Cyber Week Around the World – Incorporating Cross-border into Your Sales Strategy

Leverage Shopping Preferences from Cyber Week to Q1 and Beyond

If you didn’t plan well for Cyber Week or are curious about maximizing your business, we’ve got you covered. FlavorCloud’s partnership manager Drew Adair shared valuable data-backed insights about International Cyber Week at ShipBob’s recent Ecommerce Unpacked BFCM Wrap-up event. Here are five tips he covered to incorporate cross-border into your sales strategy and leverage shopping preferences throughout Q1 and beyond.

Cyber Week is Global

Did you think Cyber Week was only in the United States? Nope! Cyber Week is global.

Reports from Salesforce found that Cyber Week accounted for $275 billion in sales in 2021. With over 130 countries participating, that’s a lot of business to tap into. What cross-border details should you consider if you’re thinking about maximizing global business?

International Holiday Shopper Preferences Differ from US Counterparts

Gaining perspective is key to a successful cross-border sales strategy. Remember that international holiday consumers don’t necessarily behave the same way as US consumers. Salesforce found that the US accounted for the top Cyber Week searches at 21.2%, with Germany coming in 2nd (12.9%) and Brazil in 3rd (11.1%). The UK came in 4th at 10.3%.

International shoppers are active and ready and looking for great deals, but this activity isn’t evenly distributed worldwide. Compared to the average shopping day, activity spikes are relatively lower in the UK and higher in Germany—but there is a significant spike worldwide! With all those international sales, merchants must keep shipping easy and hassle-free to help capitalize on the event.

Key Shipping Considerations for International Holiday Shoppers

International shoppers expect the same level of delivery quality as domestic shoppers. It’s especially important for consumers to have peace of mind that their thoughtfully picked-out gift will arrive on time and in good condition. Recent PwC holiday findings showed that consumers find both proof of delivery (55%) and user-friendly delivery tracking (47%) to be important factors.

Provide peace of mind by offering proof of delivery and hassle-free, mobile-friendly tracking, which is platform agnostic. These are the fundamentals in taping into international holiday demand, but there are other ways to set yourself apart too.

How to Capitalize on International Demand

In addition to Cyber week, your business can consider Singles day (11/11) and the day after Christmas (12/26). But Cyber Week offers essential insights for Q1, New Year’s Day, and through the rest of the year. It’s good to consider other shopping-related holidays in addition to Cyber Week and The Holidays.

Managing differing expectations is critical. International holiday shoppers typically have higher cart values and greater emphasis on product quality, but this opportunity can be wasted without forethought.

It’s important to make it easy for consumers to shop with you. Research conducted by Baymard Institute found reasons for abandoned carts to include the site requiring the customer to create an account (28%), the check-out process being too long or too complicated (21%), or card declination (4%).

ShipBob and FlavorCloud

ShipBob provides merchants with a single view of their business and customers across all their sales channels, enabling them to manage products, inventory, orders, and shipments while leveraging growth-boosting analytics and reports.

ShipBob’s merchants can seamlessly plug into FlavorCloud’s extensive global cross-border carrier network and intelligent shipping algorithm to grow their international sales easily, so customers can benefit from a frictionless and loyalty-building international shipping and returns experience.

Cross-border Sales Strategy for Q1 and Beyond

With FlavorCloud’s largest cross-border carrier network and intelligent algorithm, you can deliver lowest shipping rates and best routes. We also take care of all global trade compliance and customs clearance processes—wherever your consumers are located.

Take the hassle out of tracking during shopping related holidays year-round. Let FlavorCloud help! Fast track packages through customs and be in the know about the status of your package letting FlavorCloud take on importer of record. You can have a year-long holiday season by leveraging Cyber Week’s insights and tapping into international demand.