As much as shoppers get excited for the Black Friday sales to hit, meeting those expectations can be difficult for small and medium-sized retailers – especially given that the market is dominated by giants such as Amazon.
But the growth in popularity of Black Friday has given smaller players the opportunity to up their game, with 2018 seeing an increase in sales of 332% in the retail sector, compared to an average day thanks to the big pre-Christmas discount bonanza.
With competition growing year-on-year, there are some quick and simple ways SMEs can keep ahead of the game, and capture sales.
To help you stand out, here are some tips to boost your sales this Black Friday:
Promote far and wide:
Once your discounts are confirmed, you need to promote them far and wide via social media and by using your customer database with email marketing. A great tool that does both is Ascend by Wix, which helps entrepreneurs manage and promote their online businesses, quickly. Plus, with social media posts, ensure you hashtag appropriately to get the best visibility and traffic.
Highlight your added value:
It’s key for you to go out of your way to highlight the added benefits you’ll be offering shoppers so that they will choose to shop at your eCommerce store. Let them know what sets your business apart, and keep it short and to the point. Whether you are promoting free shipping, next day delivery, a new loyalty rewards program or unbeatable service, you must communicate it on your landing page directly and clearly.
Create urgency:
Another way of securing customers on your shopping platform is by making deals exclusive for them on the website rather than in store. It is a psychological tendency to pay attention to something that has solely been created for us. In addition, you could time your exclusive deals with a countdown timer to create urgency, for example: ‘4 hours left for the Buy 1 get 1 free offer.’
Addition of complementary items:
This is a great way of doing something different to other retailers. While money off deals are what everyone looks for on Black Friday, you can also offer items alongside the discounted product for a little extra – this way you get another sale into the bargain. If you do not have a great variety of products, just add some gift vouchers or hampers to make your deal more appealing to customers.
Optimise your mobile site:
The rise of smartphones and tablets and the shift away from desktop computers has made ‘shopping on the go’ a growing trend. Retailers need to keep this behaviour in mind and remember the attention span of customers is shorter as they are busier. This means that if your site is not highly responsive, they’re likely to turn to your competitors. Ensuring your mobile site is optimised, especially on an event like Black Friday, will not only help retain potential customers on the site, but will also impact sales positively.
