Black Friday: 'Mega Sale Day' Momentum

 

With Black Friday right around the corner, the retail / ecommerce sector is preparing for what experts in the industry are describing as ‘Mega Sale Day’ momentum. Days where sales can sky-rocket, where brands can see huge success in a short period of time, and where customers are surrounded by a sea of purchasing options.

 

That kind of activity can mean many things – competition is aplenty, so how do you ensure your brand is seen by the right audience? And when it’s been seen, how do you drive your audience to convert? Is it really just as simple as discounting products?

According to Facebook IQ, there is a lot more to driving Mega Sale success, or Black Friday success than people realise. Where does it start? With having a solid strategy! And with 66% of shoppers saying that: “personalised recommendations on Facebook and Instagram have made it easier to complete the shopping process” (Facebook Insights); it’s one we should all listen to.

• The Covid-touch:

Step aside Midas, there’s a new Sheriff in town! Covid has shifted how we live our lives, and 2 years into the pandemic – it still is. We spend more time at home, we work more from home, and therefore our spending habits have changed too. With 2021 being the first post-lockdown Black Friday, this Mega Sale Day could potentially be bigger than ever.

The economy is slowly recovering, but with high street stores open, will people choose to shop online or in-store? Posing the question, how do you engage your audience across multiple mediums? This will be an important year to consider your key customers, and what will suit them best. Perhaps it’s in store and online offers, perhaps its discounts and events in store, perhaps its utilising Smart Shopping campaigns on Google – your brand, your decision. But it’s important to remember, Covid has changed the perspective of shoppers, so keep that in mind. People are poised to buy, so now it’s about finding those conversion rich audiences.

• Experiential is Key:

With Facebook having access to an enormous global audience, they did research on what people really want on these Mega Sale Days. Do they just want a discount? Is there a recipe to succeeding on these key dates like Black Friday? The audience came back with a resounding answer – make it an experiential day.

“As part of the online shopping experience, people now look for presale events. They also want to feel like they are a part of a bigger experiential event: 40% of Mega Sale Day shoppers say they want to take part in interactive games and giveaways.” (Facebook Insights) So it’s about more than just the right price. It’s about customer experience, it’s about entertainment, and it’s about triggering emotion in your audience. With Covid shifting how we feel about brands, audiences still want to buy from brands they support and care about. Buyers want to be engaged, to be made to feel special pre-purchase.

• Social Media is Where It’s At:

“Some 56% of Mega Sale Day shoppers say Facebook has played a role in helping them discover items they purchased.” (Facebook Insights) Those numbers don’t lie. Again, with buyers predominantly home-based, with different restrictions around the world, social media opens-up a truly global audience for any and all brands. Whether it be mobile users on the move or people working from home, social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, SnapChat, TikTok (the list goes on) can allow you to engage your audience in highly targeted ways.

From targeting based on geographic location, interests, or previous online behaviours, you can refine your audience down to the most conversion rich buyers and get a strong return on investment. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, social media is where it’s at!

• Don’t forget Customer Experience:

Last, but definitely not least, don’t forget about customer experience. With the amount of online competition in the retail / ecommerce space, you work hard to get the traffic you get; don’t lose them at the 11^th hour. What do we mean by that? “Some 81% of Mega Sale Day shoppers say they've experienced problems when mobile shopping.” (Facebook Insights)

Whether it be slow loading pages, ‘Page not Found’ messages, or issues with taking payments – these problems lead to customers leaving your site and potentially buying elsewhere. So, if you are looking to dominate on Black Friday, make sure your landing pages are relevant and functional, make sure your payment methods are working, and ensure that customer experience with your brand from start to finish is friction-less and positive. It truly can be the difference between good sales and GREAT sales.

 

For more advice on digital performance in the retail / ecommerce sector, and how best to utilise social advertising to increase conversions this Mega Sale Day / Black Friday – Get in touch with our team of experts here. As an official Facebook Marketing Partner, Loud Mouth Media have the expertise you need to drive results.