5 ways to turn Blue Monday into a successful ecommerce day

Helen Hawkins Written by Helen Hawkins

3 min read   -  16th January, 2023

5 ways to turn Blue Monday into a successful ecommerce day

What is Blue Monday?

This is being written on Blue Monday. Named because apparently, it’s the most depressing day of the year. Mondays have a bad rep for a start. Then there’s the cold, wet, dark, post-Christmas dip that hits us all every year. Money worries are at a peak, and the next pay packet is still alarmingly far away; all having a negative impact on our mental health.

When is Blue Monday 2023?

This year Blue Monday falls on January 16th, 2023. Blue Monday falls on the third or fourth Monday in January every year.

What’s the connection between Blue Monday and ecommerce?

Many people are skeptical that it’s just another marketing ploy to get us to panic buy summer holidays. Although that could be considered callus, in part, they’re right. In 2005, as part of a PR stunt, Sky Travel worked with a psychologist at Cardiff University to find out when consumers were most likely to book a holiday. They discovered that the gloomier we feel, the more inclined we are to fly away somewhere sunny. There’s an equation but we won’t go into that now. Despite debate around this being pseudoscience, Blue Monday was born.

Why it’s not all doom and gloom for ecommerce

Yes, it’s a low time of year, especially with gift shopping putting an enormous strain on many shopper’s bank balances. However, plenty enter January in full flow, thanks to the ping-pong effect of cash and voucher giving. This is where buyer psychology comes in. Customers seek solace in treating themselves and with Monday being the day we like the least, it creates the perfect storm of opportunity for ecommerce brands.

It’s not just holidays and clothes we’re looking for. Hoards of us are making resolutions to reinvigorate our fitness regime, so health and well-being brands are well placed to take advantage. But if you’re creative, there’s always an angle or partnership to bridge the gap.

5 ways ecommerce brands can make the most of Blue Monday?

As our inboxes get bombarded with so-called ‘special’ offers, are there ways of making the most of Blue Monday, from an ecommerce perspective, whilst also genuinely spreading some much-needed joy?

The answer is yes. There are some excellent examples of clever campaigns, by ecommerce brands, that successfully marry both and are arguably more successful for it. Here are our top 5 tips:

  1. Deals: we all know shoppers are on the lookout for a bargain. The key is to get creative and recognise how spreading some joy could have two-fold benefits. You can generate more sales. The customer is happy. One year, easyJet rebranded it to Orange Monday and launched their campaigns with a competition to win free tickets and escape the blues.
  2. Remarket: for example, search your orders for recent holiday shoppers and offer them a discount as something to cheer them up.
  3. Personalisation: everyone wants a personalised experience, so make use of behavioural data to give your potential customer that specific item they didn’t know they needed until you put it in front of them.
  4. Customer service: goes without saying that this needs to be top-notch but at this time of increased anxiety, getting it right will stand out and could help increase conversion.
  5. Relevancy: does your product offer something relevant for beating the blues - directly or indirectly? Or could you get creative with a partnership? For example, Moonpig teamed up with Mind, the mental health charity, for a Blue Monday campaign.

Bonus tip: make sure your customer journey is optimised for conversion. Getting more customers into the funnel is something we all aspire to, but not into a leaky one.

In summary, Blue Monday is a perfect example of the power of good marketing. The ability to spin even the most depressing day of the year, into a sales opportunity. That said, we’ve seen over the years, the focus shift to self-care. Those brands demonstrating sensitivity, relevancy, and using a people-centric approach, are the most successful. A key component is, as always, to be creative. But the most important thing is to be led by what you know about your customers.

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