Black Friday or Cyber Monday? 5 Ideas To Consider

While checking in with my Twitter account yesterday, I saw a tweet from Trees Instead.

Question should we have a sale on Black Friday / Or should we wait 4 Cyber Monday? Also any ideas on how to promote sale of our Holiday items

As are many retailers, green or not, Trees Instead which is a sight where users can buy a tree to be planted in the Amazon, the US or Israel for various occasions (among other things), wants to run a sale on their service and products.

Over the years, as online shopping has matured, Black Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is called, because that is the day of the year that many retailers actually start to make profits or “go in the black”, has been followed by an equally big shopping day, Cyber Monday – the day consumers turn to look for online sales.

This year with Black Friday looking to turn out to be very black indeed, as in funeral black not profits black, retailers both on and offline are looking for ways to fight the tide of bad news and entice consumers into the store.

For green and socially responsible retailers, here are some thoughts:

1. Free shipping. I think that is a given this year. The questions is…how can you leverage your “green-ness” and make it both free and eco friendly.

2. Team up with a non-profit, but be careful with whom you team.

3. Be creative. Once dead, layaway has made a comeback at many major retailers- can you try it too?

4. Offer a good value. Focus on repeat consumers. Give a good deal now and a coupon for a future purchase.

5. Make sure your servers are up and running. There’s nothing worse than a crashed server on Cyber Monday.

What are your ideas? Cyber Monday or Black Friday? How are you getting creative?

Photo Credit: TimParkinson at Flickr Under Creative Commons License