How to prepare for Black Friday: e-commerce merchants’ toolkit!

Black Friday, originating from the United States, arrived in France in 2012-2013, gaining more momentum each year. Now an unmissable event for all brands, shops, retailers, and eagerly anticipated by consumers, this “black” day takes place on the 4th Friday of November (after Thanksgiving). This year, Black Friday falls on November 25, 2022, and Cyber Monday on November 28.

Black Friday has become a major commercial event in France and worldwide, which brands, particularly e-commerce businesses, must know how to leverage. Black Friday occurs at a strategic time, before the Christmas holidays. It is therefore the ideal opportunity to capture the wallets of customers who wish to make purchases or buy gifts thanks to the deals planned by online shops. The Black Friday effect is massive, with French people spending an average of €330 each year on this occasion (Poulpeo 2020 study). Moreover, 62% of French people declare that they make purchases during Black Friday (BVA-Orange 2019 study).

Black Friday has become the most important event of the year for retailers and online stores, surpassing sales. It is therefore essential for online merchants to prepare for it. Between advice and strategy, this article will help you, as an e-commerce merchant, to anticipate and prepare for this key event for your online turnover.

1 – Follow the leaders in e-commerce and Black Friday

In France, Black Friday is largely driven by major e-commerce players. These e-commerce merchants set the tone each year by competing with ingenuity to highlight their deals and discounts. While officially Black Friday takes place on a Friday, the promotion period actually starts much earlier.

For some, it starts as early as the beginning of November with the “Black Friday before the hour” or “early Black Friday”. Similarly, Black Friday extends “until the end of the weekend with Monday (Cyber Monday) closing this event. Most merchants and major retailers (CDiscount, Fnac Darty, Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple…) will start launching their promotional offers from November 22, which marks the launch of Black Week. Align yourself with these dates so as not to miss the boat as the” event is eagerly awaited by internet users on the lookout for promotional offers, good deals, discounts, bargains, and slashed prices to make their purchases.

It’s worth noting that on this day, some e-commerce businesses also implement Green Friday, to raise awareness among citizens about more responsible and thoughtful consumption. This collective acts against the overconsumption of Black Friday which has concrete consequences for the environment. Thus, each purchase is a strong choice that has an impact on the collective: we must limit waste by encouraging renovation, repair, and recycling.

2 – Define specific offers for Black Friday

Most stores and e-commerce merchants offer promotional deals ranging from 40% to 70% off for Black Friday. This can also include promotions on bundles of items, free shipping costs, or all of these combined.

Your promotions must be planned in advance, as well as the products that will benefit from these slashed prices and reductions. While originally Black Friday was anticipated mainly for buying high-tech items at bargain prices (smartphones, iPhones, Xbox…), it has now generalized to include fashion and beauty. Adapt your marketing plan based on your sales objectives, product inventory, and target audience behavior.

Your promotional offers must be specific to Black Friday and highlighted as such. The offers must be visible: banner on your website, promo code name containing the term Black Friday, Black Friday category in the website menu, visual dedicated to Black Friday, crossed-out prices… These marketing techniques allow internet users to instantly spot offers related to Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) and distinguish them from any regular promotions or sales.

Don’t forget that many internet users take advantage of the Black Friday event to purchase their Christmas gifts and shopping. Therefore, choose among your items those that are most likely to be gifted or your best sellers. These are your most popular products that generate traffic on your site and generally interest your consumers (like the Xbox for Microsoft or the iPhone for Apple, for example).

3 – Communicate ahead of Black Friday on social media

To ensure your customers and subscribers know that you’re planning specific Black Friday promotional offers, you must communicate in advance on your social media. Several marketing techniques can be used and combined to generate excitement and ensure traffic to your website and sales on this occasion:

• Create a countdown: on Instagram, for example, you can easily invite your followers to activate the bell to not miss your promotions. This also allows you to play on the ephemeral aspect of a promotion or “flash sale” for instance, and thus generate more engagement due to scarcity.
• Organize contests: by asking participants to tag several people on the post for a chance to be drawn, you increase the reach of your publication and thus your audience. This new audience will be reached by your Black Friday-specific communications during this period, allowing you to easily recruit new customers.
• Contact influencers: leverage their audience to spread your promo codes and Black Friday special offers. Marketing campaigns with influencers should be planned in advance. Generally, the influencer wants to test the product before talking about it to their community to maintain credibility and only share good deals. Influencers are even more solicited than usual during this Black Week period, so it may be wise to rely on a solution or platform for selecting and connecting with influencers like Trustt to simplify the process and follow-up.

4 – Use your email database: action plan for Black Friday

Communication on social media is very effective, but as the stakes are high during the Black Friday period, we recommend combining it with other online acquisition channels such as email marketing.

Use your databases to create specific email campaigns and relay your offers and promo codes in your newsletters. Pay particular attention to the subject line of your mailings as all advertisers are likely to use this lever and your email can quickly get lost in the crowd. Plan to do A/B tests and send your campaigns ahead of D-day to stand out.

In addition to your email campaigns, use your qualified email address database to create targeted retargeting campaigns. More than ever, retarget internet users who leave your online store with a filled cart but without making a purchase. Even consider additional promotions or a specific offer for these visitors, after all, it’s Black Friday, the internet user is looking for the most attractive price possible.

5 – Prepare your e-commerce site for the Black Friday effect

With this toolkit, you’re ready to take advantage of this event, now major for online sales in France for several years, which is Black Friday. It would be a shame if your e-commerce site and customer service couldn’t keep up. Prepare for traffic spikes on your website on Friday (Black Friday) and Monday (Cyber Monday) to satisfy all internet users, especially if you’re playing on urgency with flash sales or limited stock, for example.

Your customer service should also be on deck to respond in real-time to internet users, more numerous than usual on your website, who will ask questions about your products in the chat or request customer service to assist them in their online purchasing journey.

We wish you great sales for Black Friday Cyber Monday 2022!