Why you should be takin part in Black Friday and how you can do it without cutting into your margins.
Let' start with the why
There are several reasons why you should consider taking part in Black Frdiay:
- eCommerce retailers report up to 240% and 380% increase in revenue on Black Friday and Cyber Monday respectively.
- Compared to a normal sales day, online traffic increases up to 220% on Black Friday and 155% on Cyber Monday.
- All-day or longer period sales events are more effective than flash sales.
- More than 70% of Black Friday desktop shoppers spend their money with retailers who offer free shipping.
- Shoppers will wait all month to spend on these days so the chance for conversions is huge.
- It's a good way to clear stock by creating bundles that include your bestselling items and stock that is hard to shift.
- New customer acquisition can be expensive, but Black Friday offers retailers a chance to acquire new customers at a key time of year.
How to avoid cutting into your margins
It's Black Friday! People are ready to shop and spend money. If your sales start to slow down in November, remember it’s because customers are waiting until Black Friday to make sure they get the best deal possible.
When it comes to your Black Friday offers, keep in mind that your customers will remember your offers from prior years, so don't do anything for short-term revenue gain that might go against your intended brand perception. If your goal is to not be a heavily discounted brand, avoid steep discounts at predictable times of the year. If you offer 50% off site-wide in November, for example, the sales from your loyal customers will drop beginning October and they won't buy until that 50% off sale hits again.
The punchline is: be smart with how you package these promotions and discounts for your customers. It’s not about handing away free money. It’s important to have a strategy around moving inventory that you’re having a harder time selling or coupling other products that have lower sales velocity with those you know people will buy immediately.
One strategy is to offer a high-discount combined with a high average order value (AOV) offer. For example, If you're selling a $20 product, try to build a bundle that sells for a total of $100 after a 30-40% discount. When you increase the AOV, you can afford to give a bigger discount on the product. Be conscious of your shipping costs when building discount bundles. For example if you're selling candles, can you ship up to four candles for the same price as two candles? If so, make your offer revolve around four candles. Look for those efficiencies and double down on them.
SPF can help
If you are still feeling overwhelmed, SPF are here to help you sail smoothly through this sales storm. We can organise all of your promotional material, set up automatic or discounts on your online store so all you have to think about is selling
Get in touch with us today