Black Friday & Cyber Monday | eCommerce Professionals Guide
Black Friday unofficially marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. It has been the busiest shopping day in the US in recent years. Only recently has it been toppled by Cyber Monday.
Over time, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have spread from the US throughout the world. These holidays are now adopted in France, Germany, Norway, India, and numerous other countries.
Online sellers and ecommerce store owners prepare for the Cyber week months in advance. Many promotions and discounts even go live way before Black Friday.
In 2024, Black Friday falls 29th of November, and Cyber Monday on 2nd of December.
Let’s take a look at the previous years’ data and trends and see what they can tell us about this year’s Cyber Week!
Black Friday & Cyber Monday – BFCM
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are usually jointly referred to as BFCM.
We will refer to them as BFCM whenever a certain statistic or pricing strategy applies to both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. When talking about any one of them separately, we will make sure to properly signify it.
Black Friday’s date is determined by the date of Thanksgiving. It’s always the next Friday after Thanksgiving.
While Black Friday is both an in-store and online shopping event, Cyber Monday is a predominantly online event that takes place on Monday following Black Friday.
Customer behavior indicators and trends for 2024
Some say COVID is old news. However, it has marked a major shift in how customers behave online. In relation to BFCM, it has made many customers make a switch from traditional towards online shopping. This trend remains, even after COVID. This is amazing news for online sellers.
Willingness to spend
Willingness to spend, especially in the US, seems to be on the rise. Promotional periods such as BFCM only help in this case. It is expected that holiday sales will increase between 2.5% to 3.5% in 2024 compared to 2023.
Multi-channel presence
Being present on as many channels as possible is another step you need to take if you want to maximize your chances of distinguishing yourself among your competitors. Channel-based pricing is an excellent way to meet your potential customers at the exact moment they are ready to make a purchase and with the perfect price.
Offers, promotions, and prices
An everlasting factor that influences online buying behavior are the costs – price, shipping costs, and any additional fees you may have. Consumers compare prices more than ever. There are numerous price comparison websites oriented towards consumers. On the other hand, platforms such as Amazon show the same or similar products that are sold by your competitors.
Devices used to make purchases
Smartphones keep increasing their share in the pool of devices used to make online purchases during the holidays. With a share of 54% of all online holiday purchases, the handheld devices keep proving they are the medium you should optimize your store for. Make your website and/or store mobile-friendly.
Cart abandonment rate
Cart abandonment rate usually drops around Black Friday. It is the best time when you should activate your campaigns for rescuing abandoned carts. Back in 2022, the percentage of cart abandonment dropped from 81.68% to 77.74% on Black Friday. Send out reminders to your customers about the products they have in their carts. If you can top it off with a decent discount it will further increase your chances of rescuing many of those abandoned carts.
Growth during COVID
The extensive growth in eCommerce reshaped the idea of Black Friday shopping even before the pandemic hit. The graphs below indicate a continuous increase in online sales over the last eight years, both for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Price2Spy BFCM Checklist
If you prefer a quick read of the most important tips for BFCM, then our BFCM checklist is for you!
1. Check your competitor’s prices
Price monitoring allows you to know what your competitors are doing before, during, and after the holiday season. Knowing this will let you be either proactive or reactive in your price adjustments, depending on your pricing strategy.
2. Define your promotional strategy
Find your loss-leader products, use them to lure customers in, and then try to maximize your sales. If you can, you should personalize offers and even offer special rewards within your loyalty program.
3. Consider bundling products
Product bundling is popular for a reason. It allows you to sell a less-desirable product when joined with a more popular one. Also, it’s frequently used when selling complementary products. Some of those are especially popular during Black Friday and Cyber Monday:
- Consoles and video games;
- Smartphones and accessiories;
- Laptops and software;
- Fitness equipment and wearable tech;
- Home security systems and smart devices; and
- Home appliances and cookware.
4. Optimize website for SEO
SEO is a long-term endeavor. If you are starting out now, there’s little chance you will be able to make meaningful changes for this year’s BFCM. However, there’s plenty of time to do so for next year’s holiday season. Plan accordingly!
Last Check
So, now that the holiday season is just around the corner you should take a look at our quick tips for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Other than those, you really need to look back and see if all the preparatory work has been completed.
Have you set your pricing strategies up? Do note, we have never suggested massively discounting a significant portion of your inventory.
Prices do matter, but there are also other things you should focus on. Site optimization, setting up your campaigns, improving the user experience of your site, and much more.
These things take time. If you feel like you don’t have enough time until the upcoming holiday season, then try to brainstorm some quick wins you may get.
