An eCommerce Marketer’s Guide On How to Prepare for Black Friday 2020
“Everyone loves a good deal, but we’re at a point where no one buys something just because it’s cheap.”
The question on everyone’s lips is if partaking in Black Friday 2020 is a bad idea. But from what we’ve gathered…it’s far from it. Despite being in the midst of a recession and concerns with delivery time, around 56 percent of Aussie consumers from the Emarsys study said they would spend the same or more during this year’s Black Friday sales, while approximately 40 percent estimate their spending to be between $100-$300.
To every retailer, the holiday season pretty much starts now. However, with unstable economic climates and ever changing consumer priorities, it’s hard to say if regular end-of-year marketing rules even apply for eCommerce retailers. While Shopify has made a clear statement that Black Friday is far from over, Dyson Australia has devised a ‘Forget Black Friday’ campaign and launched their own set of exclusive offers.
In this regard, foregoing seasonal norms this year can be an option in itself. Unshakeable, tangible outcomes when it comes to forecasting sales results in 2020 is virtually nonexistent, but one thing is certain – having a clear eCommerce strategy is vital no matter where you stand. Keeping this in mind, here are a few tactics for eCommerce retailers that won’t go out of date anytime soon.
- Plan for a longer sales period
Make the most of customer expectations and considerations during the purchasing cycle. Instead of just a weekend, consider stretching your sales offers out beyond Cyber Monday to lighten the load for November. Bear in mind that budget constraints are on everyone’s minds, give yourself a bit more time to win over customers using incremental offers on best-sellers throughout the extension to help drive the anticipation, increase value perception and re-engage stragglers who are always on to find better deals.
- Load Test Your Website
Ensure that your website is consistently ready to handle the surge in traffic and be prepared to curb all glitches along the way. Consumers expect to purchase online in a seamless manner, so planning ahead for all sorts of scenarios, ensuring that a super smooth checkout process and highly responsive customer care is a default aspect of the experience you aim to deliver.
- Display discounts prominently
It’s a no-brainer – your customer shouldn’t have to hunt high and low for your offers on your site. Make sure that all discount codes are highly prominent, visible and easily linked to the item on offer.
- Create smart offers – add value to the discounts
Bundles, packages, BOGO specials – value speaks volumes when it’s evident that you have your customer’s needs and ease in mind. Everyone loves a good deal, but we’re at a point where no one buys something just because it’s cheap and would rather save to spend on items that hold sustainable value. Instead of feeling shortchanged, meaningful pricing strategies will make your customers feel like they’re truly getting rewarded for what they’re paying.
By giving customers a larger discount based on quantity or cart value, you can significantly improve your profit margins on each order. As a result, many brands have also turned to the “buy more, save more” promotional model. Focus on increasing AOV before considering a Blanket Discount – see below for example:
- Consider timely trends
Have customers been gravitating towards certain products this year? 38% of Shopify merchants are introducing new products this BFCM. While your bestsellers may be staple, evaluate the rising pandemic-induced trends and items that your customers actually need. In the year of the pivot, adding complementary products that matter to your customers saves them time while increasing your revenue.
- Reward your regulars with personalized recommendations
“They know me…they really know me!” Creepy on one hand, gratuitously convenient on another. As much as people are often creeped out by uncannily timely and accurate retargeted ads, it is extremely helpful to remind your returning customers about things they’ve had their eye on, and are now on special. Don’t undermine the opportunity to alert customers with automated recommendations and pop-ups tailored to their tastes and interests. A little nudge goes a long way.
- Highlight your shipping times and returns policy
It’s found that 49% of Aussies are actually looking outside of peak shopping periods (earlier in fact) to do their Christmas shopping to ensure that their deliveries actually happen, regardless of the recently announced cut-off date from Australia Post. If you’re looking to make the most of this sales period, be sure to have robust contingency plans where shipping is concerned, along with a shipping policy that addresses customer concerns upfront. Speak to your couriers and pre-pack as much as you can.
- Paid Channels
Proof’s in the planning in this context. The significant surge in shopping intent leading up to and during the Black Friday window might make you consider increasing your ad spend to capture increased activity and projected growth in site conversion rates during this time. “Black Friday” searches on Google start weeks out and it can be less competitive to start bidding on these terms early on. Make sure you ads have clear Black Friday messaging on them – Facebook/Instagram Ads, Google Shopping (using Sale Annotations), and of course, the text in your Search Ads need to reflect the Black Friday offering you have on your website. Tip: Set up your ads in the system as early as you can to avoid lag time in getting ad approvals.
Hopefully these tips will help you prepare for the upcoming Black Friday Sales event! If you need help, contact us at hi@webdesignmarket.com.au and we’ll see how we can help you make the most of the biggest sales event of the year.