This year, Black Friday sales didn’t live up to retailers’ predictions. Why? Possibly because several well-known brands offered their Black Friday deals earlier and then extended those same offers longer than the traditional one-day-only sales window. For example, Amazon not only started early with “Black Friday Countdown Deals,” they also extended the “Cyber Monday” promotion to a full week. K-Mart launched their “not Christmas” messaging in September (yes, I said September). Check it out here. Home Depot even got in the mix with “Get Black Friday Prices Now.” So, what does this mean for business?

Are your deals doing the trick?

The holiday landscape for this last quarter of 2014 has changed with retailers making early savings available. While this trend will impact day-only sales numbers, it can mean really big numbers for the larger holiday window. So, be on top of your game, retailers. Make sure your holiday sales offers are up to par with your competitors – as they may be coming early, and staying late.

Get on your digital and mobile game.

Regardless of your timing, with Cyber Monday sales increasing year after year, a successful sales campaign needs to be supported with an optimized, mobile e-commerce platform to make customer transactions quick and easy. If you haven’t started, it’s probably too late to make it happen this year. But now is a good time to start planning for that killer e-shopping experience for next year.