The Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend stands as a pivotal moment for retailers and brands eager to boost their sales and engage a vast audience. As such, the importance of early preparation cannot be overstated.
Your planning should start now to fully leverage the opportunities presented by BFCM and meet your holiday sales targets. This blog should equip you with the insights and strategies needed to develop a successful strategy and exceed your sales expectations.
Get Ahead of the Curve
Being ready months before BFCM can give you a substantial edge over competitors. You can fine-tune your strategies, optimize your inventory, and execute targeted campaigns that capture attention and drive sales. Leveraging insights from past trends means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel—past trends can guide your approach and help you anticipate what’s coming.
This year, retailers can still expect consumers to begin their holiday spree earlier while still holding out for the best deals, thus stretching the shopping season. The National Retail Federation revealed that 55% of shoppers seized early holiday discounts in 2023 and that discounts rolled out sooner.
Online shopping also saw a notable increase with 134.2 million online shoppers, up from 130.2 million the previous year. Discounting played a crucial role in driving sales, with retailers offering an average of 30% off during Cyber Week. The result? A record-breaking 200.4 million shoppers made purchases from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.
Common BFCM Challenges and Solutions
Problems usually crop up during BFCM, which makes navigating the high-stakes shopping period difficult. By spotting and tackling common pitfalls early, you can turn potential headaches into opportunities for a flawless BFCM experience.
Problem #1
Inadequate stock forecasting and inventory management, coupled with high demand, can lead to significant inventory shortages.
Solution: Automated product tagging and personalized product recommendations. To tackle inventory shortages from poor stock forecasting and high demand, you can implement automated product tagging systems to keep your inventory data accurate and current. This technology simplifies product categorization and helps you manage stock levels more effectively. Moreover, you can also use personalized product recommendations to direct customers to available alternatives when popular items are out of stock. This strategy not only keeps customers satisfied but also boosts sales by minimizing the effects of inventory gaps.
Problem #2
Mismanaged promotions or pricing errors can result in customer dissatisfaction and lost trust.
Solution: Regular audit. Brands can consistently monitor pricing to ensure accuracy across all channels. They can also use a reliable promotion management system to automate and track promotional activities. This approach minimizes errors and ensures that customers receive the correct offers and pricing.
Problem #3
Higher sales volumes often result in more returns and refunds.
Solution: AI-generated product titles and descriptions. To handle the rise in returns and refunds that often come with higher sales volumes, use AI to create precise and detailed product titles and descriptions. Clear and consistent product information helps set accurate customer expectations, reducing the chances of returns caused by misunderstandings or incorrect product details.
Problem #4
The crowded marketing environment during BFCM can make it challenging for brands to stand out.
Solution: AI-powered merchandising tools. During the busy shopping season, AI tools can make your brand stand out by offering personalized shopping experiences and targeted promotions. These tools analyze customer behavior and preferences to deliver customized product recommendations, optimize visual displays, and adjust offers in real-time.
Tips and eCommerce Experiences to Consider
To capitalize on the opportunities of this lucrative retail holiday, it’s essential to make sure your eCommerce site is fully optimized and meets customer expectations. Dive into these strategies to supercharge your BFCM success and capture every opportunity.
Make the Hunt Exciting with Visual Search
Introduce visual search to revamp the shopping experience and turn product discovery into an engaging adventure. Many customers take photos or save images of items they like, but trying to find these through traditional text-based searches can be frustrating, especially for those who struggle with precise terms.
Visual search allows shoppers to find products using images, making the process smooth and intuitive. This approach not only keeps visually-driven customers interested but also reduces search abandonment by delivering accurate results from their images. Even if customers don’t have their own saved images, you can spark their interest in visual search by showcasing your own curated image selections, just like Nourison does.
Craft Compelling Product Descriptions
Elevate your product listings with descriptions that captivate and inform. Detailed and engaging product descriptions provide customers with the essential information they need to make confident purchasing decisions. Not only do well-crafted descriptions boost your SEO, making your products easier to find, but they also build trust through transparency and honesty.
By using persuasive language, you can transform curiosity into action, so customers can take the next step and complete their purchase.
Show the Right Products with Recommendations
Unlock the potential of personalized shopping by guiding customers to discover new products that align with their interests—items they might not have even considered. By offering relevant suggestions, you reduce the time customers spend searching and enhance their overall shopping experience.
Adjusting recommendations in real time to customer interactions ensures that they stay fresh and engaging. Meanwhile, suggesting similar or alternative items when a product is out of stock keeps the shopping journey smooth and satisfying. You can achieve this effortlessly by using a Shop Similar button, just like Perry Ellis, to match customers with similar products through a single click.
Curate Thematic Collections for the Holidays
Highlighting thoughtfully selected items not only encourages customers to explore and discover new favorites but also increases the chances of them purchasing multiple products at once. These collections allow you to weave a cohesive brand story or spotlight a particular theme, creating a more engaging and memorable shopping journey.
Collections also enable you to target customers with specific desires. For instance, Ernest Jones’ curated guide for jewelry features items that are so enticing that customers might be tempted to treat themselves rather than just buy gifts for others. Plus, curated collections enhance the visual appeal of your site, making it more attractive and inviting.
Keep the Connection Alive with Personalized Emails
Reignite customer engagement with personalized emails that make every message count. Tailoring your emails with relevant product recommendations and exclusive offers results in higher conversion rates compared to generic messages. By leveraging data like browsing history, past purchases, and demographic details, you can craft highly targeted campaigns that make customers feel valued and understood.
Personalized touches create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, especially with limited-time deals. They also remind customers of items they’ve shown interest in or similar products that might spark their curiosity.
Seal the Deal This BFCM
As BFCM approaches, it’s crucial to make your mark with strategic preparation and execution. Harness the power of personalized recommendations, curated collections, and cutting-edge tools like visual search to transform your shopping experience and captivate your audience. By optimizing your eCommerce site and connecting with customers through targeted emails, you’ll not only drive sales but also build lasting relationships.