As the festive season approaches, now is the time for eCommerce retailers to pull out all stops for the biggest shopping period of the year – Black Friday weekend. 

Sadly, a time of year that is normally so joyous is now one filled with uncertainty for most of us with the rising costs of living and postal strikes leaving us asking ourselves questions such as; can I afford to buy more than one gift (per person) & will it arrive on time?. 

With the above in mind, this year businesses want to offer their customers the best level of service, peace of mind, and the best discounts on the market. And, today I’ll help resolve all three through the guidance below. 

Start Pushing Your Discounts Early

With more consumers looking to spread out their Christmas shopping and spending across the lead-up to the big day, I’d advise you to start pushing your biggest deals early. 

UK retail giants such as John Lewis, Amazon, Argos & Samsung are already starting to promote their sales and discounts and it’s expected that more will soon follow over the next week. 

By getting out there early, you’ll see a higher return on your investment and are guaranteed to come up trumps against a competitor that may not choose to promote their sales until the 25th of November.

Offering an incentive such as money off their next order, or a free gift with purchase could also work in your favor. You want to make your customer feel valued here.

Offer Transparency When It Comes to Postage

I’m sure this will be no new information to business owners, but Royal Mail is set to strike across November & early December & unfortunately, this now includes Black Friday & Cyber Monday itself. As a result, there will be delays in the collecting, posting, and receiving of parcels across the weekend and the days that follow.

Sadly, there’s no way for businesses to get around this except by being transparent and open with their customers about the above when they are purchasing including; at the checkout, their order confirmation email, and their parcel tracking. 

By providing a clear estimated delivery date, consumers will have the reassurance that their parcels will arrive in the quickest time possible.

It’s not yet known if the strikes will continue into the main Christmas period, so I’d advise you to continue to carry out the above practice up until the new year. 

Paid Marketing Is Key

Long gone are the days when organic social suffices for great conversions. To stand tall amongst the rest you want to invest in the greatness of paid social advertising, or a paid google ads campaign. 

As a leading digital marketing consultant, I & my team can help you to identify your correct target audience, manage a suitable ad spend (budget), and deliver social and Google shopping campaigns that are second to none when it comes to a great standard of service & practice.

We’ve already helped a wide range of eCommerce businesses increase their revenue across the year 2022 and we can help you to do the same across the most wonderful time of the year. 

Contact me today for more information.

Thanks for reading,

Myk Baxter, eCommerce Consultant