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Winter is coming.
Fans of HBO’s Game of Throneswill probably be quite familiar with this particular warning, usually uttered by the Starks, lords of the North, to be ready for the cold, darkness and hardship coming for their land. For retailers, the winter months are front of mind as well, but for explanations that are even more cheerful.
Black Friday is now a prominent feature in the British retail calendar, and it is now the day of the year in terms of sales.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that trade entrepreneurs start their preparations earlier and earlier each year to genuinely take advantage of the all-important buying day that is one-off.
In contrast to the US, British Black Friday has no cultural association with the Thanksgiving vacation, which gives merchants the freedom to promotions and timing to fit the requirements of business and the customers.
What’s the winning formula for Black Friday success in 2016?
Leverage click and collect
When Black Friday forced its breakthrough the high demand captured most brands. And the chaos in certain bricks-and-mortar stores made the subsequent calendar year, their commerce strategy is re-adjusted by retailers.
Brands expanded promotions into a shopping occasion online and offline to disperse the summit in footfall and orders more evenly and ease timely fulfilment and shifted the emphasis from a sales event.
As a consequence was largely an online event, leaving the empty and stores overstaffed, most prominently the 1,000 sales team Debenhams had mobilised for its London Oxford Street store.
Don’t see it as just another revenue day. It is your chance to drive earnings in a unique way.
But, consumers and physical stores visited on the following Sunday and Saturday. This collect and was due to a lot of shoppers having ordered things and then coming to pick them up over the weekend.
By keeping your online and in-store offers through Sunday, make the most of this footfall.
Cater into the self-gifting trend
The most searched phrases Very.co.uk listed on its site on Black Friday were ‘game console’ and ‘TV’. Consumers often shop searching for excellent deals in the weeks leading up to the earnings event.
But as November rolls into December, shopping habits change and the need becomes the driving force. Target your messages accordingly to take two bites of the cherry.
Offer deals encourage present ideas for friends and family in your Friday messages to bring those customers back and related to the shopper browsing and buying history.
Reward loyal customers
Black Friday presents a fantastic opportunity to reward your loyal customers. Part of this appeal in Amazon’s Prime Day is that Prime members can only access the majority of prices.
Last year, trend retailer Kate Spade produced a bespoke Black Friday site with exclusive bargains that were only available to its VIP customers.
Creating content and offerings for certain customer segments demonstrates that you appreciate their loyalty and will help deepen their emotional connection.
Produce a bespoke sales event
In November, the competition for consumers’ attention is ferocious as shoppers are bombarded with messages from many of the favourite brands.
Why not help out your brand stick by developing a sales event? You do not need to be a worldwide eCommerce giant like Amazon in order to do so successfully.
Sports retailer Pro:Direct celebrated Leap Year with a dedicated ‘366 sale’ on 29 February 2016, that brought as Black Friday in a similar amount of internet traffic.
For those of you taking on the Black Friday frenzy do not see it. It is your chance to drive revenue in a way that is unique.
Consider what would appeal to your own audience, then let your imagination shine.
