Black Friday is just around the corner and this year it will be an even bigger eCommerce event as a large chunk of shopping shifts online. What was once a day of 'door-busting' sales in traditional brick and mortar stores has become a massive online shopping. There's no denying the wealth of opportunity Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) presents for brands. But capturing it requires careful considered and informed strategizing.
Read on for the top 3 tips for success this Black Friday:
BFCM is really big in the US but it has increasingly become a very prominent event across the world and especially in Europe. Over the years based on our data we have seen a significant increase in the number of leads and conversions taking place in regions like EMEA and LATAM. As a result brands should reflect on their existing data to identify the key markets beyond the U.S where they should expand their presence and not overlook some of the key markets.Some key markets where Black Friday has become big include the United Kingdom Germany Italy Spain France but also expanding quickly to Scandinavian countries as well as Eastern Europe. These countries have experienced continuous growth in the past few years when it comes to Black Friday shopping weekend.Hence when building your strategy and planning out key markets don't forget the key markets we have mentioned above.
Building relationships with key retailers form an integral part of the strategy for brands however building those relationships with the right retailers is even more important. While Amazon is an important part of the eCommerce strategy for many brands your brand should also consider other key marketplaces that are prominent in various regions or countries.
In particular Europe and EMEA have a more fragmented online retailer market landscape. Thus it's increasingly important for brands to be present across several retailers including local ones to capture those markets. Some of the local retailers might also be preferred due to different yet localized consumer experience. Further they might offer local payment methods that are preferred have faster local deliveries and more. Further also consider your vertical and the niche retailers that you should be present specific to your industry.
In addition to identifying the key retailers building relationships with retailers is vital to achieving your goals especially in a competitive time period such as BFCM and the holiday season which follows shortly after.
As we mentioned above it's important to identify the key retailers for your vertical the markets that you want to target and strategically build those relationships. This can be achieved by analyzing your data from the past years and leverage it to prepare for this year's eCommerce events. How? Look back on your data and consider the key retailers that drove the highest conversions? Once you identify these you will know which retailers are vital for your brand's success in the respective market.
Further also consider which channels drove the highest conversions - was it your brand site promoted ads social media or other? Understand your consumer's path to purchase and identify retailers that are the converting traffic at a high rate for your brand. You should also track what did the purchased basket consist of - branded vs non branded items as well as where your consumers are dropping off on the path to purchase. These insights can help you to form an informed strategy.
By leveraging your existing data you can optimize your strategy allocate resources and double down on tactics that were successful for your brands. All these key points will help you better meet your customers' needs optimise the consumer journey and in help drive higher conversions. While this year may be different from the previous years the data you already have can steer your strategy in the right direction.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the two biggest sale days of the year for retailers. By focusing on international markets identifying key retailers and leveraging data you can be sure this year will be a success for your brand!
