Ozsale rakes in $1.3 million in 24 hours – here’s how it did it

The founder and chairman of online retailer Ozsale has offered up some key tips ahead of online sales event Click Frenzy on Tuesday, after his business achieved $1.3 million in revenue in a 24-hour period.

Ozsale, founded in 2006 by Jamie Jackson, is a members-only online shopping club, which is part of the APAC Sale Group. Earlier this year, Ozsale acquired market competitor Buyinvite.

Yesterday, Ozsale hit $1.3 million in revenue in 24 hours. A total of 50,000 items were sold at a rate of one item per 1.7 seconds, with 30% of transactions made via mobile, including apps.

The site also welcomed 10,000 new members, taking its total membership base to seven million.

“The figures for this record million dollar day show consumers are willing to spend to save if they know they’re getting a hot deal,” Jackson says.

“This is not a one-off event – we scour the globe to find the best discounts for our members, day in, day out.”

The news comes ahead of Click Frenzy, Australia’s first national online-only mega sale, to be held for one day only on November 20.

The event requires shoppers to register through the Click Frenzy website before selecting from products set to be discounted by 15-90% on the day.

Organisers estimate participating retailers will see a boost of $5-$10 million in sales. Ahead of Click Frenzy, Jackson offers retailers some key tips:

Captivate your customers

“We didn’t plan that day to be a record day [but] it was a good selection of brands that we had on offer,” Jackson says.

“Online, as you know, is [about] having the audience captivated a few days prior, and getting them worked up and into that emotional buying pattern.”

“The message is having your offer clear, get it right, price point is essential, and making sure the customer gets what they want.”

“You can give people great prices but if you don’t give them great brands, they won’t buy it.”

Don’t rely on campaigns

Jackson says too many Australian retailers rely heavily on sales campaigns to boost sales, and events such as Click Frenzy and the holiday season are no exception.

“We offer value 365 days a year. We see a spike in November but we don’t bank on it – we don’t bank on it to keep all our numbers going,” he says.

“Yes, there is a surge at Christmas but our consumers are buying all year for [Christmas items].” They’re very savvy now.”

Never crash and burn

“We have 18 servers and a dedicated team of programmers – we have 40 programmers,” Jackson says.

“They’re jumping from server to server so we don’t go down… It’s something we’ve always been incredibly focused on so we don’t lose online time.”

This article first appeared on StartupSmart.