handle large-scale sales. 

If you aren’t a product based company, you will need to first determine what your promotion will be. For example, a credit union might decide on a two or three-day window when members can get a fantastic interest rate on auto loans. In that case, they would need to gain approval from their board, determine the dates of the sale, and make sure they have enough time to build hype about the promotion. 

While you are building hype, you can (and should) gain a list of leads who wish to be notified once the sale begins. This is a great way to build your lead list, but it’s also something that people will appreciate if they really want to take advantage of the sale. There are so many companies competing for consumers’ attention during the holidays, that it’s easy for consumers to forget about many of them. When they get an email from you reminding them that the sale has begun, they will know they only have a few days to take action.

Above all, gaining customer loyalty during a flash sale can lead to giant boosts in overall sales throughout the year. Take for example the Sephora holiday sale, which staggers the days of the sale based on the different levels customers can reach as a beauty insider. This membership helps keep shoppers interested throughout the year, as they can gain points each time they shop, and then rewards them based on the number of points they have during the sale. 

By keeping the above information in mind, your business will be better prepared for a successful and highly profitable flash sale. Here is an example of what a successful flash sale can look like when partnering with an online marketing agency.

To get your creative juices flowing and to learn more about flash sales, watch this Facebook Video.