Why Flash Sales are so Effective
Rapidly boost sales by creating urgency and scarcity:
According to a report by RetailMeNot, flash sales accounts for over 18% of total e-commerce revenue worldwide.
Limited-time discounts incentivize immediate purchases and drive conversion:
The same RetailMeNot report mentioned that flash sales had a 3.3% conversion rate on average, compared to the usual 2.6%.
Fear of missing out stimulates quick decision-making and increases engagement:
A report by PopupSmart detailed that 56% of businesses see a higher click-to-open-rate from Flash Sale Emails compared to their yearly rate.
How to Create a Flash Sale
Step 1: Enable Flash Sales
First, go to the Flash Sales page in the Bulk Discount and Sales Manager app:
On the Flash Sales page, activate the toggle to enable Flash Sales.
Once enabled, you can proceed to setup the URL of the Flash Sales by selecting the Edit button:
Next, setup the message to be displayed on the page if a Flash Sales is not scheduled:
Proceed to setup Flash Sales period based on the following options:
Step 2: Flash Sales Period
Custom Timing
For custom timing, you can create one or more flash sales within a custom time period of your choosing.
First select Add Timing to begin setting up the flash sales.
Next, setup the timings of your flash sales.
Start Date and Time: Enter the Start Date and Time of the Flash Sales. If you schedule the flash sales to run on a future date, the timer at your flash sales page will countdown to the Start Date and Time of the Flash Sales:
End Date and Time: Enter the End Date and Time of the Flash Sales. If the Flash Sales is ongoing, the timer will countdown to when the Flash Sales will end.
Browse Discount Rule(s): Select Browse discount rules to select the discount rules that you want to be highlighted in the Flash Sales page. You can select more than one discount rules.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Only Discount Rules that are active during the selected date will be available for selection.
Upload Banner Image: Banner image is required in creating custom timings.
Proceed to click Save to apply the settings.
Once the timings are saved, you can edit or delete the timings by selecting the buttons at the Action column.
If you wish to add a new timing to the flash sales, you can select Add timing and repeat the steps 1 to 3.
This is how a Flash Sales with multiple timings will look like at the Flash Sales setup page:
If you had selected multiple rules for the Flash Sales and the one or more of the rules are disabled, the rule name will be in red font:
This is how a Flash Sales with multiple timings will look like at the store front:
Daily Timing
Select Daily Timing if you wish to have the Flash Sales to repeat at the same time daily.
First select Add Timing to begin setting up the flash sales.
Next, setup the timings of your flash sales.
Start Time and End Time: Enter the Start Time and End Time, the timer at your flash sales page will countdown to the Start Date and Time of the Flash Sales:
Browse Discounts: Select Browse Discounts to select the discount rules that you want to be highlighted in the Flash Sales page.
You can select more than one discount rules.
Upload Banner Image: Banner image is required in creating custom timings.
Once the discount rules is selected the timing will be automatically saved. If you wish to delete or edit the flash timing select the bin/edit icon:
If you wish to add a new timing to the flash sales, you can select Add timing and repeat the Step 2a-c.
This is how a Flash Sales with multiple timings will look like at the Flash Sales setup page:
This is how a Flash Sales with multiple timings will look like at the store front:
Repeat Weekly / Monthly / Yearly
If you want the Flash Sales to be repeated either by weekly, monthly or yearly you can select either from the following options:
Repeat Weekly: If you select weekly, you are required to set the Start Day and End Day of the Week (for example repeat flash sales every Monday to Wednesday).
Repeat Monthly: Selecting Monthly will require you to select the Start Date and End Date of the Month (for example repeat flash sales every 1st to 7th of the month):
Repeat Yearly: For Yearly, you are required to select the Start Day/Month and End Day/Month (for example repeat flash sales every year from 1st January to 15 January:
IMPORTANT NOTES:
In all cases, you can create more than one timing.
You need to upload your banner image to proceed.
Step 3: Flash Sales Design Settings
After setting up the Flash Sales period, you can customize the color scheme of the Flash Sales page's design.
Simply click on the section that you wish to configure and proceed to change the color settings from there:
Proceed to customize the sections :
Step 4: Flash Sales Banner (Optional)
This optional step will place the Flash Sales banner onto your Home Page. To enable, go to Site Banner tab and Turn On the Homepage Widget:
Select the location in your home page that you wish to display the Flash Sales banner by selecting the Select button:
This will lead you to the Home Page. Hold SHIFT key on your keyboard and select the position that you wish to place the banner. Proceed to select Save once you are done.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If your store is still in development mode and is password protected, you are required to key in the password and repeat the above steps again.
This is how it looks like on the home page:
Lastly, you can configure the text and color of the link to the Flash Sales page:
Once Sales Banner is configured you can proceed to save the Flash Sales. This will then create a new page within your store.
Step 5: Flash Sales Product Page
Next, you are required to setup the flash sales countdown timer onto the product page.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If the discount rules has an existing countdown timer enabled, it will be temporarily disabled to and be replaced by this countdown timer to ensure consistency in the flash sales presentation.
At the Product Page Widget section, select the location that you wish to display the countdown timer on the product page. To setup, select the Select button:
This will lead you to the product page. Hold SHIFT key on your keyboard and select the position that you wish to place the countdown timer. Proceed to select Save once you are done.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If your store is still in development mode and is password protected, you are required to key in the password and repeat the above steps again.
Then, select the flash sales countdown timer design. You can change the color scheme after selection. See step 3 for more information.
You can set the color scheme of the countdown timer here. Different timers will have different settings depending on the dependencies.
Step 6: Email Alerts Feature
You can setup the Email Alert feature so that customers have the option to subscribe to the flash sale reminder service to receive alerts for upcoming promotions
To gain further insight into the 'Email Alerts' functionality, we recommend watching the accompanying video:
To setup the Remind Me feature:
First turn go to the Email Alerts tab:
Setup the design of the Email Alert button. You can customize the button color, icon, button text and the text color.:
After setting up the Email Alert button, you can proceed to customize the design of the pop-up registration form:
Proceed to schedule when you would like the email alerts to be sent out:
Choose if you want to the emails to send out Before, At (the moment the flash sales starts) or After the flash sales starts.
Configure the specific days, hours, and minutes for scheduling the email delivery. Note that the maximum allowable time duration for sending emails before or after a flash sale starts is 29 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes.
Next, setup the following fields:
Sender Email: This email address will be used as the sender for alert emails. Any responses from customers will be directed to this email address.
Sender Name: The sender name will be displayed in the recipient's inbox.
Subject - The subject line provides a concise summary of the email's content.
Preview Text - Preview text is the short summary of the email's content that appears next to or below the subject line in the recipient's inbox.
Afterwards, you can proceed with customizing the appearance of the Remind Me button at the storefront according to your preferences:
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Email Alert button will exclusively appear for upcoming scheduled Flash Sales, and it will not be displayed for ongoing Flash Sales.
Once you have configured the Remind Me button according to your preference, you can proceed to customize the design of the email notifications at the Email Notification settings:
How to Display Flash Sales on your Home Page
IMPORTANT NOTE: When the Flash Sales is properly configured and saved, a page will be AUTOMATICALLY CREATED. You DO NOT NEED to create the page manually. The URL is displayed here:
Go to Online Store > Navigation > Main Menu.
At the Main Menu, select Add menu item.
Then enter Name of the page and the Flash Sales URL Link by copying the URL displayed at the Flash Sales page:
Select Add and then complete the process by selecting Save. This will create the link to the Flash Sales page in the navigation bar in your store:To learn how to setup a Flash Sales banner to advertise the event on your page, you can follow the instructions listed here.
How the Flash Sale Page Works
Whenever Flash Sales is created, a page will be created within your store. You DO NOT need to create the page manually. The URL of the Flash Sales page will be displayed here:
To learn how to link the Flash Sales page onto your home page, please refer to this step.
The flash sales page serves to feature any existing discount rules. It will not affect the start and end date of the existing discount rules.
For example:
Discount rules is setup to start at 10:00am, 1st November 2022 to 10:00am, 30th November 2022
Flash Sales is setup to showcase the discount rules from 1pm to 2pm on 10th November 2022.
The Flash Sales page will only showcase this discount code within 1pm to 2pm on 10th November 2022. However, once the flash sales expire the discounts will still be active until 30th November 2022.
To ensure consistency in the flash sales presentation, if the selected discount code has an existing countdown timer, it will be temporarily disabled and be replaced by the Flash Sales countdown timer.
10 Things to Consider when running your first Flash Sale
Clear Goals: Define objectives such as sales volume or customer acquisition.
Product Selection: Choose items that resonate with your target audience.
Discount Strategy: Determine discount percentages or amounts.
Timing: Select a time when your audience is most active.
Promotion Channels: Use social media, email, and website banners.
Messaging: Craft compelling, concise sale messaging.
Website Readiness: Ensure your site can handle increased traffic.
Customer Support: Be prepared to address inquiries promptly.
Inventory Management: Avoid overselling by tracking stock levels.
Post-Sale Engagement: Plan follow-ups for customer retention and feedback.