8 ways for retailers to make the most of Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Sales frenzies of the past, like Boxing Day, bring to mind images of pure mayhem, as shoppers scramble to bag a bargain. In the past, people have camped out overnight to be first in line when Myer opens its doors for its Boxing Day sales.

But this image is reminiscent of the past, and the sales frenzies of the present probably look more like this, shopping from the comfort of your own home, smug over grabbing the best deal (and your pride still in tact).

Peak sales periods are changing, and so is the behaviour exhibited by shoppers engaging with them. With Black Friday sales projected to reach US$10 billion this year, the annual event has shifted from a brick-and-mortar experience to a predominantly online occasion.

Black Friday originated in the US in the 1960s, and whilst it wasn’t really a thing in Australia until the late 2010s, it is now the premier sales event on the shopping calendar, with Black Friday overtaking the popularity of the traditional Boxing Day sales.

As Black Friday continues to hold its place as the biggest online event of the year, Cyber Monday is quickly catching up. Initially created to extend the Black Friday sales into the digital era, Cyber Monday is evolving into an online event in its own right, with some retailers saving their best deals for the last day of the Black Friday weekend.

New research from CouriersPlease has found that the pre-Christmas sales trifecta — Click Frenzy (November 11-15), Black Friday (November 29) and Cyber Monday (December 2) — will see up to 53% of Australian online shoppers use the sales events to secure bargain gifts and make the most of their holiday spending, pulling forward purchases that would ordinarily have occurred after Christmas.

And this is backed up by the Australian Retailers Association. Despite Black Friday sales being at an all-time high,

according to CEO Paul Zahra.

The rise of smartphones, eCommerce, and social media is partly to thank for this shift, with online mobile purchases up 10.4% in 2023 compared to the year before, and mobile devices accounting for 54% of online sales.

Not only are sales shifting to be online, digital is also playing an incredibly influential role in the discovery process, by influencing which stores shoppers will visit to bag a bargain, and shoppers viewing products online before heading into the store to make the purchase. As these purchasing decisions are becoming more and more omnichannel, the most successful brands will be the ones that effectively integrate their online and offline offerings, and provide a seamless omnichannel shopping experience.

Customers are also increasingly taking advantage of click-and-collect, buy online and pick-up in-store (BOPIS) or same-day delivery options as they look for solutions that fit into their busy day-to-day lives. As more and more online purchases are made on mobile, the retailers who enhance their mobile shopping experiences through improved apps and mobile-friendly websites are the ones who will take home the bigger slice of the Black Friday pie.

With these online events showing no sign of slowing down, incorporating these tactics into your sales and marketing calendar is no longer a want, it’s a NEED.

Here’s how you can make the most of BFCM for a record sales weekend:

• Integrate to deliver an omni-channel experience and focus on being able to execute well – As the journey of the online shopper evolves, they are increasingly influenced by a wide array of digital and traditional channels. As already touched on, shoppers are transitioning between digital and traditional channels and therefore it is vital that planning and execution serve to integrate to deliver a seamless experience.  It is also paramount to stress-test experience delivery e.g. click and collect and online dispatch to cope with demand surge in order to deliver on service expectations over this period.

•  Use trends or virality to your advantage - tools such as Helium10 or ExplodingTopics give you an insight into what’s trending on social, search, Amazon and more – there’s a reason products such as CosRX Snail Mucin and ScrubDaddy were Amazon Prime Day’s top selling products. They have consistently been featured in viral content across social platforms, particularly TikTok.  These tools enable us to consider featured products or products that complement our core offering, to tap into consumer demand over this period.

  
  

• Leverage data for smarter discounts - As shoppers look increasingly for more bang for their buck, brands that leverage data from previous years to inform pricing and promotional strategies can gain a competitive edge over those who don’t plan or price strategically. By analysing past purchase patterns, product uptake, and customer preferences, brands can tailor discounts that resonate with specific segments of their audience. This should be combined with tracking competitor activity during the sales period to ensure your proposition is competitive.

  
  

• Send out a call to sign up for SMS – Did you know SMS has a 94% open rate in Australia? In comparison, the average email open rate is just 34%. Encourage subscribers to sign up for SMS to receive access to your BFCM deals, and incentivise loyalty members by sending exclusive access and deals to SMS subscribers. But use it with caution, SMS is a far more personal medium – get your frequency wrong and you are likely to create a sour taste in the mouth of your existing customer base.

  
  

• Start warming your customer base 1 – 2 weeks before your Black Friday campaigns (time’s ticking!) -  prime your customers for what is coming ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday so they can keep a keen eye out for what you have on offer.  But do this wisely – don’t just send a generic email out to your whole audience, as this can harm your deliverability, and therefore open rates. Instead, segment based on past purchases – products, frequency, or promotions when it comes to email and also consider how your web & app experiences can alert customers about what is coming soon.

  
  

• Offer the best value to your high-value or most engaged customers: Save your best offers for these guys, shoppers love to be rewarded for their loyalty! Offer exclusive discounts, exclusive products, or exclusive early access. Having access to the best deals before everyone else is great for increased engagement and customer retention. Plus, staggering access to your site can help manage the site load, minimising the risk of a poor web experience or site crash – a nightmare for any brand on the biggest sales weekend of the year!

  
  

• Nail product content to maximise conversion – Product content plays a critical role in influencing purchase decisions. It makes the intangible more tangible, builds credibility and more. For hero SKUs and lines, it is vital that product content provides shoppers with a wealth of information to make informed decisions.  This will not only maximise conversion during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but also reduce the level of returns post the sales period, which can be costly.  

  
  

• Have a strong series of lifecycle campaigns in place; Sales periods should not be considered a one and done event. For brands, it represents one of the biggest periods to drive customer acquisition and trial.  That means having a strong lifecycle program in place to stimulate the next purchase and drive engagement post-acquisition.  Also check your welcome, abandoned cart, and post-purchase flows to make sure everything is running smoothly. 

 Arktic Fox partners with an array of brands to build and define a strong digital shelf strategy.

Find out how we can help your brand best leverage eCommerce, win on the digital shelf and maximise the omni-channel opportunity.