As it rolls around once again, Black Friday in 2021 will look different to years gone by. Namely due to the ongoing pandemic, but also changed again from 2020-style as shopping is mostly open and lockdowns lifted. 

As people continue to adapt their shopping habits both online and in-store, eCommerce merchants need to be extra savvy this Black Friday and Cyber Monday to make the most out of the consumer-heavy weekend. 

Tip #1: Stay Profitable

When this time of year comes around, many e-merchants see it as an opportunity to make some serious profits, only to find that after the fact, their discounts may have been a little too generous. 

While consumers continue to buy products that have more perceived value than pre-pandemic times, it is a good time to maintain a positive difference between revenue and profit. While pushing sales and attractive offers is great, there is nothing gained if profit margins shrink to zero. 

Take this year to do some A-B testing too. See if a 5% discount yields the same results as a 15% discount. You may be surprised at how much you can ‘save’ by appropriately managing discount value.

Tip #2: Don’t Mess Up Stock

A great failure of many small- and medium-sized eCommerce sites is that they don’t have enough stock to see them through the two frenzy shopping times. This year’s supply chains face even bigger challenges as both the pandemic and Brexit wreak havoc with our import, export and logistic systems. Not only is there a huge backlog of products, but everything has also become more expensive. 

Many experts project that there will be problems for many companies to keep sufficient stock levels. Make sure to be prepared for any scenario and stock up on your products or at least offer attractive alternative solutions in case you experience a backlog of unfulfilled orders.

Tip #3: Keep it Simple (and fun!)

As any good digital marketing agency in the UK would say, keeping it simple always shows the best results. Customers will only engage with offers, ads, content, and similar if it is easy to grasp. This is especially true at this time of year when people are making the most of the deals to get ahead in Christmas shopping. With a good 5 weeks left before Christmas, if your deal is confusing, consumers will wait for a more simple one to come along, even if it’s more expensive!

Focus on just a few of your best sellers, and promote them prominently. Bring your offer to the point and don’t confuse potential buyers. Too many favourable deals can lead to the so-called choice overload effect and customers will not be able to make the right decision.

Bundles are also a good way to increase sales and your basket size, but again, avoid complex deals that can confuse shoppers.

The best part about these tips is that they are also able to be used for Christmas, New Year and every one of those double-digit deals (2.2, 5.5, 10.10) that appear throughout the year.

To find out how to best approach eCommerce and Visualsoft marketing processes for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, contact Myk Baxter Marketing today for a hot-fix solution or a full re-development of your website. 

www.mykbaxtermarketing.com

Telephone number: 01325 939 838

Address:  2 Peel Court, St Cuthberts Way, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1GB