In 2019, 93.2 million buyers made a purchase online on Black Friday, and another 83.3 million purchased on Cyber Monday, combining for $16.8 billion in sales. Even before COVID-19 accelerated purchasing patterns, online sales were key for any thriving business.
Opportunity -> Competition -> High Stakes
2020 BFCM CHECKLIST
It’s D-Day! Before going live with your BFCM sales strategy, follow Livescale’s checklist.
E-COMM ESSENTIALS
Website speed
Try Google’s Test My Site, which is free to use. A study from Deloitte shows that improving your load time by 0.1s can boost conversion rates by 8%.
Mobile-first optimization
40% of Black Friday sales were made via smartphone last year. Ensure: [ ] Simple website navigation (easy drop-down menus, clear font size) [ ] Clear button placement [ ] Reduce page weight (under 1,000 KB)
*Livescale Tip: Reduce load time by removing desktop-optimized homepage carrousels.
Frictionless sales conversion
In 2019, the abandoned cart rates on Black Friday and Cyber Monday were roughly 70%. Consider workshopping the checkout process before your critical sales dates and ensure the checkout process is as seamless as possible. With Livescale, your consumer is able to enjoy a livestream video while purchasing products directly in the experience, allowing for a smooth and frictionless path to purchase.
DEALS & PROMOTIONS
Prep an email flow
At this point, use your year-long customer learnings to know what works, and for which audiences.
When it comes to timing, we recommend an email to announce the deal, as well as to remind consumers when the deal is ending with a “Last Chance” email. But what about the procrastinators? One popular tactic amongst our clients is to extend a deal beyond the holidays, letting those who missed out still take advantage of a “surprise” extension.
Emails are also a great place to announce exclusive events or sale opportunities during BFCM, like access to a Live Shopping event or livestream.
SMS communication
SMS open rates are on average 98%. As a best practice, keep your messages simple and friendly, provide links when applicable, and give consumers an easy way to opt-out if they wish. Using solutions that are easy to embed via SMS, like Livescale’s Live Shopping event URLs, help build meaningful relationships and ease friction in your customer’s path to purchase.
Deep discounts
2019’s average Black Friday discount was 37%, so keep that number in mind. If your margins do not allow for such a strategy, studies show that launching your sale early or offering customers a GWP for limited time can impact overall purchase intent from consumers.