It started as Black Friday, extended to Cyber Monday, grew to Cyber Weekend and now has its own Cyber Week – has the annual sales campaign lost its meaning?
Apparently not.
Soaring sales
59% of Brits are planning to spend in this year’s Black Friday sales, an increase from 51% in 2023 (Finder.com). After a downturn in spend post COVID, it seems as though our interest in the discount weekend hasn’t completely waned, with forecasted UK spending up by c. £800m in 2024 vs 2023 (Finder.com).
With required marketing budget increases, dramatic product discounts and potentially miniscule profits (we hear you Mrs Tweedy), the question for brands is: is it worth it?
Perhaps.
Wunderkind research highlighted a near +15% increase year-on-year in revenue for online retailers in 2023, indicating positive results for UK brands.
How to turn Black Friday into Black FriYAY
How you approach the period should be carefully considered, depending on your category. Here are a few tips ahead of the shopping event of the year:
Plan your campaign and intentions early
Keep your offer simple, don’t rely on last minute creative switches and hope for the best come 28th November, and don’t trick your buyers into early sales with ‘surprise’ steeper discounting later.
Understand what’s in demand
Think about whether you want to make sitewide offers or keep it product focused. Keep an eye on consumer sentiment.
Tee up your base
Engage with previous customers and reward loyalty.
Test, test and test again
Test out your creatives, your offer and especially your website for any sneaky bugs that could affect UX.
If you’d like to talk about seasonal sales campaigns, get in touch with the team – we’d love to help!
