Black Friday and Cyber Monday are arguably the biggest shopping events in the retail calendar. Every year, people are trying to find the best and lowest deals for every item and get their Christmas shopping done during this sale.
However, unlike in past years, this big shopping event will be a little different. Covid-19 is still very much a concern right now. Because of this, retailers will most likely opt to use digital marketing and eCommerce to sell their products. If you want to know more about this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, keep on reading. We’ll give you useful information both on the consumer and retailer’s perspective.
Black Friday vs Cyber Monday, What’s the Difference?
When you hear Black Friday, Cyber Monday usually follows. So, what is the difference? Which has the most amazing deals?
Other than their dates, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have distinct differences. During Black Fridays, you will find sales in both physical and online stores while Cyber Mondays only offer online discounts.
However, this year, Black Friday is expected to hit earlier than November 26. This is because Amazon launched Amazon Prime Day where it offers amazing deals and discounts on various items. And with the effect of Covid-19, it is expected to see more retailers launching their eCommerce sites just in time for Black Friday.
While Black Friday offers a lot of good deals, there are times when it is wiser to wait for Cyber Monday on November 29. For fashion enthusiasts, waiting for November 29 may be the right decision because it is expected that retailers will have site-wide discounts on this day. It is also a good time to find good discounts on small appliances.
Because Cyber Monday is usually a continuation of Black Friday, retailers drop their prices further. But it is important to note that your willingness to buy depends on how much you want the item. Remember that great deals and hot ticket items have a higher possibility of selling out.
How Covid-19 Impacted Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Shopping for black Friday and Cyber Monday will certainly be different this year. Due to the pandemic, many retailers need to adjust to the new normal. So, what do you need to expect for this year’s sales?
- As we stated earlier, sales and great deals already started this year and are expected to extend beyond Cyber Monday. Big retailers like Walmart and Target also have started the launch of their big sales and events where you can get good offers and promos. Well known Australian retailers such as Harvey Norman, Big W, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, Myer, Kmart and various specialty stores like EB Games and Bunnings will be launching great deals as well.
- Due to home quarantines, there is a rise in demands for smart home products and appliances. expect to see a lot of great deals on these items.
- Black Friday will almost be like Cyber Monday. Due to safety precautions, retailers are likely to sell their merchandise online. So, Black Friday shopping will be a lot different compared to the past years. In-store promotions will be very limited if there will be at all.
- If you’re a customer that will shop in physical stores, expect long lines and safety measures. Social distancing is still recommended and you should expect stores to follow safety protocols to ensure public safety.
Now that we’ve tackled how Black Friday and Cyber Monday will go down this year, let’s discuss how retailers and businesses can set up their campaigns and marketing to take full advantage of this event.
Planning Campaigns
It’s the second week of October. If you haven’t planned your campaigns for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday, don’t worry. We have great tips for you so you can plan your sales successfully.
Taking advantage of this shopping event will boost your sales. Most shoppers do their holiday shopping during this time. Follow our guide on how to be prepared and you’ll be good to go just in time for this exciting event.
- Plan what items to put on sale. Thoroughly check your inventory and check on what items you can offer. You can determine how much you can put on sale by making a spreadsheet to track your inventory if you don’t already have an inventory tracking system. Consider the following factors for your products:
- What products to put on sale?
- What is the regular price?
- What will be the sale price?
- When will the sale start and when will it end?
- What type of sale applies to the product (flash, discount code, coupon, etc.)?
- Where will you promote the product (Social Media, emails, etc.)?
- Optimise your website. Now more than ever, you should make sure that your website is optimised. You can make sure that your customers will get the best experience by:
- Always checking your site speed. A slow website will drive away your customers. Shoppers will most likely leave a website that has a slow page load speed.
- Making sure your hosting is robust. There’s nothing worse than having a sale all set up and getting loads of shoppers if it puts a strain on your server and takes your site down! Check with your hosting provider.
- Making sure that your website is mobile responsive. This is a given when creating an online store or a website but since this is an important event for your store, you should make sure that your website looks good on mobile. Remember, most shoppers will conduct their shopping activities using their phones.
- Checking your checkout process. Always make sure that your checkout process is as smooth and convenient as it can be. Shoppers have a lot of stores to choose from. If they encounter difficulty in purchasing an item, they will leave your store and look for other ones.
- Preparing your backups. You should have backups for everything from site code to product images. If ever the site goes down, you can still be sure that you can restore everything and get your website running again in no time.
- Make your product stand out. After determining which products to put on sale, you should optimise them so that they will catch the attention of shoppers. You want to make sure that your products have good SEO so it can be found easily from search engines. If you are selling a product that others are also selling, try to make yours stand out by changing up the image and adding some unique copy.
- Determine the correct prices and discounts. Bigger discounts mean bigger sales but remember to calculate properly. You don’t want to put 75% off on every item, this is a sure way to eat into your margins. Also, think about what you are offering for holiday / Christmas promotions, don’t put products on sale that will limit your opportunity to make more margin later on other products.
- Prepare the images and copies for your campaigns. Create great images that fit your brand and the occasion. Try doing a holiday-inspired theme for your items. For your promotion copies, you can choose from different marketing strategies below.
Effective Marketing Strategies for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
After preparing the products that you will put on sale, it’s now time to put your efforts in your marketing strategy. This is where you’re going to advertise and get your shoppers excited for your upcoming sales.
You can promote your products and services on all Social Media platforms or your website through blogs and email campaigns. So, what are some of the best marketing ideas that actually work? What type of content will attract your shoppers? Here are the best ones.
- Promote different types of sales. There are several copies and marketing pieces that you can use. Some of them are:
- Doorbuster sale announcements. These deals offer steep discounts for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Time limit sale announcements
- Exclusive sale announcements
- Sale reminders
- Reminders before the sale ends
- Sneak peek for the upcoming sales
- Abandon cart emails
- Order deadline announcements
- Try campaigns that promote good causes. We are at a time where people are very aware of different global issues. Shoppers care about sustainability and a good cause. You can try to promote your products by adding a humanitarian approach to your campaigns. Donating a portion of the profit to charities or making eco-friendly packaging are good examples.
- Consider collaborations. You can seek for brand partnerships to attract attention. Choose businesses that resonate with your brand. You can boost traffic by exposing your audiences to each of your businesses.
- Promoting your sales through bundles. Shoppers love to buy bundles. Consider bundling some of your products that go together. This is especially good for your returning customers that already know which products they want to buy.
- Offer free gifts. Free gifts with purchase are a good way to persuade a shopper to buy from your store. You can also add strategies such as getting free gifts or free shipping when shoppers reach certain amounts of purchases.
- Create a guide of which items are on sale. Create blogs or send out emails on the items that you put on sale. This way shoppers will have an estimate of how much to spend and what items to purchase.
- Conduct contests and raffles. You can entice your audience to go to your store by asking them to join contests or offering raffle tickets for every purchase.
- Get listed on bigger sites. There are a lot of sites that list all of the websites that are participating in Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales. Try to find one for your location and / or industry and let them know your deals. Some of these are free but some may require you to pay for a listing – if so, don’t forget to factor that into your costs.
You can promote these marketing strategies through Social Media platforms such as:
- Facebook posts
- Facebook Ads
- Facebook groups
- Facebook and Instagram Stories
- Google Ads
- Sending email campaigns to your subscribers is great as well.
Remember to consistently promote your products earlier. This will keep your audience excited for the upcoming sales and will serve as a reminder to check out your website.
If you need help in promoting your products for this upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we can gladly help. Check out our digital marketing services or just book a discovery call with us and we’ll get started on your marketing strategies.
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Editor’s Note: This post is updated on September 2021 for relevance.
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