What Is a Flash Sale? Tips for Sellers to Run One Successfully

Flash sale are always a program that draws a lot of customer interest. It is a strategy that helps businesses increase sales. But not everyone knows how to run a successful flash sale campaign. This article from MONA Media will take a closer look at what a flash sale is and the most effective way to run one.

What is a flash sale?

Flash sale are brief, lightning-fast discounts with very attractive deals. In other words, a flash sale is a short-lived discount program or sale period that draws attention because it offers customers a range of discount levels.

Flash sales can cut prices by 80 to 90%, and 1k (1,000 VND) flash sales are not rare. These programs make buyers feel like they are on a hunt. They are happy to wait anxiously for a chance to grab the item they want, and may even stay up late watching the clock and race to be first.

As an example, Shopee has 2 main types of flash sale:

• Flash sales supported by Shopee: Shopee often runs monthly and quarterly sale events, set and announced with great fanfare. Products are pushed straight to the home page for a limited time slot and a limited quantity.
• Flash sales run by the sellers themselves: In this case, sellers can use Shopee discount codes or their own offers for customers, at any time the shop chooses.

Key advantages of flash sales

Gives buyers a thrill and the urge to win the deal

A good example of this advantage is Alibaba. On Singles' Day 2020, the e-commerce giant recorded 56 billion USD in sales in the first 10 days of November with its flash sale program. Imagine a handbag you love priced at 3 million VND, and on flash sale day the price drops to just 980,000 VND. Would you hesitate to order it? Especially when the discount lasts only a short time slot and then returns to the old price. This is the first advantage of a flash sale: it plays on buyer psychology and pushes them to act within a few hours of the sale opening. Many people even camp out ahead of the sale, waiting to grab deals before the flash sale time slots open.

Spreads the word through strong marketing

It also creates a word-of-mouth effect, because people want to tell friends, colleagues and family who are interested in the upcoming flash sale. This is perfectly normal. Today, sharing takes only a few taps and is quick and easy, and the spread grows exponentially through overlapping networks of contacts.

Big sales from flash sales

To succeed with a flash sale, pay attention to: logistics planning; the advertising and communication campaign; choosing the right products; counting inventory; and delivering within the promised time. A flash sale is also an effective way to raise traffic and build the brand for fashion stores and online retailers. If your flash sale campaign works, big sales follow. It also leaves a strong impression on customers, which greatly increases brand awareness.

Shopee is one of the top platforms among the e-commerce websites in Vietnam that run the flash sale model very successfully. But to make the most of promotions and put products in front of the right customers, businesses need a solid store management strategy.

This is the time for businesses to use a Shopee store management service at MONA Mediato set up a standard store, manage orders and shipping, and improve the shopping experience so order numbers grow quickly. Contact the MONA team directly at HOTLINE 1900 636 648 or click the link above for detailed advice!

Disadvantages of using flash sales

Alongside the advantages of flash sales above, there are also drawbacks when a program does not go well. They are as follows:

• It reduces profit: Flash sales usually cut prices deeply, so without careful calculation they can cut profit by up to 20%, and the results may fall short of the goal.
• It attracts the wrong target audience: In practice this is not necessarily a drawback, since the purpose is to sell. Even so, it draws buyers and sells goods but cannot be kept up for long.
• It trains customers to expect the tactic: Running flash sales many times makes customers wait for the next program to buy at a good price, and not buy on normal days.
• It affects brand reputation: Flash sale discounts are a double-edged sword. They can make a brand famous, or they can backfire and hurt its reputation and image in customers' eyes.

Tips for sellers to succeed with flash sales

Besides what is needed for an effective flash sale strategy, MONA will share some tips for running a successful flash sale campaignthat brings high revenue on marketplaces e-commerce.

Make sure the flash sale quantity is right

You need to calculate how many products go into the flash sale. Balance the revenue or goal against the cost the seller spends. This helps you decide the quantity needed, protect profit and avoid “losing capital” on the campaign.

Choose an available time slot

Research which products suit which time slot so you can reach the highest shopping demand. Before the campaign, choose the time slot carefully to avoid being overlooked, which leads to failure.

For example, the time slots with the best traffic on Shopee are 0:00, 12:00 and 21:00.

A smart strategy for choosing flash sale products

Choosing products is an extremely important step. It is a smart strategy to reach the revenue you want. There are 3 types:

• Core products: are products that already sell well and need more visibility. Once visibility rises, they bring in a steady stream of customers and the best results.
• Products near their expiry date: use attractive deals to raise sales.
• New products: to encourage customers to try them

This is also an important step for choosing products and placing them in the right time slot to reach customers.

Arrange the order of flash sale products to attract buyers

Next, don't overlook product order. It matters because it can strongly influence the decision to buy. Start with the most popular products, which draw buyers to look at the rest of the store and help stimulate shopping demand.

Use shop discount codes and vouchers at the same time

Combining promotions such as discount codes and vouchers helps prompt the decision to buy and prevents your products from being left in the cart. It also encourages other customers to be willing to try a product while it is new or has few sales.

We hope this article MONA Media has helped you better understand what a flash sale is and how to create a flash sale that boosts sales. We wish you success applying this strategy to your business.

A flash sale lives or dies on whether your website can hold up when customers arrive all at once. Many shops run good ads, then the site crashes at peak time and the ad money is wasted. If you plan to run big sales, see our pricing and service plans to choose a server configuration that can take the load.