As Black Friday fever grows across the globe, here are some important points to take into consideration to ensure that you attract new customers whilst keeping your brand identity intact.
With the growth of E-commerce, and driven by Amazon’s expansion, the frenzy surrounding Black Friday has grown year on year. In 2018, 89 million people shopped over the special holiday sale weekend (Thanksgiving day through to Cyber Monday), both online and instore, a rise from 2017 by more than 40%. While popular thought might indicate that consumer electronics dominate Black Friday sales, in 2018 clothing equally as popular, with music, beauty products, and toys also faring well. All verticals of retailers have the opportunity to maximize sales during this time.
Predictions for spending during the 2019 holiday period are generally positive, with millennials accounting for a large part of the growth in spending. While Millenials today have huge spending power, they are also famously credit card averse and for large purchases, they are more likely to make a purchase if offered point of sale (POS) financing. You can boost high ticket purchases by providing a mix of traditional and innovative payment options to attract a wide demographic of shoppers.
Ensure your customers are aware in advance that you are offering consumer finance as a purchasing option. This will help increase conversion rates, turning passive browsers into buyers, particularly for larger items and online shoppers. Offering consumer finance is known to reduce rates of “cart abandonment.”
Come the holidays, while retailers will try their best to get shoppers into stores, many Black Friday consumers will prefer to skip the crowds and shop from the comfort of their sofa and will expect you to offer a convenient online alternative. In addition, customers will research online beforehand, ready to come instore to make their purchase. Providing customers with a fluid omnichannel experience must also ensure that consumer financing options are available instore as well as online.
The most important take-home is that authenticity is key. With Millenials and Generation Z, brand reputation and customer experience are far more essential than who is offering the best deal. Brands in the UK, such as Ikea and Asda did not partake in Black Friday in 2018, arguing that they offer a competitive price all year round. Consumer concern about the validity of these discounts continues to grow, with most people believing its a marketing ploy. Retailers must consider whether what they are offering is a genuine deal.
Providing customers with a manageable way to spread the cost of their holiday purchases is a good way to increase the average spend, but also retain customer loyalty beyond this period. After all, a customer is for life, not just for Christmas.
