Black Friday and Cyber Monday have grown in Canada over the past decade. According to the payment processing company Square, online cart sizes were 3.9 times larger than in-person shopping during Cyber Monday and retailers set a new world record for one-day online sales during Cyber Monday 2023. This year’s Cyber Monday is December 2, so there’s still time for you to prepare for 2024’s big event.

Velenzia - A Local Success Story

Online sales can help you reach customers across FMWB and around the world. Velenzia is a local boutique with an admirable online presence. They’ve grown to more than ten thousand followers on Facebook and Instagram, and have a stylish, easy-to-navigate online store. Co-owners Sophie and Elissa ship across Canada and internationally, but also offer local pickup or delivery from their storefront in Downtown Fort McMurray.

“We knew from the start how important an online store and social media would be. It helps our local shoppers to browse before they come in, and we’ve grown customer bases across southern Alberta and interior BC as well. We’re still trying new things with online shopping, but we’re very happy with the success we’ve seen so far.” Elissa McQueen, Co-owner & Operator, Velenzia

Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo Shop Local Marketplace

Your Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce created the FMWB Shop Local Marketplace to make online shopping local. Their platform makes it easy to get a taste of online sales. You sign up, upload your inventory, and start selling. There’s no minimum or maximum on the number of products you can add. The marketplace has products from coffee to banners, and from art to furnishings. Browse the marketplace

Plan your promotions

Shoppers expect to find deals on Cyber Monday but that shouldn’t pressure you into eliminating your margins. Is there inventory you’re sitting on? Using Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals to clear out tired inventory helps to generate revenue and can inspire shoppers to add more items to their baskets. You can choose between blanket discounts, loss-leaders on specific products, buy one-get ones, or free shipping to boost interest from shoppers. Velenzia uses targeted online coupon codes as one promotion tool (you can redeem code: FMWBCYBERMONDAY for 25% off in their online shop for reading this article!).

Try your own online shop

If you’ve decided that you want to dive into your own online store there are options to help you succeed. Shopify is a Canadian company that offers complete online platforms to help you start, grow, and manage a business. Their Shopify Academy provides training on how to level up and get the most out of their platforms.

Cyber Monday continues to grow. You can leverage its popularity to reach new customers or drive local traffic to your storefront. There’s still time to prepare – get started today!