Last chance!

Using urgency in sales is nothing new.

It works because it forces people to take action. Usually by employing scarcity. So, making something (like, the discounted price) only available within a limited time period (like, ‘this bank holiday weekend only‘).

This plays on our irrational fears. Forget spiders, we’re talking about FOMO (the fear of missing out). Removing the time available to make the buying decision forces us to make a split decision based on our emotions.

The main event

Cyber weekend is on the horizon. Arguably the biggest sales event in the calendar. Retailers slash prices for a limited time to create urgency and encourage sales. And it works.

Grey Thursday (The day previously known as Thanksgiving 😉),
Black Friday (The day after the day previously known as Thanksgiving),
and Cyber Monday all provide a well-known sales event that you can piggy-back on.

Around the clock

It’s not all about Cyber Weekend or Boxing Day. You can create a sense of urgency all year round. How?
Countdown clocks.

That’s right. Adding a simple countdown clock or timer to a product page has been proven to increase conversions by as much as 300%.

They push a consumer to make the buying decision now before time runs out. You can literally feel the time slipping away, which breeds FOMO, leading to anxiety.

As people ultimately act based on either increasing pleasure (retail therapy) or reducing pain (ending the anxiety), you can see why this little tactic has such a great impact.

Not just price

It doesn’t have to always be about the price. Timers counting down for next day delivery can be just as effective. You know the ones. Order in the next 2hrs 13m (and counting) to get this stuff tomorrow.

Same goes with last order date for Christmas deliveries.
Or stock countdown (Only 1 remaining!), which creates scarcity.

And the thing is, just like our Amazon example here, it doesn’t even need to be that prominent. Just as long as it’s there. This tiny little line of code can have dramatic effects on your bottom line.

The big tease

Limited time events are a great way to introduce urgency but you can also take the opportunity to create a sense of anticipation. If you are hosting a sales event during cyber weekend, you should countdown to it, building awareness and expectation. Holiday sales events aside, you can create a buzz around your new product, or build excitement about when tickets will be released.
And don’t forget

Countdown timers aren’t just for websites and landing pages. You can add them to your email marketing and social media posts too. We use Mailchimp and for ours.