In recent years, Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales have gained traction among shoppers and retailers alike. Since the late 1980s, Black Friday – the Friday following Thanksgiving celebrations in the US – has marked the start of the Christmas shopping period, signifying the turn from red to black in terms of turning a profit each year.
It is a stark contrast from the 1869 meaning of Black Friday, the name given to Friday 24 September, when a Wall Street crash bankrupted thousands of Americans.
Today, along with physical and digital retailers offering Black Friday deals to consumers, Cyber Monday is the marketing term for the Monday after Thanksgiving, when online shopping is encouraged with further offers. The term was coined in 2005 after the National Retail Federation pointed out that online sales in the US had peaked on that particular Monday for a few years in a row.
In 2021, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales were slightly down from 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic caused a boom in online shopping. However, figures were still high. According to data from SaleCycle, US consumers spent $8.9 billion online on Black Friday, and in the UK, £9.42 billion was spent over the Black Friday weekend. This year’s Black Friday weekend starts on 25 November.
Here are seven tips for retailers keen to have a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday for 2022:
1. Be an early bird
Now is the time to get moving with Black Friday and Cyber Monday preparations. Build your customer database, making sure the data is relevant and compliant with privacy regulations. Work out a marketing timetable, so customers are excited in advance about deals and offers, while still driving traffic to the website before Black Friday.
2. Embrace automation
Intelligent automation of sales and service processes for online shopping means faster, easier order fulfillment and improved experiences when customers need to contact brands. Automation means more effective chatbots and contact centers, as well as smoother transactions.
3. Make the most of mapping
Effective journey mapping helps customers find the products and support they want, personalizing the experience and improving engagement. Using technology that allows brands to capture customer feedback at every touchpoint boosts understanding of customer needs via detailed data.
4. Be an SEO supremo
If consumers cannot find your website, they will not make any purchases – this may seem obvious, but without search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, brands miss out on the vital web traffic that drives sales. Written content needs to contain the keywords that people use when looking for products and services on search engines, such as Google.
5. Content is king
As well as making sure the written content on your website will drive traffic via SEO, high quality images and useful videos, such as product demonstrations, will engage and inform customers.
6. Don’t forget social media
Along with SEO, effective social media campaigns are important for marketing products and services. It is especially important to know your market, which means knowing what social media platforms they prefer and staying up-to-date with trends and hashtags. From here, engaging social media content can be created on the platforms where you are most likely to reach your customers. Social media is a great way to share written content as well as images and videos that will get attention.
7. Follow up
Customer engagement does not end with Cyber Monday. Use the new and existing customer data wisely to continue engaging with customers, keeping them informed on relevant offers for long-term loyalty.