By Lesley-Ann Rozanski
This question is quite rhetorical. We know that, when it comes to Black Friday, everyone loses their minds, and that’s why we’ve got you covered!
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of the year again!
So warm up those wallets, and say hello to the month of Black Friday deals, crazy money-saving specials and, some may say, the best day of the year. South African companies and consumers are preparing for 29 November – which has quickly become the biggest shopping day of the year.
If you’re wondering if Black Friday is more hype and bubbles than cold, hard sales, put that kettle on, because it’s tea time.
- In 2018, BankservAfrica, the continent’s largest automated payments clearinghouse, said it processed a total of 581 189 online transactions over the 2018 Black Friday weekend.
- 404 594 online transactions were recorded on Black Friday (up 55%), while Cyber Monday saw 176 595 transactions – up 36% from 2017 (129,458).
- The most expensive single transaction for Black Friday was over R6 million, while for Cyber Monday this reached R5 million.
Impressive as these records are, they’re likely to be broken again in 2019—and again in 2020, and again the following year, ad infinitum. Why? Because people like things and, more importantly, things on sale.
The message to online retailers is clear: Get onboard by preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, or miss out on a golden opportunity to boost your revenue. And we’ve assembled a few helpful tips to do just that:
1.Plan, plan, and PLAN your sales
During the Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping frenzy, some products sell better than others. While it’s true that this time generally sees steep discounts on consumer electronics or home goods, consumer interest is by no means limited to these items.
Your approach could be to offer a huge discount on a specific item, or a broad coupon that can be applied to any purchase. Look at your past activity for the holiday months, and build on what customers typically gravitate towards during this period—or focus on an item that they don’t, so as to help round out your sales figures in other areas.
2. SAY IT LOUD, SCREAM IT PROUD.
Once you’ve determined which of your products or services are likely to generate interest among shoppers (or which you want to ramp up sales for your own operational best interests), it’s time to promote your specials on your typical sales channels, website, social media, and email marketing.
3. Has your website had its Java? (You see what we did there?)
After you’ve spent the time and money preparing your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, it’s imperative to make sure that you offer customers 100% uptime during this important period. Whether your tech infrastructure is handled by an in-house IT team or an outsourced expert, you should consult them to be ready for increased activity.
Are the servers that host your website ready for a huge upsurge in traffic? Is your call centre optimised to ensure no calls are dropped during this critical time? If you can’t confidently answer “Yes”, it’s time to make the appropriate enquiries to prepare the necessary bandwidth and uptime to avoid any disruptive mid-sale outages
4. SAFETY first, kids. It’s sad, but true. We live in an era in which hackers regularly target sensitive consumer data, and successfully breach the security defences of major retailers and institutions on a regular basis.
t’s sad, but true. We live in an era in which hackers regularly target sensitive consumer data, and successfully breach the security defences of major retailers and institutions on a regular basis.
And thanks to the intense media coverage these breaches receive, consumers are acutely aware of them, too. Given this, they are increasingly reluctant to shop with businesses that haven’t put tough data security measures in place. If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to double-check your own processes to protect consumer data—and don’t forget to let your customers know about these efforts when you promote your sales.
In conclusion, keep these tips top of mind! Don’t forget, NGAGE is a marketing agency offering complete advertising and marketing solutions. If you require a solution for Black Friday or Cyber Monday, get in touch with us to take advantage of our special rates by contacting us on +27 11 867-7763, or email info@ngage.co.za. We look forward to hearing from you!
