Black Friday M-1: How to Prepare for It?
This year, Black Friday is scheduled for November 27. This period, which keeps retailers on the starting blocks before launch, will end on November 30 with Cyber Monday.
As the analysis of previous years’ results shows, French interest in this annual event continues to grow. Thus, searches for “when is Black Friday” increased by 51% in 2019 compared with 2018. It can also be observed that the average basket is 2.7 times higher on Black Friday than on a regular Friday.
The lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 has undoubtedly reshuffled the cards to the point of creating a new seasonal peak in Black Friday’s flagship categories, with demand today higher than in 2019.
The 2020 edition will be marked by the acceleration of the current digital transformation, reflected in a growing share of e-commerce, new consumer expectations regarding delivery times, stock availability and promotions, as well as Christmas purchases that could take place up to two months earlier this year. Indeed, we are seeing Amazon launch its offensive even earlier this year, with an Early Black Friday that started on October 26 and will end on November 19.
Key Figures from Black Friday 2019
Ahead of Spain and Italy, France is one of the European countries showing growing interest in Black Friday. In 2019, in addition to searches for the date of the event being significantly higher than the previous year, 48% of consumers waited for this period to purchase a product they had identified in the preceding months.
As the collected data shows, queries in the top retail categories grew by 5% per year over the last few years, with the strongest increase recorded in the Home and Garden category. It can also be observed that these main categories remained at a high level throughout the period, which demonstrates that it is essential for advertisers to be present from the product discovery stage of the consumer journey.
The figures achieved during this weekend in 2019 are also telling: nearly €6 billion were spent in France, representing revenue 31% higher than in 2018. On the brand side, 60% of the top 100 retailers were already launching their offers two days before the official date. For retailers, Black Friday is therefore a real opportunity not to be missed.
Shopping Behavior for 2020
In this period of uncertainty, consumer trends must be taken into account more than ever. As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, COVID-19 is affecting our shopping behavior and accelerating digital transformation. For this new edition of Black Friday, an increase in e-commerce sales is therefore expected because, according to a study conducted by Wells Fargo, 70% of consumers do not plan to visit stores.
For brands, these new habits represent a challenge in building loyalty among French shoppers, who are now more demanding, more volatile and constantly looking for good deals. The situation could therefore encourage consumers to start their Christmas shopping much earlier this year.
Our Expert Advice
For a successful Black Friday, it is ideal to plan your campaigns at least four weeks in advance so that they can complete their learning phase by the big day. We also recommend preparing your selection of discounted products in advance, ensuring stock availability and making sure customer service is responsive so that you are fully ready for launch.
Given the health crisis, reassure your customers about the protective measures implemented by your company. While some will remain loyal to 100% digital platforms, with home delivery and no visit to a physical store, others will prefer to pick up their product in-store, which will require you to prioritize drive-to-store initiatives via Google LIA or Local campaigns, for example.
This high-traffic period will also allow you to build a significant customer database that you can retain and retarget later. This rich audience pool will give you the opportunity to reach similar users, and therefore potential customers.
Happy Black Friday to everyone!
