So, no pressure Black Friday, but 2020 has been an insanely (determined not to use unprecedented in this post) challenging year for retail. With high-street footfall levels at an all-time low, you’ve certainly got your work cut out this time around…
As expected, interest is ramping up nicely:
In this post, we look at who’s well prepped for BF 2020 and who’s looking like they’re going to pull an all-nighter on the 26th November. This time last year, I inspected a handful of online retailers that made a bunch of cringeworthy (and arguably inexcusable mistakes) during Black Friday and top tips to smash your campaigns.
Both of those posts are just as relevant today, so be sure to check those out too.
First under the microscope:
Currys PC World
In the UK, Currys PC World is a household name. When you think electronics and white goods, you almost certainly have Currys on your shortlist. How’s their prep game this year?
Cool looking landing page
So the good news is that Currys have already put together a great looking and comprehensive landing page ready for the big event. However there’s no opportunity to subscribe to updates and be notified when their deals hit their site.
Email is still one of the most powerful channels for conversions and ROI and it’s a shame to see that Currys aren’t capturing leads from potential customers that are keen to hand over their hard earned.
I found an unusual quirk in their site search
Rather than going to a search results page (or better still a purpose built Black Friday page) I’m sent to a silver fridge freezer!
My hypothesis here is that the fuzzy logic is trying to match ‘friday’ and came up with fridge.
However, to be redirected to just a single product is unusual and why a silver fridge specifically!? So, Currys, if you’re reading this and it’s not already fixed? You’re welcome!
Burton Menswear
One of my go-to brands for menswear, Burton, is a household name in the men’s fashion space. With fashion to be on the back foot with another lockdown looming across England, clothing brands will really need to bring their A-game for Black Friday.
Another solid landing page
Just like Currys, Burton also have a well merchandised landing page up and ranking organically for keywords like ‘Burton black friday deals’.
They’ve also gone a step further than Currys too and are encouraging potential BF shoppers to register for their updates relating to their Black Friday deals.
Searching for Black Friday yields a blank search results page
Another retailer to add to the list of painfully common mistakes made during Black Friday! Searching for the event yields an empty search results page. Ideally, this query should redirect to the above landing page and once live, the merchandised Black Friday page.
My top 5 tips for a high performance campaign
This post wouldn’t be complete without some tangible takeaway tips to inject and consider in your own BF campaigns. So here they are!
1] Use the same Black Friday URL every year
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again! When it comes to SEO and page equity, there’s nothing that hurts organic visibility and rankings more than using a new URL every year. For example shopurl.com/black-friday-2019 and then using /black-friday-2020 this year.
Recycle the equity the page has built by using the same URL. To maximise ranking potential and precious authority even further, consider using the same URL for Cyber Monday too.
If you have previously used different URLs, use one this year that’s most likely to be timeless (avoid adding dates and other time sensitive data to the URL) then 301 redirect all previous Black Friday URLs to your new one.
2] Leverage retargeting effectively
Retarget to those that have not just visited a Black Friday page on your site but have also engaged in a meaningful way too. This will reduce waste and help prevent watering down the performance of your campaign.
Target those visitors who’ve visited a minimum number of pages before exiting, have added at least one item to basket or have tried to use a discount code for example.
Equally, you can increase efficiency by cutting out customers who’ve already converted unless you believe they’re likely to do again during your Black Friday deals.
3] Make sure any discount codes are case-insensitive
This one’s really simple and it’s a huge rookie mistake, but so many online retailers fall victim to it. It’s important that any discount codes you’re using are not only case-insensitive so lowercase, mixed or uppercase entries are still valid, but also that discount codes are easy to remember.
In most cases, around half of online shoppers in the B2C space are using mobile devices, so making a code that’s easy to re-enter and doesn’t cause frustration when fighting autocorrection. This will help improve conversion and lower checkout abandonment.
Keep codes simple, short and easy to remember. ‘BLACK30’ or ‘SAVE50’ for example instead of ‘BFTVDEALS2020’.
Lastly, if you’re including them in emails, make sure they’re selectable as text and not just in an image. Not everyone wants to read your emails in HTML and of course, discount codes in images can’t be copied easily.
4] Have your own discount codes page to reduce affiliate commission payouts during the big event
It goes without saying that for many retailers, product margins are eroded during one of the biggest sale events on the calendar, moreso with COVID-19 in the mix too.
To reduce the amount of margin you’re hemorrhaging during this period it can make a lot of sense to have your own page for valid discount codes.
By having your own discount code page, you’re reducing the amount of traffic that’s going to affiliate websites like hotukdeals.co.uk and myvouchercodes.co.uk, which are often taking a cut of your sale whether the code works or not.
5] Consider extending your returns windows to cover those making Christmas gift purchases
It’s no secret that many people shop and buy items on Black Friday to give as Christmas gifts. So why not remove a potential blocker for your customers by extending the returns window of eligible items until late January?
That way, your customers can confidently browse and buy your deals knowing that if there are issues, they’ve until after Christmas to return/exchange it.
In summary…
With a second national lockdown in England that’s set to kill the high street throughout November and therefore Black Friday footfall, there’s never been more pressure on eCommerce and online stores to capture sales as there is this year.
Many retailers have had a challenging 2020 and closing the gap that COVID-19 has opened up with Black Friday deals will be hugely important for companies to stay afloat.
Which is why it’s essential that your website’s experience, offering and checkout during the Black Friday weekend is as friction-free and as optimised as possible.
Best of luck!
Want more Black Friday tips? Check out last year’s Black Friday blog post for more ideas and fails from our favourite high street brands.
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