Targeting Black Friday
Online retail surges on the Black Friday weekend but reaping the benefits requires marketing investment, writes Siobhán O’Connell
After a bleak year, many retailers are pinning their hopes on the Black Friday weekend to resuscitate turnover. Traditionally regarded as the start of the Christmas shopping season in the US, the weekend after Thanksgiving has now become a global sales promotions weekend, bookended by ‘Black Friday’ (November 27) and ‘Cyber Monday’ (November 30).
Irish consumers have taken to the initiative with aplomb. AIB reported that last year shoppers spent an average of €175 per transaction on electric goods, €118 on jewellery and €65 on clothing. Core, the marketing communications company, estimates that this year 45% of Christmas purchases in Ireland will be made in high-street shops, 27% will be a mixture of online and offline, and 28% will be e-commerce purchases.
Covid-19 lockdown restrictions this year mean that there will be an unprecedented reliance on online shopping, says Ciaran Bollard, CEO of e-commerce software company Kooomo. He urges online vendors to prepare for a surge in e-shoppers by improving website response.
“With over half of site visits abandoned if the page takes more than three seconds to load, retailers need to be stress-testing their platforms now and preparing for unpredictable surges and peak period traffic,” says Bollard.
Ciaran Bollard, CEO of Kooomo
Configuring e-commerce sites to be optimised for mobile is another essential step, as mobile commerce activity jumped by two-thirds from Q1 to Q2 this year. “Ensure your check-out is mobile-friendly and test ahead of time to avoid losing any potential customers. Plan promotions carefully — reflect on your marketing messaging and its emotive and relative drive. Assess your online customer assistance to ensure that consumers attach value to your brand presence as a whole, and not just to individual products.”
In order to persuade consumers to shop on your site, it’s a good idea to accommodate their collection preferences. According to Bollard, consumers are more likely to click and collect during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Effective marketing ahead of the cyber sales weekend is also important, starting with email marketing. Bollard advises retailers to communicate with their newsletter subscribers first, offering special deals or early access.
“We have seen an increase in newsletters going out, as brands try to drive customers online with added discounts and special offers. Brands are also extending their campaigns and channels through Instagram and Facebook shops, which also requires marketing spend across these channels. Instore marketing is down this year, so retailers should take this into consideration when putting together ad spend budgets this year.”
When it comes to advertising, Bollard recommends starting organically with current followers. As Black Friday comes closer, start paid promotions to increase awareness of deals. “You can keep things broad in terms of targeting at first with a lower budget. Once you start gathering good data, you can be more granular and targeted with your approach,” he adds.
Google Ads are very granular, though retargeting ads are expensive. However, Bollard’s view is that it’s not all about big budgets. “Keyword research, targeting, and bidding on specific keywords relative to Black Friday and your store can drive custom. What is this year’s most sought after item? Bid on the keyword, grab people’s initial attention and then hit the user with retargeting, using social media platforms that don’t require a minimum monthly spend.”