I’m sure at one point or another you’ve seen one of those Black Friday videos that used to make the news in the US—and internationally for that matter. They are the stuff of nightmares. People stampeding through stores, trampling each other (sometimes to death) just to get their hands on discounted products. Well, those days are no more.
With the evolution and prominence of online shopping today, Black Friday has advanced so that we don’t need to literally risk ourselves for a bargain. If there is anything to be learned from videos like those, is that people love shopping and discounts. Maybe a little too much. And what do they love even more? Not having to leave the house for either of those things.
In 2017 in the UK alone, £1.4bn was spent on online Black Friday sales. That was an increase of 11.7% from Black Friday the previous year. Many stores now implement their Black Friday deals early and keep it running long past the Friday. Why shouldn’t you do the same with your webshop, right? Amazon certainly is.
It’s about the visuals
A good way to increase sales is to clearly market your Black Friday promotion on your site with a clickable visual, something easily accessible. This should take them to your Black Friday category page. Landing pages are things you cannot do without. They are just as important for promotional purposes, especially for people to find you through search engines. This is your calling card.
As it’s the first page people will see and should pique their interest to continue browsing through your webshop, this page should be clear, the layout easy to follow, and, of course, include some of your best deals and bestsellers.
Let your customers know
For the purpose of pushing a promotion, newsletters are an easy way to show your involvement in an event. Emails can also be exciting teasers for your customers. Product recommendation is a key aspect of email promotions as you can customize the recommendations to suit the taste and needs of each customer to encourage them to keep visiting your website and shop. Try not to bombard them with emails that are not relevant—you don’t want them to unsubscribe. Be consistent with your theme throughout for the sake of clarity and your customers’ shopping experience.
Stand out from the competition
That alone, I’d say is a pretty strong reason to consider early Black Friday deals. And while you are at it, grow your customer base too. It’s simple. If your products have a better price than others, people will buy from you. It’s as straightforward as that. Cyber Monday sales in the UK were up by 3% in 2017 between 11am and 5pm. There’s plenty of people sitting at their desk jobs, browsing the internet looking for a distraction. That’s your window, use it!
While these pointers are for Black Friday to maximize your success this season, they can be put to good use year round for any kind of promotion you want you to participate in. Knowing these handy tips, would you consider doing early Black Friday deals? Time-sensitive promos always work, but then again the choice is always yours.
