Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not just days on a calendar; they are huge events in the ecommerce world. In 2022, Black Friday raked in an impressive £8.71 billion in online revenue, showing a steady increase of 2.3% over the previous year.
A few days later, U.S. Cyber Monday broke records by registering online sales of $11.3 billion, marking an impressive 5.8% rise from Cyber Monday in 2021. If you’re an online retailer, especially in the health and beauty, ecommerce, or home and interior sectors, these statistics are your call to action!
This year, with Black Friday falling on November 24 and Cyber Monday on November 27, you have an opportunity to capitalise on these positive sales trends — but only if you’re prepared. In this article, we guide you through the steps you should be taking to maximise your sales and reach during the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend.
Determine Which Products to Promote
Choosing the right products to promote is about anticipating consumer demand and knowing what to push during BFCM. Platforms like Shopify offer invaluable insights with their data analytics tools, enabling you to spot emerging trends, identify high-margin items, and understand the purchasing behaviours of your target audience.
But don’t limit yourself to your Shopify analytics. Consider wider industry market trends and if you’re active on your socials, monitor which products gain the most traction and engage with your followers to find out which products they love.
Looking back to last year, beauty and personal care products were the fourth most shopped category during 2022’s Black Friday, so pinpointing these high-demand items will help you ensure they’re front and centre during the sales. It will also help you refine your promotion strategies to ensure a broader and more effective reach.
Decide on the All Important Discounts
Gearing up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday isn’t merely about sharing generic discounts and hoping for the best. Instead, it’s about crafting a compelling offer that not only entices customers but also maintains the perceived value of your brand. This unique period offers you an unparalleled chance to reduce prices without sacrificing brand integrity, so your approach should be both strategic and innovative.
One of the most effective strategies, especially in the retail ecommerce realm, is to pair a significant discount with an increased average order value (AOV). Instead of just promoting a singular product, consider bundling complementary products together.
For instance, if you have a popular product priced at £25, you could create an enticing bundle that, after a 30%-40% discount, totals around £60. This strategy ensures that while your customers are getting a bargain, you’re optimising profitability by increasing the overall purchase size and introducing your followers to potentially new products that they might not have discovered otherwsie.
If you’re a Shopify Plus merchant, you can enhance your customer’s shopping experience by leveraging automatic discounts. This eliminates the need for customers to manually input discount codes, thereby reducing checkout friction.
Conduct a Social Media and Website Audit
As the BFCM weekend approaches, thoroughly auditing your social media platforms and website is non-negotiable. Auditing will help you optimise the user experience and solidify your brand’s aesthetic and message.
On social media, inspect your profiles’ visual cohesion, engagement rates, and content relevance. If you are in the home and interiors sector, are your posts resonating with home decor influencers and lovers, or those keen on sprucing up their living spaces?
Remember, platforms like Instagram or Pinterest are gold mines for the home and interior sector. Use them wisely to showcase product aesthetics, share customer testimonials, and even offer a sneak peek into your upcoming BFCM deals.
Your website should be inviting, easy to navigate, and reflect current design trends. Test for user experience issues like load times, mobile responsiveness, and the intuitiveness of the checkout process. Prioritise a seamless and visually appealing user journey, and you’ll set the stage for a successful BFCM season.
Optimise Your Ecommerce Platform
In the high-stakes game of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, your ecommerce platform is your arena, so you should ensure it’s in top form. If you’re using Magento 2, keep your platform up-to-date by installing the latest version. This not only provides enhanced features but often addresses performance and security issues
A well-structured Shopify site makes navigation intuitive, leading your visitors seamlessly from one product or category to the next. Speaking of products, optimising your product pages is essential!
Clear descriptions, high-quality images, and easy-to-locate ‘Add to Cart’ buttons can drastically increase conversions. Outside your store, work on building links back to your site to improve your SEO and drive more traffic from reputable sources.
Create a Comprehensive Marketing Plan
Diving into the busiest shopping days of the year without a comprehensive marketing plan is like sailing stormy seas without a compass. Without a clear marketing plan, even the best deals might go unnoticed. Here’s what your marketing plan should encompass:
Audience segmentation: Segment your audience based on purchase history, demographics, or browsing behaviour. Tailoring your marketing efforts to each segment can significantly boost your conversion rates
Multi-channel strategy: Your customers are everywhere, from social media platforms to email inboxes. A multi-channel approach ensures you reach them at multiple touchpoints, increasing the chances of engagement
Email campaigns: Draft a series of emails leading up to the big days. Start with teasers, move to sneak-peeks, and then unleash the main deals
Social media blitz: Utilise platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to showcase your products and upcoming offers. Engage with your audience through interactive content like polls, contests, or live videos, building excitement and anticipation
Content marketing: Craft blog posts, videos, or podcasts relevant to your products and the shopping season. This content can position you as an industry authority and improve your search engine rankings, driving organic traffic to your site. For instance, you can give home interiors tips or insights on the latest trends
Paid advertising: Allocate a portion of your budget to pay-per-click (PPC) ads or sponsored social media posts. Targeted ads, especially with retargeting strategies, can effectively pull potential customers back to your site
Collaborations and partnerships: Consider partnering with complementary brands or influencers to broaden your reach. For instance, within the health and beauty industry, influencer endorsement is crucial in establishing trust given the personal nature of the products. Joint promotions or exclusive deals can attract a wider audience and bring fresh traffic
Analytics and adaptation: Integrate analytics tools to monitor the performance of your marketing campaigns. This real-time data allows you to adapt quickly, making necessary tweaks to maximise reach and conversions
Ensure a Resilient Supply Chain
The chaos of Black Friday and Cyber Monday extends beyond just your online storefront; it ripples through your entire supply chain. You need to be prepared to handle the surge in demand, ensuring that products are in stock and deliveries are timely. Reinforcing your supply chain will help you mitigate potential logistical nightmares.
Inventory management, for instance, becomes crucial during this period. Regularly liaise with your suppliers and keep a pulse on your stock levels, anticipating the products that might surge in demand. Furthermore, collaborate with your shipping and delivery partners, establishing clear communication channels to handle any hitches.
The Bottom Line
As Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 approach, retailers find themselves at the epicentre of a digital storm, where preparation meets opportunity. From fine-tuning marketing strategies to bolstering supply chains, every facet requires meticulous planning and foresight.
It’s not just about making a sale; it’s about crafting an unforgettable shopping experience, nurturing customer relationships, and ensuring your brand stands tall amidst the competition.
If your business is in need of some support during this Cyber Weekend, IGOO can help. We’ve just launched our new Black Friday packages, designed to support you and your team through one of the busiest sales periods of the year.
Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help your business in the run up to Cyber Weekend and beyond.
