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Small Businesses Prep for Cyber Monday

Small business owners aren’t only promoting their products for Small Business Saturday, they are thinking ahead to Cyber Monday. Ashley Smith, owner of Im...

Small business owners aren't only promoting their products for Small Business Saturday, they are thinking ahead to Cyber Monday.

Ashley Smith, owner of Impressions Boutique & Gifts, said the store has a game plan.

"We are going to do some promotions that we are releasing tomorrow night,” Smith said Saturday. “We've hyped it up and told people to be looking for it."

Smith said attracting consumers to shop small is a challenge and for Cyber Monday the competition is fierce.

She said having an easy-to-navigate website can help drive online sales.

"You want to make shopping really easy,” Smith said. “Most people that shop online, I feel like are busy and need to do it quickly."

Lisa Sharp, owner of Nightbird Books in Fayetteville, said even though she’s not doing anything different for Cyber Monday, it will be the first time eBooks will be available on her website.

"We decided to offer eBooks locally so that we can compete with the big guys and the prices are similar,” Sharp said.

Sharp started offering eBooks about two weeks ago. The American Booksellers Association has partnered with Kobo books to help independent bookstores sell books online.

"We didn't have a clout to negotiate contracts, so nationally they've negotiated a contract for us," Sharp said.

Sharp also said that an easy-to-access website is the key to boosting sales online.

"Having step by step instructions, because it can get confusing trying to explain five different ways to download something," Sharp said.

She informed her customers know about the new eBook option through her newsletter.

“Letting them know that the program is set up, telling them to come in and we'll walk them through if they need some help," Smith said.

Both store owners understand they are going against national retailers.

"The only way to generate enough money to stay open is to change with the market," Sharp said.

Smith said, “We want to give people those benefits to be able to shop from home and from out of town."

Small businesses are also using social media to inform customers about deals exclusively for Cyber Monday.

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