The MacBook Air is going to get a successor soon, this according to Bloomberg. Besides having a slimmer price tag and streamlined bezels, the newest Apple incarnation will have a high-res Retina display. The Air’s take two has been a long time coming because Apple has been giving its love and time to its pricier models, specifically the 12 inch MacBook and the MacBook Pro. Air has been considered a sort of educator/poor-man’s model, worth leaving on the bottom shelf for those on straitened means, but not necessarily worth updating. It could be that Apple is recognizing that the Air and other less prestigious models have loyal followers that should be thrown the occasional bone. To that end, Apple has further plans to upgrade the also long-languished Mac Mini, miniature desktop model. New processing and storage upgrades will arrive with a heftier price tag. But, that’s because Apple realizes that Mini users have been multi-tasking on the Mini for some time now and deserve to be able to do so more efficiently.
Key Takeaways:
The new incarnation has been on the back-burner while Apple has been putting its energy into its 12 inch MacBook and MacBook Pro lines.
Some have suggested that the far less expensive Air laptop was relegated to the bottom shelf by Apple as a model that attracted mainly educators and pinch-pennies.
Mini Mac, Apple’s miniature desktop model has also been gathering dust and will be soon given an overhaul.
“Apple is nearing the release of a long-awaited, completely redesigned successor to its MacBook Air laptop, according to Bloomberg.”
Instagram is absolutely massive today. Facebook got an unbelievable deal when they bought Instagram for $1 billion back in 2012. Now, there are some accounts and people on Instagram that garner an absolute ransom for one singular post on their Instagram accounts. It is hard to tell which is the most valuable accounts but the power that some of these celebrities have is absolutely incredible. The soccer player from Portugal and Selena Gomez are two of the biggest.
Key Takeaways:
Instagram is a huge marketing tool for many companies in today’s culture.
Jenner has an incredible reach of followers on her own Instagram and she can charge a lot.
Celebrities have incredible power in the world of marketing and people try to get them to promote.
“Instagram?s popularity lets most brands forge an emotional connection with a massive audience, and some brands are so good at visually engaging and resonating with Instagram users that they?ve attracted tens of millions of followers.”
Malaysia will be celebrating its 61st Merdeka (Independence Day) this 31st August 2018.
Since everyone’s looking forward to the long Merdeka weekend to chill, EAT and do some LAST MINUTE SHOPPING before we welcome the new SST (Sales and Service Tax), we’ve decided to compile a list of 50 Top Merdeka 2018 Promotions and Offers that you don’t want to miss out on.
Food, Glorious FOOD Promotions For Merdeka 2018
Malaysian love to eat. We’re multi-racial and everything we do seems to revolve around food one way or another.
So here are the Merdeka 2018 Food Promotions that will leave you drooling. Plus you get to save some $$ by taking advantage of these Merdeka 2018 food offers 🙂
Forget the diet this weekend. If you plan your time well and add in a bit of kiasu (can’t loose) attitude, you’ll have a great time enjoying these wonderful offers. We all need to eat right?
Texas Chicken Malaysia
Texas Chicken Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Secret Recipe Malaysia
Secret Recipe Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Kenny Rogers Roasters Malaysia
Kenny Rogers Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Big Apple Donuts Malaysia
Big Apple Donuts Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Dominos Pizza Malaysia
Dominos Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Kyochon 1991 Malaysia
Drop by KyoChon 1991 stores to grab a Heaven and Earth tea for ONLY RM1 on this day!
Kyochon 1991 Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Terms & Conditions :
1. Applicable at all KyoChon Malaysia outlets except Genting SkyAvenue. (https://www.kyochon.com.my/locations/)
2. Only available on Merdeka Day (31st August 2018).
3. Only applicable with any chicken purchase.
4. Maximum 2 redemptions per bill.
Wendy’s Malaysia
27-31 Aug 2018: Wendy’s Merdeka Special Combo
Wendy’s Malaysia Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Famous Amos Malaysia
Famous Amos Malaysia is having their FREE 50% Cookies Giveaway.
Enjoy 50% extra cookies if you purchase 300g in bag and many more.
Famous Amos Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Terms and Conditions
Free 50% cookies (150g cookies) with every purchase of 300g cookies in bag.
Sayangi Malaysiaku Special period: 25 Aug – 31 Aug 2018
Valid in all Famous Amos outlets
Not valid with other on-going promotions, offers and discounts.
While stocks last.
Date: 25th August 2018 to 31st August 2018
A&W Malaysia
A&W Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Starbucks Free Complimentary bottle of Gatorade Giveaway
Starbucks Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Get a complimentary bottle of Gatorade* with a minimum spend of RM30 in a single receipt!
*Valid until 31st August 2018
Terms and conditions:
Valid at all Starbucks Drive-Thru stores, drive-thru window only.
While stocks last
Burger King Malaysia
Burger King Merdeka 2018 Promotion
JCO Donuts Malaysia
JCO Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Ayamas Malaysia
Ayamas Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Tealive Malaysia
Tealive Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Humble Beginnings Malaysia
Humble Beginnings Medeka 2018 Promotion
Baskin Robbins Malaysia
Baskin Robbins Hari Merdeka Limited Edition Ice Cream Sale
Baskin Robbins Merdeka 2018 Promotion
You can get this limited edition ice cream from today – 31st Aug at any Baskin-Robbins outlet.
Juice Works Malaysia
Juice Works Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Online Shopping
Other than eating, Malaysians love to shop online. Who can resist a good online deal especially when it comes with free shipping?
Lazada Merdeka 2018 Promotion
11Street Malaysia
11Street Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Photobook Malaysia
Photobook Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Motherhood Malaysia
Motherhood Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Althea Malaysia
Althea Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Hermo Malaysia
Hermo Merdeka 2018 Promotion
BloomThis Malaysia
BloomThis Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Sephora Malaysia
Sephora Merdeka 2018 Promotion
8excite Malaysia
8excite Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Fashion, Clothing, Shoes, Jewellery And Whatever You Need To Wear
There’s plenty of Merdeka 2018 shoe offers going on.
Bata Malaysia
Bata Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Birkenstock Malaysia
Buy 1 & Get 2nd Pair at 40% discount off Promotion start from 26 August 2018 to 31st August 2018
Birkenstock Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Enjoy discount 40% off every second pair of shoes purchase in one single receipt with minimum purchase of RM310 and above at normal retail price for Classic range and Professional range.
*Except for Eva range (buy 2 pairs of Eva series and Get 3rd pair @ 40% discount off ) in one single receipt with minimum purchase of RM318 and above at normal retail price for Eva range
Terms & Conditions
*Not applicable for discounted items/ instant rebate promotion/ credit card promotion and others.
*Valid for items of equal or lesser value
*Valid for normal price items only
*Terms & Conditions apply. While stock last.
al-Ikhsan Sports Malaysia
Al Ikhsan Sports Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Habib Jewels Malaysia
Habib Jewels Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Something For The Kids Or Yourself
Lego Malaysia
Lego Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Books
Merdeka 2018 book offer. Stationery are also on sale. Grab them now for the kids or yourself.
Borders Malaysia
Borders Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Products For The Home
These still time to get those home and living products for the house since we’re at the tail end of Malaysia’s tax holiday season. Better late than never. Get these Merdeka 2018 product offers now.
La Gourmet Malaysia
La Gourmet Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Thermos Malaysia
Thermos Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Pensonic Malaysia
Pensonic Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Senheng Malaysia
SenHeng Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Tech, Mobiles, Tablets, Computers
Quickly get your mobile, tablets, computers and tech gear by taking advantage of these Merdeka 2018 mobile offers before the coming SST!
Honor Malaysia
Honor Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Samsung Malaysia
Samsung Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Dell Malaysia
Dell Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Mobile Telecommunication Providers
Both postpaid and prepaid users have much to take advantage of this Merdeka 2018 plans with these telecommunication providers.
Tune Talk Malaysia
Tune Talk Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Digi Malaysia
Digi Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Celcom Malaysia
Celcom Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Cars
3 months of tax holiday from GST saw Malaysians car shopping like never before! What a wonderful season to get yourself a new vehicle before the upcoming SST. Check out these Merdeka 2018 car offers below.
Perodua Malaysia
Perodua Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Subaru Malaysia
Subaru Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Mitsubishi Malaysia
Mitsubishi Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Peugeot Malaysia
Peugeot Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Honda Malaysia
Honda Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Toyota Malaysia
Toyota Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Nissan Malaysia
Nissan Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Kia Malaysia
Kia Merdeka 2018 Promotion
Well these 50 Merdeka 2018 promotions and offers should keep you busy on Merdeka Day itself if not the entire long weekend!
Wishing all Malaysians Happy Merdeka as our nation celebrates it’s 61st birthday! Enjoy the long weekend and have fun with all these wonderful offers and promotions.
Payment gateways provide the service to process online payments from customers to merchants securely. When integrated with any ecommerce website, the role of payment gateways is to allow customers to pay for their online purchases using either credit or debit cards or via online banking smoothly.
Here’s a look at some of the best Malaysia payment gateway providers used by the majority of Malaysian online sellers.
You’ll find the best payment gateway in Malaysia comparison chart at the later part of this article.
PayPal
PayPal Malaysia
PayPal is well known internationally as it’s widely used by both local and international sellers.
Customers DO NOT NEED to have a PayPal Malaysia account to make payment on a website that is using PayPal as their payment gateway processor.
Customers can just use their credit or debit card when they land on PayPal’s site during the checkout process by clicking the “Pay with credit card” link.
PayPal checkout with credit card or debit card
PayPal is a flexible payment gateway Malaysia that is both popular and easy to manage.
PayPal Malaysia does not require any sign up fee or yearly fee to use their online credit card processing Malaysia feature making it highly recommendable for new startups to begin accepting credit / debit card payments from customers immediately.
However, please note that while PayPal is easy to set up and use, their transaction fee is 3.9% + RM2 for credit / debit card online transactions for Malaysian customers whereas international customers buying from you will be charged at 4.4% + RM2 per transaction.
PayPal Fees
However, setting up a PayPal Malaysia account to accept payment is easy and fast.
Just go to PayPal Malaysia’s site and sign up for a business account.
Key in your details and remember to link your PayPal account to your online store to start accepting online payments.
PayPal Malaysia does not offer FPX online banking.
You’ll need to transfer the funds from your PayPal account to your local bank account.
If the amount is less than RM400, there’s a RM3 charge by PayPal. There’s no charge if the amount is RM400 and above.
Braintree
Braintree Malaysia
Braintree is an ecommerce payment gateway that was acquired by PayPal in 2013 with the goal of propelling the payment platform on a global scale.
All kinds of businesses use Braintree to accept payments in mobile apps and websites as they have experience working with new business models.
Merchants in Malaysia can accept PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, and cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks as long as the cards are enabled for online use.
Braintree Pricing
Please note there’s a RM90 flat rate for chargebacks.
Signing up for a Braintree Malaysia account may take a bit of time as the company requires your business registration details (Malaysian IC, Business Registration Forms, Utility Bills with business registered address, Malaysian Bank Account Statement that is registered with the business, etc) to verify that you’re a valid legal business before opening a Braintree account for you.
The good thing about Braintree is that they offer a lower credit / debit card transaction fee (3.4% + RM2) compared to PayPal (3.9% + RM2) and that all payment is pushed to your local bank account on a daily basis.
And like PayPal, Braintree does not charge any Setup Fee or Yearly Fee at all.
Braintree Malaysia does not offer FPX online banking.
Braintree will automatically push all payment amount to your local bank account on a daily basis with no minimum amount.
Stripe
Stripe
Stripe is an international payment gateway provider that is somewhat similar to PayPal in which there’s no Setup Fee or Annual Fee charged for opening a merchant account with them.
You can have your own account set up within minutes with them.
Stripe Pricing
Stripe’s pricing is definitely better than PayPal or Braintree at 3% + RM1 per transaction.
However, with international payment gateways, transaction fees tend to be higher compared to our own Malaysian payment gateway providers.
Stripe Payment Charges
Here’s the rundown :
Local Credit / Debit card for Visa/Master : 3% + RM1 Foreign credit card for Master/Visa : 4% + RM1 IF Currency conversion is required : additional 2% Online Banking (FPX) : 3% + RM1 GrabPay : 3% AliPay : 2.9% + RM1
If you’re planning on accepting a lot of foreign credit / debit card transactions to your local Malaysian website, the cost in transaction fees is going to add up to a big sum especially when currency conversion is required to convert into Malaysian Ringgit.
Please note that there will be a RM90 charge per dispute (also known as chargebacks for card transactions).
iPay88
iPay88 Malaysia
iPay88 is one of Malaysia’s leading payment gateway ecommerce providers.
Their headquarters is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and they have a presence in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.
iPay88 was acquired by NTT DATA, a Japanese system integration company in 2015 and continues to strengthen their presence in the ecommerce and mobile commerce field in the whole of South East Asia.
iPay88 Malaysia offers 3 different plans to meet your business needs.
If you’re only looking for a payment gateway for online store in Malaysia FPX feature to accept payment via online banking and e-wallets from customers, then you can consider iPay88’s SME Plan. It comes with a one time Setup Fee of RM488 (wef 20 March 2020).
Bear in mind their FPX rate for the Start Up Plan is 2.7% or RM0.60 per transaction whichever is higher.
Their SME Plan comes with online banking, credit / debit card (UnionPay at 2.7%) and e-wallets.
iPay88 Online Banking
Their Enterprise Plan offers online banking, credit/debit card processing (Visa/Master/UnionPay) and e-wallets.
For credit card processing (Visa/Master/UnionPay), they’ll be using local banks to process those payments at a lower transaction rate (2.3%) while debit card (Visa/Master) is at 2% which is better than you using a direct PayPal account (3.9% + RM2 per transaction).
Their Enterprise Premium Plan are comes with a Setup Fee of RM2888 and a yearly maintenance fee of RM700.
These 3 plans come with a Setup Fee of RM488, RM1888 and RM2888 respectively.
Merchants who choose their SME Plan will have to pay RM500 for Annual Fee and RM600 Annual Fee for the Enterprise Plan while the Credit Card Application Fees of RM900 is waived by iPay88 for all 3 plans.
All 3 plans include e-walletsBoost (1.5%), MBBQR (1.5%), GrabPay (1.5%), TouchnGo (1.5%), ShopeePay (1.5%), NetsQR (1.5%) and MCash (1.5%).
For those who wish to add on AliPay, there will be an additional Setup Fee of RM1000 (IF getting with any iPay88 plan) and Annual Fee of RM500 (IF choosing only standalone AliPay).
iPay88 eWallets
iPay88 will pay out twice a week to your local bank account but the minimum amount in your iPay88 account must be RM10 for them to do so.
eGHL
eGHL Malaysia
eGHL was founded in 2013 and functions as an internet payment arm of GHL Systems Berhad.
You’ll notice quite a number of physical card payment terminals in physical stores and retail are using GHL as their credit / debit card payment processor.
So it comes as no surprise that the company entered the ecommerce payment gateway market with their internet payment arm, eGHL.
eGHL is a Malaysia payment gateway that offers a secure internet payment solution which covers both card and non-card payment channels for online businesses throughout the South East Asia region.
eGHL Online Payment
eGHL offers a lower transaction fee for credit / debit card (1.4% – 2.4%) and FPX payments (1.6% – 2.4% or RM0.60 whichever is higher) depending on the plans you take.
They have 3 plans to meet your business needs : Standard / Premium / Corporate which charges a Setup Fee of RM499 / RM2500 / RM 5000 that you need to pay when you sign up with them. Please note that the fee is subject to 8% SST (wef 1st March 2024).
Startups which choose the Standard and Premium plan will need to pay a Monthly Fee of RM25 + 8% SST per month IF total monthly transactions are less than RM15k for the month.
Starting from 1st March 2024, eGHL has switched to charging their merchants a Monthly Fee instead of the usual Annual Fee. Those who are on the Corporate Plan will need to pay RM50 per month.
eGHL is an excellent payment gateway provider to consider if your business has consistent growing volume to justify the Monthly Fee while you enjoy lower transaction fee for credit / debit card and FPX payments.
Here’s a rundown of their 3 plans with e-Wallet rates (wef 27 February 2024) :
Standard Plan Credit / Debit card for Visa/Master : 2.4% + 1% for non-MYR processing + RM0.50 (for transactions less than RM40) Online Banking : 2.4% or RM0.60 (whichever higher) Boost, MCash, GrabPay, TouchnGo, ShopeePay : 1.5% Maybank QRPay (MAE) : 1% Monthly Fee : RM25 + 8% SST per month (waived IF total monthly transaction volume more than RM15k per month upon request)
Premium Plan Credit card for Visa/Master : 2.0% Debit card for Visa/Master : 1.8% International Credit/Debit for Visa/Master : 3% + RM0.50 (for transactions less than RM40) Online Banking : 2.0% or RM0.60/transaction OR Fixed Rate RM1.50/transaction Boost, MCash, GrabPay, TouchnGo, ShopeePay : 1.3% Maybank QRPay (MAE) : 1% Monthly Fee : RM25 + 8% SST (waived IF transaction volume exceed RM15k per month upon request)
Corporate Plan Credit card for Visa/Master : 1.6% Debit card for Visa/Master : 1.4% International Credit/Debit for Visa/Master : 3% + RM0.50 (for transactions less than RM40) Online Banking : 1.6% or RM0.60/transaction OR Fixed Rate RM1.00/transaction Boost, MCash, GrabPay, TouchnGo, ShopeePay : 1.2% Maybank QRPay (MAE) : 1% Monthly Fee : RM60 + 8% SST (waived IF transaction volume exceed RM15k per month upon request)
eGHL eWallet Acceptance
Processing Fee for all 3 plans Refund : RM0.50 per transaction Chargeback : RM5 per transaction Settlement : No charge to Malaysian local bank, USD30 to Foreign Bank
eGHL offers GrabPay Postpaid, GrabPay BNPL Installment and Atome BNPL as optional add-ons for FREE.
They also offer Visa Installments option for FREE with HSBC Bank with the following rates : 3 Months – 2.65% per transaction 6 Months – 3.0% per transaction 9 Months – 3.5% per transaction 12 Months – 4.0% per transaction 18 Months – 5.0% per transaction 24 Months – 6.0% per transaction 36 Months – 8.0% per transaction
eGHL Installment Acceptance
The Visa Installment Plan will be offered with Standard Chartered Bank and AmBank soon as well.
Payments are pushed to your local bank account on a weekly basis with no minimum amount requirement.
Kiple Pay
Kiple Pay Malaysia
KiplePay is one of the fastest growing ewallet in Malaysia. Their mission is to be the market leader for FinTech in an increasingly cashless, tech-powered society.
KiplePay is owned by Green Packet Berhad which is an established multinational digital technology organization with expertise in telecommunications, media and technology.
Green Packet was founded in California’s Silicon Valley in 2000 and was listed in the Malaysian Stock Exchange in 2005.
Kiple Pay offers one SME Plan for online merchants which is pretty simple and straightforward.
SME Plan Credit card for Visa/Master : 1.5% Debit card for Master/Visa : 1% Foreign credit card for Master/Visa : 2.5% Online Banking (FPX) : RM1 Boost, KiplePay, Maybank MAE, GrabPay, TouchnGo, ShopeePay, WeChatPay, AliPay : 1.5% Setup Fee : RM500 Annual Fee : RM500 (first year WAIVED)
Billplz
Billplz Malaysia
Billplz is another Malaysian payment gateway that has been gaining lots of traction lately with their no frills online payment gateway service.
The difference between them and other Malaysian payment gateways is that they do not charge any Annual Fee or Setup Fee for their Basic Plan which is a big help for Startups who are starting to sell online for the first time with their own website.
However, they do charge a Per Payment Order Fee of RM1.10 and RM0.70 and a Billing API Fee of RM0.60 per SMS for their Basic and Standard Plan.
These charges are on top of the FPX Fee that merchants will need to pay if clients use Online Banking or when they make any payment with credit / debit card or eWallets.
Billplz offers 3 membership plans for merchants to choose from :
Billplz Pricing
Basic Plan Credit card for Visa/Master : 1.8% Debit card for Master/Visa : 1% Foreign credit card for Master/Visa : 4.4% Online Banking (FPX) : RM1.10 Per Payment Order Fee : RM1.10 Billing API : RM0.60 per SMS Setup Fee : FREE Annual Fee : FREE
Standard Plan Credit card for Visa/Master : 1.8% Debit card for Master/Visa : 1% Foreign credit card for Master/Visa : 4.1% Online Banking (FPX) : RM0.70 Per Payment Order Fee : RM0.70 Billing API : RM0.60 per SMS Setup Fee : FREE Annual Fee : RM999 + 8% SST (wef 1st March 2024)
For Buy Now and Pay Later : Grab Pay Later : 6.5% for 1-4 monthly installments Atome : 6% for 3 monthly installments
Their Enterprise Plan is subject to Bank’s Offer.
Best Malaysia Payment Gateway Comparison Chart
Best Malaysian Payment Gateway Comparison Chart
The Best Malaysia Payment Gateway Comparison Chart gives an overview of the payment gateway Malaysia fees for credit / debit card and FPX online banking, set up fees, yearly fees and minimum withdrawal amount to local bank account giving new and existing merchants the choice to sign up or switch to different providers.
Merchants who are interested to enjoy the transaction rates mentioned can contact us and we will help them register for a new account with the respective Malaysia payment gateways.
For Ecommerce Startups And New Businesses
For startups and new businesses who are very budget conscious, we would normally recommend that they sign up with a PayPal direct account or Stripe first while pending their application for any of the payment gateway providers of their choice.
Most like the word ‘FREE’ so they’ll usually go for the Billplz Basic Plan where they do not need to pay any set up or yearly fee while enjoying access to both credit / debit card processing, FPX Online Banking and eWallets.
For Ecommerce Sites With Volume Transactions
For ecommerce businesses that have a considerable amount of daily, weekly and monthly volume transactions, they would usually go for Kiple Pay as they offer one of the lowest credit / debit card and FPX transaction fees.
The other option would be eGHL where those businesses have both an ecommerce and physical presence as eGHL offers a range of payment processing features across different channels.
Which Payment Gateway Options In Malaysia Should I Choose?
The best Malaysia payment gateway provider really depends on the merchants’ business needs.
If you want something fast and ‘free’ without the hassle of paying setup fees and yearly fees, PayPal Malaysia, Braintree Malaysia, Stripe and Billplz’s Basic Plan are suitable.
If you have a tonne of transactions to process for both online and physical retail, then Kiple Pay and eGHL will be able to meet those needs.
Regardless of volume transactions, it’s vital that any ecommerce business must have an online credit card processing Malaysia feature on their site as majority of buyers prefer to pay with credit / debit cards.
This payment gateway Malaysia comparison chart acts as a guide for new and existing sellers to consider which Malaysia payment gateways can best meet their business needs.
If you have any question or feedback about the mentioned payment gateways, please reach out to us at InstanteStore as we’re constantly working to help businesses sell more online.
To get more clicks on your content, you must be diligent and very smart in how you promote. There is a lot of opportunity in today’s market to get people to view your content. However, it is difficult to draw the line between click bait and actual relevant content. Too many people that are streaming videos, or posts, use ridiculous headlines or photos to get viewers to think they are viewing something completely different than what they are actually showing.
Key Takeaways:
Having people visit your content is just the first step in the battle to gain followers.
You have to be smart but more importantly, you need relevant information.
Marketing is not as straight up as it used to be anymore because people are getting smarter.
“Headlines that leverage the curiosity gap are specific enough to connect with the reader, but not so specific that they fulfill the reader?s epistemic curiosity ? their desire to learn something new and get that pleasure rush.”
Call to Action is a show about remarkable online marketing success stories and how you can apply the lessons to your own marketing campaigns. You can expect candid interviews with digital marketing professionals and thought leaders featured on the Unbounce blog, actionable tips, actionable tips for improving your conversion rates and exclusive offers for marketing optimization tools, events and resources. Every Wednesday, hear experts in the digital marketing field talk about Conversion Rate Optimization, Pay Per Click Marketing, A/B Testing, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Landing Page Optimization and more!
Social Media Examiner offers a weekly video show, two weekly audio podcasts, and a weekly live video talk show to help boost your marketing skills and keep you up-to-date with the ever-changing world of social media.
Exactly like what its name says, Marketing Over Coffee is a show that’s recorded in a local coffee shop each week featuring experts on topics like B2B Facebook Retargeting, latest Google marketing tips and more.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday is just around the corner (two days from today) to be exact. Is your e commerce store ready? Are your campaigns planned out to the smallest detail? Yes? No? If you are ready then you can sit back relax and skip this article. However if you’re not, not to worry! You have landed yourself onto the right page. We have put together some helpful tips that will help you maximize your revenue this holiday sale season.
Cross Selling
Cross sell is when you persuade your customer to purchase an additional product that will compliment their current purchase before they check out. You could create combos of 4-5 complimentary products that will match well together and offer the whole package to the customer at a discounted price. An example would be, if you are a fashion e commerce store and a customer buys a dress from you, before checking out you could bundle up accessories, bags and shoes that might go well with that dress and cross sell it to them. Most customers who are shopping during the holiday sale season is a bargain hunter and a bargain hunter can not refuse a good bargain. Not to mention that the Christmas is also right around the corner and many people are doing their Christmas shopping too. Combo promotions like this often work very well during big sales such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when people are actively hunting for a good deal!
For InstanteStore users make sure that your cross sell feature is turned on.
Enter “Cross Sell” into your admin panel search bar.
Click “Here” to see if the cross sell has been activated.
If it has not been turned on, tick the “turn it on” button.
Once it has been activated, you can start adding products that you would like to cross sell to your customers.
Pop Up Lead Generator
A lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into someone who has indicated interest is you company’s product or service. An example of lead generators are offering coupons for new customers in exchange for their email addresses. Have you ever entered a website and a pop-up pops out as soon as you enter offering you a “50% Off Your First Purchase”? This is a great way to get new customers to shop with you. New customers are often unsure about your business and your products. Offering them a discount will give them that extra push to take a leap of faith and make a purchase from you this holiday sale season.
Set up a special Black Friday and Cyber Monday automated e mail that will be triggered when customers decide to abandon their cart. Don’t just let them get away that easily. Sending you customer follow up e mails will only remind them of your presence and drive them back on to your site to complete the purchase.
InstanteStore has a bunch of new newsletter templates that you can choose from to help you promote your products better this holiday season!
Discount Codes
A great feature to add to your holiday sale season campaign. If there are items that you are looking to quickly sell this is a great way to give your customers the extra push to buy it. You can give your customers tailored coupon codes that will only be valid for the span of your sale period. In addition to that, you can also offer your most engaged subscribers or top purchases a deal specially for them. Offering your regulars an exclusive deal is guaranteed to have them buying from you and even maybe telling their friends.
During the holiday sale season, send out email updates to let people know how many of your top selling products are left in stock. This will create an urgency for customers to quickly go on to your e commerce store to grab it quickly before its gone. If you can trigger someone’s fear of missing out, then this will definitely help boost your sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Holiday season is just around the corner, can you smell the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks already? Mmmm.. Retailers are all gearing up for two of the biggest shopping events of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday is when most retailers earn back their yearly profits. Also, these two sale days are perfect for people who are looking to save some money on their Christmas shopping. Here are some tips to help your business stay competitive in this very popular sale season:
Make Sure Your Site Is Mobile Friendly
People today enjoy shopping from the comfort of their home, instead of lining up outside a mall right after Thanksgiving dinner. More and more customers are shopping online and on their mobile devices today. With the most recent Singles Day Sale just passing, Alibaba reported that 90% of its sales came from mobile devices which is higher compared to 82% in 2016 and 69% in 2015. According to an article by Forbes, they have predicted that smartphone and tablet visits to retail sites will account for 54% of all visits.
As you can see purchasing through mobile is a familiar option to many shoppers today. Because of this, a mobile friendly site will play a huge part in helping online businesses benefit the most from the Black Friday and Cyber Monday traffic.
Whether they are waiting for the train or riding in a bus, there’s plenty of reasons for them to buy stuff online. So, with more consumers than ever before planning to make the shift towards mobile this holiday season, be sure not to ignore the mobile commerce wave! InstanteStore is already mobile commerce ready. All you have to do is ACTIVATE it. If you haven’t done so for your store, it’s pretty easy.
Here’s how:
Login to your admin, search for Mobile Commerce. Next step: Click on Activate and your mobile store is ready to go. Simple! Anyone could do it.
E commerce giants like Amazon are offering its customers FREE next day delivery or same-day delivery if they were to order before a certain time. They have definitely spoiled the market for other businesses. Customers today are expecting the same level of convenience from the other retailers. At the end of the day everyone loves free stuff! This will give your customers that extra push to make a purchase during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
Here’s how:
Offer your customers free delivery with no minimum purchase for the holiday sale season or an option to pay less for next day delivery as an incentive to get them to buy more.
If you have a brick and mortar store, give your customers a click and collect option with same day pick up.
Treat The Black Friday Sales and Cyber Monday Sales Like A Product Launch
With all the hype that is created when it comes to discounts and offers during the holiday sales season, more companies all over the world are joining in every year. It is easy for customers to get lost in the shuffle.
However, if you take a different approach and treat the sale like a product launch and build excitement around it, this will definitely set you apart from your competitors.
Here’s how:
Send out newsletters to customers who you want to be the first to hear about the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales . Offer these special customers a head start on the discounts before everything is sold out!
Instantestore has a feature where you can customize who you want to send your emails to.
Create excitement around the launch of your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale with a countdown clock or calendar on your e-commerce site.
Create a social media campaign around your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale and get your customers to share what they bought on their social media sites.
Live chats are especially great during holiday sale seasons. Why? Because there are going to be customers who have never bought from you before entering your website with no clue about your your business or your products. An online chat system will provide these customers an immediate access to any help they need. It is much more convenient compared to a call center. Also, customers can multitask when waiting for a reply.
It is great to have someone online who can immediately walk them through a sale if a customer becomes confused or has a question that could potentially make or break a sale. A live chat will help eliminate shopping cart abandonment this upcoming holiday sale season.
InstanteStore has its very own free live chat software that can be downloaded and applied onto your e commerce store.
The Microsoft .Net Framework is required for the installation. Windows Vista and Windows 7 should already have this installed. Some versions of Windows XP may require you to install this separately, though. If you have any issues installing or running the live chat software, then click here to go to Microsoft’s website to download and install it.
Once installed, double-click the InstanteStore Live Chat icon at the desktop, or click on ‘InstanteStore Live Chat -> InstanteStore Live Chat’ from the Programs folder to launch the live chat application.
The first time the live chat software launches, the LiveChat Signup page will be displayed. Just fill in the necessary details and click the SIGNUP button to register your Live Chat username.
Once you’ve signed up, an email containing the activation code will be sent to the email address you used to register. Copy and paste this activation code into the Activation Code field at the live chat window, then click on the ACTIVATE & LOGIN button.
At the Install livechat code page, copy the displayed code.
For InstanteStore Users
Go to your store’s administrator control panel, and go to ‘Manage Your Store -> Design/Customization -> Customize Template’.
Click on the Click to Edit button at either the left or right border of your store’s template, depending on where you want your live chat icon to be displayed.
Click on the Additional HTML tab at the following page.
Select the Add Extra HTML: radio button and paste the code at the appropriate text area, depending on whether you want the live chat icon to be displayed at the top or the bottom of the left/right border.
Click the PUBLISH CHANGES button to finalize your changes.
The live chat icon will now be displayed at the appropriate location on your store template. Click on the GO CHAT NOW button to start taking customer requests.
For non-InstanteStore Users
Just paste the livechat code from Step 6 above at the appropriate location at your website.
The live chat icon will now be displayed where you’ve placed it at your site. Click on the GO CHAT NOW button to start taking customer requests.
Retailers who invested in a marketing strategy which includes mobile, email and social media last year did 30% better compared to their competitors who didn’t take advantage of all their marketing platforms during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
However, its not all just about the number of channels used. It is more of how you use these channels to reach your audience. It is important to know where majority of your audience are, which platform they are using and from there pursue them. Your goal here is to consistently message your followers and remind them to buy from you this holiday sale season. According to research, it takes at least three repetitive marketing posts to capture someones’ attention.
How to:
Use your existing followers/audience to spread the message
Offer your followers incentives for helping you share the messages with extra discounts or promos.
Make sure all of your marketing channels are sharing the same message and is following a strategic flow.
Some of you might not be aware of what the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival is. The 11.11 global shopping festival, or November 11 is an online Sale which starts on November 11 at 12.00 PST, according to the LA/Vancouver, BC/Seattle/San Diego/Baja California time zone. It is also referred to as Single’s Day sale, hence the repeating ones in the date.
My previous article mentioned China’s ecommerce and mobile commerce spending power which they showcase to the world come every November 11th during Singles Day making more than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
South East Asia Is The Next BIG Mobile Commerce Powerhouse
Not far behind with tremendous huge growth and development status would be South East Asia (SEA) which is made up of 11 countries (Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).
SEA have a total population of 648 million (and growing fast!).
The top countries in this region that is leading the way in massive digital ecommerce spending would be Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Here’s a glimpse of their digital population. If taken as a single bloc, SEA’s large population of digital users can stand in comparison with leading global markets like US, Europe and China for all digital activities (internet, social media, mobile and mobile social) :
According to eMarketer, digital ad-spending for these 6 countries will increase by double digits in 2017 and 2018 while mobile ad spending will more than double during the forecast period surpassing $2.20 billion and accounting for nearly 69% of digital ad expenditures by the year 2021.
Heavy Smartphone Adoption Spurs Mobile Commerce Growth
Thanks to heavy smartphone adoption, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam will see the strongest growth in mobile ad spending among SEA.
Why are companies willing to invest so much moolah into mobile ad spending in SEA? Because the region has such a HIGH volume of mobile users which presents a HUGE opportunity for mobile commerce, hence the massive amount allocated for mobile ad spending.
Mobile commerce is skyrocketing in South East Asia as more consumers there are getting more familiar to spending online with their mobile devices.
With such tremendous ecommerce growth opportunities, many online businesses have been scrambling to improve their mobile site experience and to ensure that their business is omni-channel to cater to the growing consumer segment from developing countries.
Omni What?
Omni-channel. It means having a multi-channel sales approach providing consumers with a smooth integrated shopping experience.
The customer can be shopping online from a desktop or mobile device where they can easily locate the product from your site or social media with the ability to make payment seamlessly.
With omni-channel, your online business is available and integrated with your brick and mortar (if you have one) where customers can call in to place an order with the phone or complete the checkout process via social media like FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
The omni-channel sales experience is crucial to ensure that your customers have a good buying experience be it in person, mobile, desktop and social media.
What Do Businesses Need To Do?
For a start, make sure your online business have a mobile friendly and responsive site so consumers can have a good mobile shopping experience with your site.
Ensure that your business is found on social media like Facebook where visitors can complete their purchase directly in FB without being bounced all over in the checkout process.
If you’re selling items that are :
Fashion related stuff : clothing, accessories, sport wear, eye wear, watches, jewelry, etc
Beauty : skin care, cosmetics
Food & drinks
Baby products
Pet products
Crafts
Consumer electronics
Auto accessories
(I may have missed out some other categories as these are the main ones)
Please have an Instagram and Pinterest account to upload images of your product being worn and used in every day life scenarios to make it easily shareable.
The new generation of mobile shoppers rely on image heavy social media recommendations from friends.
And they love to share and communicate via mobile.
We have a WhatsApp share feature where visitors can easily share your site and product page to their friends on WhatsApp which is great tool for product recommendations.
If you need help getting your online business to be mobile friendly, omni-channel with a good marketing strategy, contact us and we’ll be more than happy to help.
From the team at InstanteStore to you, Happy Selling as you prepare for the holiday shopping crowd.
