Kiwis are getting their own version of a 24 hour online event designed to whip shoppers into a frenzy, modelled on an event that kicked off in the US in 2005. Co-organisers Cate Bryant and Alain Russell are bringing the concept here on 25 November with Click Monday, and have nearly 50 retailers to post deals on the site.
Bryant is targeting the same kind of sales results – in proportion to New Zealand’s smaller market – as that achieved by Grant Arnott of Media Pad, who has run several events in Australia under the Click Frenzy banner.
Australian media reported Arnott as saying total sales from the first event there last November were well over $10 million, with 1.6 million unique visits to the site and 22 million page views. That was in spite of the site crashing under the strain of web traffic shortly after the sale started and not going back up until later in the evening that the event began.
The model for the event is a centralised website for retailers to list deals, with shoppers clicking through to the retailer’s site to make purchases.
“The retailers have been fantastic in terms of getting behind the event. It’s been a case of the industry holding hands to make it happen,” Bryant says. She adds Trade Me will have a dedicated category on its Top Sellers page for the event.
Hallenstein Brothers, Glassons, Stevens, Pascoes, Ezibuy, Briscoes and Bendon are among the partipating retailers. Stores need a physical retail presence in New Zealand to be involved.
Retailers pay for one of three feature packages costing between $500 and $5000, and 2.5c per click through.
The US event has been copied in various guises in the UK, France, Portugal, Chile and Japan, as well as Australia. The Australian organisers have run events for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and the end of the financial year.
Bryant says if the first Kiwi event is successful she’ll re-run it in the lead up to next Christmas. She plans future events targeting particular types of shoppers, rather than those based around holidays.
