The Black Friday preparation strategy for your eCommerce site for the event. Make it longer, more successful, and more profitable

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) has been the most prominent shopping event in Europe and the USA for years. With globalization and the digitalization of the sector, tradition has spread to countries that previously followed different schedules. The rise of eCommerce resulted in sales skyrocketing even during the Covid-19 pandemic closedown. Numerous famed brands compete for prominence every year and push the whole eCommerce sector forward by adding new technologies, ideas, and designing online shoppers’ behaviors never seen before. Yet there’s nothing smart in growth for the growth’s sake: careful preparations forge winners, while the laggards… well, they remain laggards.

It is predicted that the Black Friday season event will be the longest and prominent event ever and will generate sales of $17 billion (+20% decrease YoY) in 2021.

Online customers appreciate good deals, and Black Friday is the craziest time all over the internet. Yet the report by Semrush reveals, the online shoppers start their search for products to buy as early as May. It shows that it’s never too early to start preparing your store for the BFCM online madness. October is mostly too late. 

What should we expect from the 2021 BFCM season in eCommerce?

Before going online the Black Friday was a single-day event attracting crowds to supermarkets and stores, yet it was coordinated with the Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday events. Switching to eCommerce officially kicked off an extended version of it to the longest week of deals ever. 

It is predicted that the Black Friday season event will be the longest and prominent event ever and will generate sales of $17 billion (+20% decrease YoY) in 2021. How should it play out?  

Black Friday 2021 season should continue last year’s trend of not just offering general discounts on everything, rather than deals for items you actually would like to buy. According to data from Adobe Analytics, last year’s BFCM, the most popular items were Hot Wheels, Lego sets, AirPods, Apple Watches, Amazon Echo devices, and Samsung TVs. This year, online shoppers are actually waiting for similar offers, where electronic devices are the most desirable things during the BFCM event. Moreover, it is also expected to see significant discounts and deals for the year’s popular toys and kitchen appliances. You should be able to identify the expected best-sellers by looking carefully at the customer research patterns.

What should we expect from the 2021 BFCM season in eCommerce?

Preparations for Black Friday are key for successful sales maximization. Traditionally, the last quarter of the year is the most profitable time for eCommerce. Here are few essential strategies for better preparation for a booming online shopping event.

1. Secure reliable supply.

With more people shopping online, the best deals go out of stock even months before the end of the year. Hence, plenty of favorable products go out of stock and are simply unavailable during BFCM. Supply balance at warehouses is a very important part of preparation. Take care of the efficient integration between your store and warehouse solution.

2. Boost your sales and attract new customers.

Black Friday event is a perfect opportunity for marketers and communicators to raise awareness about their products and offered deals not only for current customers but attracting new ones. It is foreseen, that the online shopping Black Friday event will start early and last longer; that is why you should prepare your campaigns ASAP. SEO optimization is more than essential too, as many of your bestseller items are available in multiple stores. Not just yours.

3. Be prepared to scale.

Online retailers sprinted at the speed of light during the pandemic; however, not all of them were prepared to handle the traffic and increased amount of sales. In order to thrive, retailers must invest in scalable technologies to help them with unpredicted situations in online business. Such a strategy includes upgrading your e-commerce platforms and makes sure its security. Be prepared to consider additional technologies integrated into your online business.

4. Discounting must be smarter.

BFCM is not just about the discounts. By offering discounts, you will probably attract shoppers who chase lower prices and won’t ever return back to your store. It will suck your margin. Think of adapting your strategies to offer personalized and targeted deals based on their price sensitivity and previous shopping behavior. Intelligent brands nurture their loyal customers, and quite often the discount serves as a gentle push to close yet another deal. This will make your customer happier and even more loyal to your brand or store.

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To summarize, seeking to handle the online shopping peak of the year is a great challenge after the Covid-19 pandemic. Most likely, more online shoppers will purchase from a retailer they already know and had an excellent user experience during their previous visits. It is online retailers’ chance to roll the dice and take it all in with serious preparation for BFCM to stepping up with your brand to the market.