April 24, 2024

Black Friday Online Promotions in 2022: Turbo-Charge Your Store

Nadya Bakhur

Researcher, Technical Writer

Ecommerce

Black Friday tips for e-commerce

Nadya Bakhur

Researcher, Technical Writer

Ecommerce

Black Friday tips for e-commerce

Most Black Friday deals not to miss in 2022 will be online through ecommerce websites and other online channels. Brick-and-mortar retailers are still going to be competing against digital giants like Amazon and eBay.

This article is a how-to template to help you join Black Friday 2022 and your business get the maximum benefit.

When Was The First Black Friday & What Time Does Black Friday Start?

Large sales, covering all types of goods, from household appliances to clothing and cosmetics, have recently been called “Black Friday”. It takes place on the last Friday of November. Traditionally, sales began in the USA the day after Thanksgiving (it is celebrated on the last Thursday of November) – this Friday the season of Christmas sales started. However, the name “Black Friday” did not appear immediately.

The history of the Black Friday definition dates back to the 19th century. For the first time, this term was heard on September 24, 1869, during a panic in the US stock market: then the gold rate collapsed by 30%, ruining many small businesses. Then, already in the fifties of the XX century, heavy traffic jams on the roads of Philadelphia, which started after Thanksgiving, were dubbed “Black Friday” – the traffic police could not cope with the traffic collapse. This is how the name stuck to the post-holiday end of November.

Black Friday is connected with retail by the long tradition of American entrepreneurs to keep two-colour accounting records: losses were indicated in red ink, while profits were always recorded in black. The post-Thanksgiving sales have been (and continue to be) a hefty profit. One way or another, the black color finally stuck to the last Friday of November only in the 1980s and was already inextricably linked with shopping.

Black Friday was originally an American invention, but then it began to spread around the world, primarily thanks to online retailers: most of the pre-holiday sales on this day are still provided in online stores.

In America, sales had an additional meaning: not only did sellers get rid of surplus Thanksgiving stocks, but they also attracted those who wanted to stock up early for the Christmas holidays. After all, tying a massive sale to a specific day is a great marketing ploy. Buyers get used to the fact that it is on this day that you can buy goods with huge discounts (sellers sometimes promise a 90% price reduction!) And they plan shopping and compare Black Friday deals.

That is how each year, the months of November and December have become the “Black Friday times”.  For shoppers, Black Friday is a chance to snap up the best offers and deals. For merchants, this is an opportunity to increase sales.

That is the reason why retailers are getting thoroughly ready for it.

However, over the last several years, customers have been moving online, changing habits, expectations, and routines.

In 2022, retailers all over the world continue to move the deals online so that fewer consumers feel the need to be in crowds during the Black Friday season. Last year, the global tendency for retail migration online increased: the number of digital buyers was 2.48 billion, or 31.4% of the global population.

By the way, what day is Black Friday this year? In 2022, Black Friday is on the 25th of November. Only three weeks left for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, and with this article, we would like to share with you 5 tips to help get your ecommerce business prepared for one of the most unprecedented shopping events this year.

Stay tuned and read on.

Black Friday Strategy: How To Nail it in 2022?

During the Black Friday shopping season, they say “bargain is in the air”. Consumers are in search of special offers and discounts.

Black Friday in eCommerce chart

To get the most out of this shopping season and Black Friday mood, businesses need to satisfy their shoppers’ wants and deliver the feeling of getting a great deal. Besides, this season is also a good opportunity to entice new consumers to your web store as well as to leverage the loyalty of those who have been your customer for a long period.

So what to do to make Black Friday 2022 a win-win for both an ecommerce business and its customer?

Below are the strategies that we consider to be worth following.

1. Send “sneak peek” emails in advance

Despite the growing number of social media platforms and messenger apps, conventional emails remain one of the most popular forms of communication. Last year, global email users amounted to 4.1 billion as per one of the Statista charts. The company’s analytics predict the growth of up to 4.6 billion users in 2025.

The major benefits that Email marketing brings include:

  • Opportunity to reach the customers 24/7/365;
  • Ability to anytime adjust marketing strategy to fit your business needs;
  • Consistent return on investment (providing that you stick to the proper strategy).

Ecommerce marketers shouldn’t miss a chance to use this year’s Black Friday season to send out emails containing a “sneak preview” of special offers. Particularly in 2022, sending out your seasonal promotional emails at least 10 days in advance will help grab the attention and keep your customers interested in the Black Friday and Christmas deals you offer:

What can you do to get the maximum out of your email campaign?

  1. Get your email database and email list segmented. Sending emails that follow your particular customers’ interests for various product categories will make your email campaign targeted and much more precise.
  2. Stay personal and relevant. Сustomers appreciate a personalized approach. Whether it’s expressed through a personalized greeting or a custom subject line.
  3. Use call-to-action buttons (CTA). The use of strategically placed Call to Action buttons in your email letter will help the customers to navigate the content you provide and direct them to your web store to purchase the advertised goods.

2. Target discounts to different customer segments

Offering products at a lower price is not always enough though. Offering products that your customers have a particular interest in will be a different thing. The strategy has many times proved to be a working one.

Customer segmentation is another way to a highly targeted pre-Black Friday email campaign. By analyzing the histories of your customers’ purchase orders, you’ll be able to adjust the content of your promotional offers to fit the person receiving them.

Outlined below are 4 types of customer segmentation that we believe are key and worth your attention:

  1. Demographic segmentation. This type of customer segmentation includes parameters such as age, gender, occupation, marital status, and ethnicity.
  2. Geographic segmentation. In this case, you differentiate the customers and tailor your offers according to geographic segments, such as country, state, and niche market size.
  3. Lifecycle segmentation. Lifecycle-based segmentation helps to divide customers according to the stages of the buying process. For example, you can create special deals for those who haven’t visited your web store for a while to get these customers back, or those who have abandoned carts at checkout.
  4. Behavioural segmentation. This type of customer segmentation includes the division based on interactions with your web store or promotional landing page.

The sub-types are:

  • Occasional buyers;
  • Seasonal shoppers;
  • Regular customers;
  • VIP clients.

3. Make the Black Friday season last longer

As a bigger number of sales are expected to be online this year, we can see brands launching their Black Friday activities early in advance. No need to wait till the end of November as you can start to run your promotional campaigns even now and during the whole month of November.

Black Friday is not limited to one-day-long discounts anymore. Users do not have to think about when Black Friday sales start online because in most cases, this event gets blended with the start of the Christmas holiday season. To take the most out of the right customer mood and the boosted desire to purchase more, let them do so by prolonging your Black Friday season.

“Early Black Friday Sales” or weekly “Best Seller Deals” will help make the shopper’s festive mood last longer. In addition, your web store might also keep getting attention and bringing customers back long after the season ends.

4. Create standalone pages for your key Black Friday offers

By building a well-designed landing page for your core Black Friday offers and Christmas deals you will help your customers see the profit they can get more clearly and distinctly. As a result, you significantly increase the conversion rates.

When building a dedicated landing page, pay attention to:

  • Page loading speed. When it comes to ecommerce websites and online purchases, every second counts. Make sure your landing page performance is optimized and loads quickly.
  • Content hierarchy. In the intention to discount as many items as you can afford, it’s critical to organize all the page content clearly and intuitively. Multiple deals on one web page may puzzle your customers. We would recommend selecting one or two really “can’t miss Black Friday deals” so that you could show all the perks that your customers will get by making the purchase.

5. Extend the map of shipping destinations

2022 is the year showing and proving the fact that customers prefer using delivery options to shopping in-store.

Black Friday 2022 makes a great time to provide your customers with free order delivery and international shipping discounts. More shipping destinations is an important service to provide for your international shoppers who will appreciate the new option and stay loyal to your brand.

3 Black Friday Tips from Us To Help You Win the Race

If you’ve read the article this far, you’ll also learn three vital but not-so-commonly-used tactics. Our ecommerce website development company calls these tactics this way based on what we have learned by working with ecommerce brands.

Here’s what we consider makes sense and what should never be missed out on to get your business ready for the year’s biggest discount period.

1. Adopting a mobile-first approach will become key

To timely respond to the changing needs of consumers, focus on closer cooperation and start selling to your consumer directly, involving them in mobile experiences.

A large number of online traffic and sales are still coming from desktop site versions. However, multiple research studies show that the percentage of mobile shoppers already prevails.

This year, in particular, we can see the growing need for maintaining contact with consumers through mobile-first websites.

Here’s what we would recommend you take into account.

  • Make sure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly;
  • Add mobile payment options, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay;
  • Avoid distractive pop-ups and ads at the very start of the customer experience on your website.

In our article about M-Commerce Evolution, we’ve revealed much more of what you can do to optimize your web store for mobile.

2. Time to expand brand presence and promotion on social media

Most of your customers are on social media. Trust us. Growing digital usage and a global pandemic has accelerated social commerce, making people comfortable with the idea of shopping on social media.

So why not advertise Black Friday deals and Christmas sale there?

Here’s what you can start with to grab the users’ attention:

  • Announce the greatest deals;
  • Show how your staff is preparing for the event;
  • Make live videos.

Not long ago we published a social media-related article revealing the most easy-to-implement SMM strategies that can help you to come up with numerous ideas of what to post.

3. Convenience for the user will be a competitive differentiator

Competition in ecommerce is beyond the boundaries. One of the core ways to stand out from your rivals is to provide an exceptional customer experience through innovation and convenience.

The latest technology and creativity are key to helping you develop new features. Some of the basic upgrades that you can offer to your customers include:

  • Improved desktop and mobile website design;
  • New functionality;
  • More options for the customers’ feedback.

At NEKLO, we can help you to streamline your ecommerce activity and improve brand recognition by updating your existing solution or building a new one from scratch. If you need a technology partner, our web development services might be of interest to you.

The NEKLO team will help deliver the utmost shopping experience and win the competition. Projects in our portfolio show how our ecommerce development company works to help businesses constantly push the boundaries.

Final Words on Black Friday in eCommerce

2022 is a year of change. Hardly anyone could predict how Black Friday and the upcoming holiday shopping season would look like.

The key features for ecommerce that will enable businesses in the industry to stay alive in the changing environment are flexibility and adaptability. By adopting the tactics we suggested in the article, you will be ready to win the Black Friday 2022 race.

Try them out, boost sales, and may the force be with you!