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Black Friday has been a significant event in the retail calendar for some years and the UK is more sophisticated and invested in the event than many others.

It’s now the promotional period of the year for many, with certain retailers – such as fashion – using Black Friday to drive sales and clear excess Autumn/Winter stock.

Before lockdowns in England and Wales, Black Friday spending was estimated to increase by 8% this year – from £7.8bn to £8.4bn – with interest remaining similar to last year, at 51%. That all changed in a matter of days. After the announcement of a second lockdown in England, and with Wales in its ‘firebreak’, experts such as PWC updated their consumer research and found that interest in Black Friday has tumbled (from 51% to 38%).

However, the retail sector’s resilience is built on being able to find opportunities. With Black Friday spending predominantly online, the closure of non-essential shops isn’t catastrophic. Especially when the UK’s spending is significantly more online than in other countries.

With most physical stores closed, consumers expect to do 88% of Black Friday shopping online this year, up from 77% in 2019. We believe the focus should not be about focusing on a big spike for Black Friday but planning a sustained increase throughout November/December.

Top 7 Insights From Our Team

We have a team of 10 shopping experts within Push and they helped drive an incredibly successful Black Friday period for our customers. Their key takeaways are:

  1. It’s never too early to plan – The earlier they had planning sessions with customers, the better the results due to the complexity of work that goes into a successful campaign.
  2. Simple offers win – The customers who had the simplest offer usually performed the best. If you can’t explain it in one short sentence, chances are your customers won’t get it.
  3. Cross channel strategy is key – Ultimately it doesn’t matter what an individual channel brings in, it’s the overall result that are important. Facebook results were off the scale this year.
  4. Build up your base early – Whether that’s through email sign-ups or marketing to customers in the early stages of their journey, the more people who are exposed to your brand in the weeks prior, the more potential customers you have.
  5. Plan your budgets but react to trends – Last year we saw consistent demand throughout the period whereas this year there were many peaks and troughs which meant responding to trends and re-allocating budgets to high-demand periods was key.
  6. Think about everything – Stock, logistics, packaging, website speed, everything plays a part in this. Make sure you are thinking about every possibility and how it can impact your business.
  7. Don’t think of just Black Friday, think of a 6-8 week period – From October the focus should be about building up to a successful November/December.

Results From Our Customers

Below is just a sample of results we have seen, please give us a call so we can provide more information and give specific examples of success stories in your business segment:

  • Online gifts – 75% YoY growth from previous holiday period and record weekly sales in Black Friday week
  • Skincare – Revenue on Black Friday alone was 56% higher than in the whole of November 2019
  • Male grooming – 156% YoY growth comparing November 2020 to November 2019
  • Online toys – 200% growth when comparing Black Friday week 2020 to black Friday week 2019
  • DIY – 150% YoY growth in Black Friday period and 2,000% Return On Advertising Spend
  • Packaging specialist – Record sales in November, up 900% YoY with 15% less spend
  • Clothing – 41% of entire year’s revenue in November, 800% growth YoY

How We Can Help You In The New Year

We have helped hundreds of customers either maximise their existing online strategy or support them creating a new online business for an already exceptional retail business. We have a range of packages that are suitable for all spenders.

If you’ve liked what you’ve read and would appreciate our help, please get in touch today.

 

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