Black Friday Logistics
This year Black Friday is on 26th November
Although Black Friday was introduced in Britain by Amazon –an American Company- in 2010, the retail sales per annum keeps growing at a tremendous rate in comparison to the United States. Nevertheless, its entrance into the consciousness of the British was slow and steady and gained momentum in 2013 three years down the line.
Due to the massive influx of sales and the frenzy outbursts from shoppers, Amazon hosts 10 days of sales instead of having just one single day to accommodate and satisfy the need of customers.
According to research, about 68% of people in the UK now prefer to have their Black Friday shopping online rather than making use of the stores. So, the chances of having a racket breaking out in stores due to large turnout of people is very unlikely, especially with the social distancing in place to combat the pandemic.
Britain had no experience about Black Friday 11 years ago because Amazon introduced the concept in 2010. The spectacular sales period gained momentum and many UK businesses plunged into the event. Black Friday stands as a tradition in the United States and falls on the next day after Thanksgiving which is an annual event in the country on the fourth Thursday of November. In the UK, Black Friday also holds on the same day which happens to be November 26th.
Without an iota of doubt, Black Friday is an annual vital retail event that gives businesses access to enjoy tremendous sales and profits. According to statistics, consumers in the UK are hooked on Black Friday with an increase of 16.5% being recorded in 2019. Also, shoppers in the UK lavished £5.6 billion on the Black Friday extravaganza.
It’s important for business owners to grab the opportunities that Black Friday makes available as the retail event of the year. There are many things you can leverage on for this year’s Black Friday event. And we shall briefly scrutinize them below.
Your Offers
1. Ensure your promotions are fantastic and irresistible
You need to start off with enough research to host a successful digital marketing Black Friday campaign. Have a good plan in place by checking your competitors to see their offerings in comparison to their offerings the previous year. This enables you to modify your campaigns appropriately to obtain maximum returns in sales.
With the news of a possible lockdown in England last year November, eCommerce customers who could manage business order increments and satisfy them were advised to hike their Paid Search and Biddable Media budgets for November to measure up with demand.
2. Contemplate on extending the duration of your offering
Since many customers prefer to begin their shopping for Christmas early on a yearly basis, lots of retailers kick off the promotions for their Black Friday early as well. Research based report by eBay Ads shows about 25% of British shoppers consider shopping for Christmas before the end of the summer period.
The marketing campaign for your Black Friday is in danger of losing its exclusiveness, attraction and effect, even as the duration of the sales grows and encompasses a larger part of the yearly calendar. It’s better to evaluate the effectiveness of your former Black Friday campaigns to ascertain if it would be of greater benefit to give discounts to your customers throughout the trading period of Christmas.
3. Logistics
Make sure there is sufficient stock to match the level of demand
It is important to have sufficient stock to meet the level of sales when the shopping fever for Black Friday hits the UK. It’s more ideal to plan ahead of time to avoid sparse supply of your stock. You should stock up on all the popular goods as it would be sold off fast.
4. Collaborate with your delivery partners
The Black Friday weekend usually witnesses more demand for products in previous years which results in delivery clashes. Big names like Amazon had an average of 64 items per second in 2014 and as such struggled to match the gigantic leap in seasonal sales. Customers within the UK had to bear the brunt of delivery delays for about 10 days.
In 2021, there’s a shortage of delivery drivers in the UK, so adequate preparations should be in place to avert delays in delivery times. Maintain communications with your couriers and ensure your customers are carried along to manage their expectations. In all, effective planning will make you smile to the bank.
What are your business plans for this Black Friday?