Despite the pandemic, Black Friday is still on. This year, making it easy for customers to shop your Black Friday sale online is more important than ever. According to the U.S Department of Commerce, U.S e-commerce sales increased by 30% between the first and second quarter of 2020, and this online shopping trend is expected to continue throughout the holiday season.
Your Black Friday sale might look different this year, but customers shopping online still want to feel that same energy and excitement that they get shopping in store. Here are 8 tips to get your website ready for your best Black Friday event yet!
- Start Advertising Early
- Start creating buzz around your sale early with email and social campaigns that give “sneak peeks” of discount offers and giveaways. Consider starting in-store sales early; this will help to reduce crowds and provide a safer shopping experience. Big retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Lowe’s have all announced that they will be starting the sales season early and extending it longer to decrease the risk of spreading COVID.
- Use Popups
- Popups are a great way to increase your email list, giving you more people to market to even if store traffic is slow. If you currently use a popup, try an offer that’s different from what you use the rest of the year, such as offering free shipping or delivery.
- Be Transparent with Customers
- It’s important to be clear about in-stock products that are ready to be delivered–as well as products with extra long lead times–to build good relationships with customers and prevent conflict or miscommunications. Tag and highlight your in-stock product throughout your website, and use warehouse feeds to help communicate quickship and available to order item lead times.
- Promote Sales Across Your Website
- Make sure your offers are visible and easy to find on your website so customers are aware of the awesome deals they’re getting. Create homepage banners linked to product and messaging on browse and item pages so that customers can see your promotions anywhere on your site.
- Use Countdown Timers
- Timers are a great way to keep shoppers engaged. Use our Laurentide countdown timers or another program to create a sense of urgency, and entice customers to make faster decisions and checkout sooner.
- Create a Gift Guide
- Black Friday and holiday shopping can be super stressful for some, so why not provide some inspiration with a gift guide? Create a beautifully-designed gift guide that highlights in stock products that will arrive before the holidays. But don’t forget to promote your page throughout your website, on social, and in your eblasts so that customers actually see it!
- Host Virtual Sales or Events
- With social distancing rules in place, consider hosting virtual sales to keep everyone safe. Host a Facebook Live event for some of your most popular sale items or have a designer on call to give design advice to Facetime callers. Alternatively, customers can easily book appointments with our virtual consultation form.
- Prepare your Shopping Cart with 2-Step Checkout
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday usually ensure a lot of sales through your online cart, but we expect to see even more cart traffic this year with more customers preferring to shop online. Prevent barriers to purchase by making sure your shopping cart is already set up and on our 2-Step Checkout Process. Convert more sales by offering a coupon code in your cart and setting up Abandon Cart emails to re-engage customers that showed interest but didn’t convert.
Are you ready to take the next step?