As the cost of living crisis continues, this year’s Black Friday Cyber Monday will have a different feel to previous years as both retailers and shoppers feel the pinch. Brands will have to work hard to make the most of the peak season period and adapt their ecommerce strategies to keep their customers interested.
I predict there will be three main ways in which ecommerce brands attempt to circumnavigate the economic challenge and encourage sales over Black Friday Cyber Monday.
They will:
- Start early
- Offer in-store collections
- Provide Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)
1. Starting early
Companies will begin the sale season earlier to prolong the seasonal spike and to gain as much revenue as possible. Companies will aim to empty the users pockets as early as possible so they can’t spend with other competitors.
This year, for example, Amazon launched a second Prime Day on 11th and 12th October. Elsewhere, supermarkets, homeware shops and other retailers began selling Christmas items weeks ago.
2. In-store Collections
Users will be looking to save as much money as they can and one way they can do this is by not paying for delivery. During Black Friday, people are likely to purchase multiple items across various sites, and delivery costs can soon mount up.
Therefore, shoppers are likely to lean towards in-store pickup to save money where they can. With more customers working more flexibly, stopping by a local store isn’t as much of an inconvenience as it used to be. Retailers should offer click and collect from store as a delivery option on their website.
3. Buy Now Pay Later
With the cost-of-living being the way it is, more and more users are going to be seeking out flexible payment methods. Despite upheavals in the payments sector this year, BNPL is still in popular demand among shoppers. Increasing number of retailers have caught on to this demand by setting up BNPL from the likes of Klarna instore as well as online.
I expect the popularity of BNPL to only grow as customers, who were previously on the fence about using this type of service, begin to adapt to its benefits of 0% interest and splitting the cost over three payments and so on.
How to Keep Customers Interested
With increased numbers of traffic hitting the online shops over Black Friday Cyber Monday, it is a great opportunity to update your customer engagement strategy. By getting your customers excited about your brand, you will boost sales and generate long-term, loyal shoppers.
Below are four strategies retailers should look to incorporate asap in order to get customers invested in your brand this BFCM.
1. Reward Boosts
Brands who have a reward or loyalty points system should provide regular and VIP customers with reward boosts. As retailers use sale periods to sell discontinued and out-of-season stock, they can use their rewards system to their advantage by offering double points etc. to users who buy those items.
Shoppers can then use those reward points on future shopping trips (always thinking about the future and not just the now) or by buying more products during the current sale period.
Reward boosts on certain actions and specific products gamifies the shopping experience for the user while ensuring future repeat purchases.
2. Private sales
Companies should launch private sales or early ‘first dib’ sales for existing customers who have accounts. These shoppers are, after all, more likely to convert as they have purchased from the brand already.
To take this one step further, brands should use their marketing channels – email, SMS, social media etc – to highlight these exclusive sales to none-account holders. This will generate more account creations, which can be used for future marketing purposes and data collection.
Retailers should be looking at ways they can maximise the BFCM boom for the long term not just over the weekend.
3. Click & Collect
Companies who have a physical store location should offer click & collect without doubt. Users will be more than happy to shave delivery cost off their purchases if they live locally to the store.
As a bonus to retailers, encouraging shoppers increases their chances of purchasing something else while they are there. By seeing the product in person, it reduces the chance of returns as they can confirm they are happy with the purchase before leaving the store.
4. Extended Returns
Users will be buying for Christmas now with the idea of gifting. An extended returns policy which lasts into January will ensure users can purchase now and not have to worry about buying closer to Chrstimas.
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