Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2020: How to Set Your Ecommerce up for Success

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are historically the most profitable days in the ecommerce calendar, with around 40% of shoppers making an online purchase on Black Friday 2019. 

With the uncertainty and difficulty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s understandable for small businesses to question how to best prepare for the holiday season. 

After such an unprecedented year, one thing is certain: this holiday season, shoppers will be thinking – and buying – with a digital-first mindset.

Now that Black Friday Cyber Monday has evolved beyond a 4-day weekend sales event, you’re more likely to see businesses spread their deals out to Christmas.

Related article: Tips to Plan Your Holiday Marketing For The Most Challenging Holiday Season In Recent History

And if you are wondering what factors will influence the decision to spend? According to Facebook, the price is at the top, followed by the buying experience - from product availability to shipping.

The good news is you don’t need to start planning months in advance or slash your prices to have a successful season. 

With this guide and a few days of planning, you can put together and execute a profitable, creative promotion this holiday shopping season.

1. Create a homepage hero image that will lead your customers to your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale pages.

2. Consider building distinct Black Friday and Cyber Monday pages to show all your deals. Ultimately, you want your customers to get to your discounted products in just a click or two.

Top tip: If you already have a "sale" section of your ecommerce website, a quick and easy fix is to alter the text to make it a special Black Friday and Cyber Monday landing page.

3. Create ample opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling - For example, if you’ve got a great discount on clothing, cross-sell that customer some cut-price pair of shoes by displaying them on the same product page. Or, to upsell, advertise more expensive clothing.

4. Create a sense of urgency - a timer that ticks down to Black Friday and Cyber Monday can help build excitement.

5. Optimize your products for sales

      - Analyze your sales data – what sells well and what doesn’t? Then make an informed decision.

      - Add special mentions to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the product descriptions to add context and relevancy to the shopper.

     - Find some Black-Friday-related keywords for your products by running a keyword search on Google or trying Google Trends.

     - Product description should instill urgency – “Limited time only,” “Only One Left,” “X People Watch This Offer Right Now.”

Related article: 10 Tips to Get Your Ecommerce Site Ready for 2020 Holiday Shopping

6. Make your checkout process as simple as possible

     - Reduce the number of steps in your checkout process and offer a guest checkout

      - Ensure a smooth checkout process on mobile devices and find ways to simplify it further.

     - With 3 in 10 US purchasing journeys online involving more than one device, tying shopping carts with accounts means your customers don’t lose their orders if they switch devices, and you don’t risk losing out on almost a third of your revenue.

     - Add as many payment methods as possible

7. Facilitate gift-giving

The holiday season is a time for giving gifts to friends, family, and coworkers. While physical distancing measures may keep people from celebrating in person, ecommerce can help bridge the gap.

You can make this easier for your customers by offering gift-wrapping services, personalized cards and messages, and the option to select a target delivery date for the gift to arrive.

8. Curate a bundle of your products

Bundling products is one of the easiest ways to provide more value to customers while increasing your store’s average order value, which is essential for retaining a healthy profit margin for your business this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

9. Partner with influencers

Partnering with influencers to promote your product can effectively build widespread brand awareness and trust.

Pro tip: Ask your friends to test your online store before the sales weekend – they’re likely to be brutally honest about any shortcomings!

Planning your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales shouldn’t take as much time as you might expect, as long as you’re asking yourself the right questions and setting smart, achievable goals. A successful BFCM campaign involves coming up with a standout offer and executing it in a creative way.

Follow the steps outlined above and your online store will be well set for the most successful season ever.