A Brief Guide on Black Friday & Cyber Monday Marketing Strategies

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The festive season brings hype to the eCommerce businesses every year. Festivals like Black Friday and Cyber Monday have their own prominence in their own way. Having the right idea of Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing strategies will bring you the right amount of sales you want.

Let’s know what is the importance and how to plan the most successful campaigns this BFCM 2019!

Just after Thanksgiving, we have one of the biggest days in online shopping and revenues. That comes as Black Friday which later is followed up by Cyber Monday.

Did you know?Last year, Black Friday sales were $ 6.2 billion and Cyber Monday online sales ballooned to $7.9 billion. Which was a hype of 23.6% and 17.9% respectively of Year-Over-Year increase.

This festive season arrives and with itself brings a handful of serious business as well. So be prepared for this nostalgic festive season to create huge profits.

Have a look at our eCommerce holiday Guide by CedCommerce.

Black Friday Vs Cyber Monday in numbers
(Statistics on BFCM)

In the US the online sales of Black Friday have some humongous digits over the years. In the last year itself, it reached the total sales for $ 6.2 billion which set up a new record.

While Cyber Monday broke all previous sales records and became the only day to reach $7.9 Billion of sales in a single day.

Talking about the UK, here black Friday is relatively a new phenomenon. It has grown rapidly with sales going from £810 million in 2014 to £1.39 Billion last year. 

In the UK, Black Friday is the biggest shopping day, with traffic and sales volume greater than that on Cyber Monday.

It’s a different story in the US though, as online sales on Cyber Monday reached $6.59 billion. Compared to $5.03 billion on Black Friday.

Around $2.2 Billion sales come from mobile devices. Which set up another landmark which contributes to nearly 36% of total sales. Which is 43% of year over year growth, 34.7% of sales come from desktops and 6.4% comes from tablets.

Only21% of buyers want to go to stores to shop like the old traditional way.

Which platforms do buyers prefer?

Amazon was the winner over Black Friday last year, taking 32.2% of all traffic over the weekend.

Of the top 50 retailers in the U.S., Amazon accounted for almost half (45.1%) of all sales on Thanksgiving Day. The majority of which (54.9%) was on Black Friday. It’s a similar picture in the UK, with Amazon accounting for 37% of all online sales.

Following up is Google play on the second spot gaining 21.3% of all traffic.

Walmart, Best Buy, and Target.com gaining 7.6%, 4.6%, 3.4% of all traffic secured 3rd, 4th, and 5th spot respectively.

Etsy comes up with the 6th spot gaining 2.1% of traffic by its alluring vintage and handcrafted products.

If you have your own eCommerce store, these statistics might have given you hysteria for sure. So get your store buckled up, as a flood of buyers might be coming in your store this BFCM season. Use the right promotions and strategy to win this Black Friday and Cyber Monday festive season!

Listen to our Spotify Podcast for emerging trends shaping the eCommerce in 2020!

Marketing Trends during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 

The old traditional style of shopping seems to be fading away. People now lo longer want to stand in queues for hours or line up outside the store early in the morning.

The majority of offline stores are either not opening or opening for certain hours during the day.

Meanwhile, eCommerce sellers have to focus on some particular categories of products that escalate their sales and profit margins.

Electrical goods, gaming, clothing, health and beauty, and household were the top 5 favorite categories for the buyers. Carrying 42%, 34%, 12%, 8% and 4% sales respectively.

The vast majority of shoppers according to the survey plan to spend more than $100 over Black Friday, with 28% spending $300 or more, 17% are likely to spend more than $400.

This could be due to the focus on electrical goods, which are often big-ticket items, but also the fact that Black Friday marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season for some.

What to expect?

If you have a new store and you are curious about what will be coming your way then let’s take u the recap of the previous year.

1. Synopsis of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2018
   • Mobile sales reached an all-time high.
   • Traffic to eCommerce sites from smartphones rose significantly.
   • Cyber Monday trends are really going high with customers as consumers broke records for sales on Cyber Monday.
   • Thanksgiving shopping is rapidly growing in popularity, with many businesses offering Black Friday deals earlier.
   • Small business sales grew by more than 5 percent this holiday shopping season.
2. Expect extra traffic and sales – Due to the immense enthusiasm in buyers regarding this festive season, await great traffic heading your way as more people are anxious to buy their festive stuff. Hence this will be a massive opportunity for retailers. Black Friday promotion and marketing strategies are making a big difference in this extra traffic.
3. Gaining new customers – If you have a new store and you are looking to acquire new customers then Black Friday and Cyber Monday season is the right time of the year. Try making new offers and discounts so that customers feel more intriguing for the buyer to purchase from your store from next time on.
4. Great time to clear up old stock – If you have some unsold old items in your stock this is probably the best time to clear it up by using some discount or by some offers.

Top 5 Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing strategies

1. Start early – If you are looking to sell your products this Black Friday and Cyber Monday season then just don’t wait. Start selling and promoting from Halloween onward using your Black Friday marketing strategies as some customers start their shopping as early as October.

(If you are using email lists or mail for promotion of Black Friday, Start sending those out as well. Don’t be afraid to message your shoppers frequently because this is one of the main times in the year where they are most likely to shop and want to hear about your promotions and sales.)

2. Stack up your inventory – It is always better to stack up your inventory before the beginning of such big festive season and especially when you know that you will be a part of such huge digits, so refill your stock if you want to avoid the fear of being getting out of stock before the shopping season starts.

3. Provide Discounts, Promotions, and Referrals – One of the finest ways to boost your eCommerce sales store is to provide discounts on your products, it is considered to be one of the most relevant sales and Black Friday marketing strategy. Customers get really attracted by seeing a product that is available at a low price in comparison to other retailers.

Most of the customers are looking for at least a 20% discount on products during this Black Friday and Cyber Monday trends season. How many will be offering 50% off for first-time buyers or 30% off 5 or more items? be creative with the discounts that you offer.

A customer referral program is really a great way to improve sales, as this campaign leverages existing users and brings new customers in business.

Also, offer referral incentives. Give your customers a reason to refer their friends and family. Discounts and other monetary benefits will be the most actionable. hence this way is also a great way in the promotion of Black Friday.

4. Up-sell and cross-sell – Up-selling and cross-selling are great ways to take full advantage of selling and in promotion of Black Friday and more to a current customer who is already on your website. Create combos of 3-4 complementary products according to Cyber Monday trends that go well together and offer the whole package to customers at a discount on the total. These kinds of combo promotions on Black Friday work very well on big sales days like BFCM when people are actively looking for a package deal for a much better price.

Create a sense of urgency while up selling state it in your offer that the following product is available only till midnight. When being pressed for time and product scarcity customers will act more spontaneously while purchasing.

Try to compare your top-selling product availability as compared to Black Friday Vs Cyber Monday.

Don’t expect that your customers will purchase the thing that they want and leave your site. If you have a customer that is making a purchase, you should refer them to something that will naturally fit together.

5. Use the power of Social media – A study revealed that in 2015 there were 3.8 million social media posts mentioning black Friday and Cyber Monday sales That is some insane amount of online shoppers ready to engage in a successful Black Friday campaign.

Create compelling and personalized content on social media which is focusing on a particular promotion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Focus on using content that encourages higher engagement such as images, videos, GIFs, slideshows, etc. 

In order to run a successful Black Friday campaign on Facebook and are paid, the first step is to create regular posts to schedule throughout the week leading up to Cyber Monday. Video posts receive the most engagement on Facebook. So, feel free to make a video showcasing your products and deals.

Download our whitepaper for some hacks to hike your sales and best black Friday and cyber Monday marketing strategies. 

Conclusion

So that’s pretty much it, now that you are armed with all the knowledge of Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing strategies. Start preparing for Cyber Monday early to give yourself ample time to get shoppers excited about your offers. With these tips, your eCommerce store can thrill shoppers this Cyber Monday and bring in more sales than you ever imagined.

I hope that you find these Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing strategies helpful in achieving the most successful Black Friday campaigns, over to you now, wishing you all the luck and growth.

Also Read: 

• How to sell on Black Friday 2019 / Seller tips to earn more on Walmart Black Friday Sales.
• Tips on how amazon Sellers can benefit from Black Friday 2019.
• 8 marketing strategies to increase your Black Friday Sales.
• Here is all you need to know about last year’s Cyber Monday, Black Friday and Thanksgiving day spending.