On your mark, get set, go – Black Friday is coming

On November 26, it’s that time of the year again. Local stores and online dealers are celebrating Black Friday 2021 with discount promotions and special offers. Every year, people go crazy the day after Thanksgiving, especially in the United States. Since Thanksgiving always falls on the fourth Thursday in November, the Friday thereafter is considered the start of a traditional family weekend as well as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

History

In its current meaning, the term Black Friday first appeared in the U.S. in the 1960s and described the traffic jams and crowds on the sidewalks that usually formed in cities on the two days following Thanksgiving. These lines of people stretched through the shopping streets like a “black mass.”

Another explanation assumes that “Black” Friday is a synonym for the “black figures”, which business people write year after year from this day forward. Due to the enormous sales made on Black Friday, many retailers bring their balance sheets out of the red and into the black on this day, offsetting losses from the previous months with the sales. For a long time now, retailers’ promotions have not only taken place on Black Friday itself, but have been extended to an entire Black Week, Black Weekend or all the way to Cyber Monday.

Black Friday in Europe

What works in America also works elsewhere. At least Apple thought so and brought Black Friday to Germany for the first time in 2006. The cult brand from California offered its American Black Friday deals in German brick and mortar stores and online, causing quite a stir. Attracted by Apple’s success, more and more retailers jumped on the bandwagon and organized special Black Friday sales.

Deals and discounts are usually determined by the individual retailers themselves. Some stores offer, for example, 10% or 20% off the entire range; others offer additional percentages on already reduced goods or reduce individual items significantly compared to the normal price. In some cases, very high discounts are therefore possible.

Expert tips for successful Black Friday deals

Of course, Black Friday deals should be designed to be as lucrative and efficient as possible for retailers. For this, the best marketing strategies have been compiled to help E-Commerce brands get the most out of Black Friday.

Create a sense of urgency and incentivize immediate action

According to expert advice, bigger retailers should start pushing their promotions in October, smaller brands in early November.

Build a loyalty program to earn long-term retention post-holiday

78% of consumers (according to Salesforce) are more likely to buy from a brand that promises a loyalty program, and it’s estimated that nearly 70% of shoppers will be persuaded to buy directly from a brand by the promise of discounts, coupons or points for their next purchase. A loyalty program can increase the chances that customers will return after the holiday season.

Capitalize on shifting in-store experiences

Customers of local stores will most likely browse much more than customers who come across your website by chance. Although they already have an idea of what they are looking for, they have more options available to them at the POS. Therefore, an impressive on-site customer experience is absolutely essential to increase sales. Face-to-face contact, as well as teasing new product releases or limited-time offers with in-store events, can increase purchase appeal and anticipation. Dealers should also offer all popular payment options (Apple Pay, Wearables, etc) on-site to ensure a seamless shopping experience.

Get creative on social media (and increase your ad budget)

Social media is an important sales channel these days. Especially during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Ads are constantly being played on social channels and 30% of internet users say they have discovered new brands or products through social media ads.

Use AI to drive discovery commerce

Have you heard of “discovery commerce”? This back-end automation lets products find people so they won’t have to search for the right product on their own. Using artificial intelligence, Discovery Commerce’s AI engine recognizes customers’ preferences and buying behavior and delivers the best products accordingly. You may have experienced the same on the web already. Personalized product recommendation have a 26% higher average order value (AOV).

Optimize your site in advance for search result shoppers

Last year, search engines were used by over 34% of consumers to find ideas or gift inspiration. Shoppers that haven’t yet chosen the brand they’d like to purchase a product from will likely type the product name into search, and it’s up to the brand to ensure they’re coming up first in results.

Optimize your messaging strategy to respond to real-time behavior

Personalized messages based on an actual action a customer has recently taken are the most powerful messages a brand can send during the holidays. Email marketing strategies should be structured to send timely emails as soon as a customer deviates from the current purchase process (e.g., abandons purchase process or closes page despite goods in cart). An appropriate email, ideally with a discount promotion, will most likely tease the customer to complete the purchase process after all.

Maximize the value of subscription customers

It’s always a good idea to target existing newsletter subscribers with special, limited-time (and maybe even exclusive) perks and offers during the holidays to build an emotional connection. Referrals should be incentivised. Customers refer friends and receive additional discounts or bonuses as a result. This will lead to further exposure but also encourage customers to expand their preferences beyond the main products.

Try new personalization tactics and vary them across channels

Personalization, for example in newsletters, is nothing new. Customers are used to being addressed personally in emails. But the whole thing can go one step further. Take personalized experiences to the next level by tailoring offers to individual customers. This works through unique promo codes with the customer’s name or that can only be used on a specific product that the customer has previously clicked on. The customer will feel seen and understood.

Use visual content to increase awareness early

Not only important during Black Friday days, but in principle one of the most important tasks of a brand or retailer is to build a unique, recognizable brand identity. Here, the visuals also play an important role. They must be able to bring the brand identity to life. That’s why investing in influencers pays off – last year, 17% of consumers looked to influencers for holiday shopping ideas and inspirations. User-genrated content can be helpful as well because it shows potential customers how a product is used in an actual end-consumer-environment

What’s everyone doing for Black Friday?

Enough with the hard facts – now comes the fun part. We’ll show you some of the most memorable Black Friday campaigns and deals ever created.

This Macy’s commercial shows that retailers come up with a lot of marketing ideas for Black Friday and that they are willing to pay a lot of money for them. Macy’s did a commercial with Justin Biber just for the event, and it was obviously very successful because there was a sequel the following year.

Black Friday Commercials Justin Bieber Macy's, Kohl's and Target — Black Friday Commercials

We haven’t had enough of curious Halloween outings yet, so we picked some of the craziest deals of the last few years for you. Who doesn’t want to pull out their wallet right away for: