Boost Black Friday interest on your website

After a difficult year of social distancing and lockdown due to the pandemic, South African businesses are looking forward to Black Friday and the start of the festive shopping season.

Retailers are hoping to realise lots of shopping engagement as South Africans look for bargains throughout November.

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According to BankservAfrica, South Africans spent R6 billion on Black Friday last year. This year, with specials running throughout the month and people getting used to e-commerce during the lockdown, Black Friday could be even bigger this year.

So, how does your small business catch the interest of the customer’s spend during the month?

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GoDaddy’s senior regional director Selina Bieber offered the following ideas:

Offer something extra to nudge buyers

“This year many businesses may be offering deep discounts on products and services to help interest potential buyers. A good way to help stand out is to add a little something extra to sweeten the deal. You could, for instance, offer free delivery. Or you could give a voucher for their next big purchase,” said Bieber. 

Create gift bundles and gift guides

“Black Friday is traditionally the day that many people shop for themselves. Why not remind them that Christmas is just around the corner by compiling gift bundles and gift guides? People who are busy will appreciate help getting a head start on their festive season shopping. You could organise your online product catalogue or retail space to reflect different gift ideas,” said Bieber. 

Use incentives to buy now to your advantage

Bieber also said that this year, retailers were running Black Friday specials for most of November. With so much time, people could become a bit blasé about the promotions, figuring they could wait to see what better deals come up. For that reason, it’s important to make them feel that they have made their purchase at the right time.

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Bieber also added the following few ideas for tapping into reasons for buying now:

• Offer a bonus for the first people to order. For example, a free toaster with the first five washing machines you sell.
• Attach a time-limited coupon code to your email newsletter. Giving customers 24 hours or a week or whatever to get some money off with a purchase of more than a certain amount of Rand, for instance.
• Running flash sales— a time-limited promotion where customers have only a day or two or even a few hours to make the buy if they want the discount.
• Send emails and use social media to drive excitement and reason for buying now— you can remind people time is running out, let them know how many bonuses have been claimed, or alert them when stock is low.

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Choosing the right approach for your market and your audience can help to give your business a head-start as we head into the festive shopping season.