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As the biggest shopping event of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) present a massive opportunity for eCommerce businesses to drive sales, attract new customers, and build brand loyalty. If you’re a Shopify store owner, the key to maximizing your success during BFCM is careful planning and thorough preparation. From setting up discounts to ensuring your website can handle high traffic, this comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential steps to prepare your Shopify store for BFCM 2024.
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Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season, which sees some of the highest consumer spending levels of the year. In 2023, BFCM saw $9.12 billion in online sales on Black Friday alone, and these numbers are expected to grow in 2024. Shopify merchants have the unique advantage of using robust tools, apps, and resources that make it easier to manage the surge in traffic and orders during BFCM.
To make the most out of this shopping extravaganza, preparation is key. Here are the most important steps to take to get your Shopify store ready for BFCM 2024.
Planning early is crucial because BFCM can be an overwhelming time if you leave everything to the last minute. Start by outlining your goals for BFCM. Do you want to increase overall revenue, clear out inventory, or gain new customers? Defining your objectives will help you tailor your strategies accordingly.
Key planning points:
Set sales goals: Identify how much revenue or how many sales you want to generate.
Evaluate your inventory: Ensure that you have enough stock to meet demand, especially for best-sellers.
Map out promotions: Determine which products will be discounted and create a promotion calendar.
BFCM shoppers are expecting deals, and offering attractive discounts is a must. Shopify makes it easy to create promotions that boost sales while still allowing you to maintain profit margins.
Tiered discounts encourage shoppers to spend more by offering higher savings as they add more items to their cart. For example, you could offer:
10% off orders over $50
20% off orders over $100
30% off orders over $150
Tiered discounts not only increase average order value (AOV) but also help clear inventory.
Another effective way to boost sales is by bundling related products. For example, if you sell fashion items, you could bundle a coat with matching accessories for a combined price. Use Shopify apps like Bundler or Bold Bundles to create customized offers.
Shoppers love urgency, and flash sales with limited-time offers can push customers to buy immediately. For instance, you could offer 40% off select items for just a few hours on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
Reward your loyal customers or email subscribers by offering them early access to sales or exclusive discounts. This not only builds loyalty but can also help you gauge inventory levels before the main BFCM rush.
Ensure that your product pages, home page, and checkout process clearly display the discounts available. Use strong calls to action (CTAs) like "Shop Now" or "Limited Time Offer" to encourage conversions.
Nothing kills BFCM sales faster than a slow or unresponsive website. With a surge in traffic expected during BFCM, you need to ensure that your Shopify store can handle the load and offer a seamless shopping experience.
Even a one-second delay in load time can lead to a 7% decrease in conversions. To keep your Shopify store running smoothly:
Compress images: Use apps like TinyIMG or Shopify’s built-in image compression to reduce the size of your images without sacrificing quality.
Limit app usage: Too many apps running on your store can slow down performance. Audit and remove any unnecessary apps before BFCM.
Use a fast theme: Shopify offers a variety of fast-loading themes optimized for high traffic. Ensure your theme is lightweight and responsive on both desktop and mobile.
Enable lazy loading: This technique delays the loading of images until they are needed, improving the initial load time of your site.
Shopify uses a CDN to ensure that your store’s content is delivered quickly to visitors, no matter where they are in the world. However, you can further optimize this by minimizing redirects and fixing broken links.
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom to test your website’s performance before BFCM. These tools will highlight areas that need improvement. You should also simulate heavy traffic to ensure your website can handle the expected influx of visitors.
Nothing frustrates customers more than discovering an item is out of stock or facing long shipping delays. Prepare your inventory and fulfillment process to ensure you can meet customer demand during BFCM.
Analyze your sales data from previous years to identify your best-selling items. Stock up on these products to meet the increased demand. Use Shopify’s inventory management tools to monitor stock levels and set up low-stock alerts.
Make sure your product pages are fully optimized with high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and customer reviews. Clearly state how much stock is left if inventory is limited to create a sense of urgency.
If you handle your own shipping, ensure that your processes are streamlined for the BFCM rush. Shopify apps like ShipStation or Easyship can automate shipping labels, calculate shipping rates, and provide tracking information for customers.
If you’re expecting a large volume of orders, you might consider partnering with a third-party fulfillment provider (3PL) to handle packaging and shipping. This will free up your time to focus on other aspects of your business.
BFCM brings a higher volume of inquiries and issues, so it’s important to have your customer service team ready. Excellent customer support during this period can turn a one-time shopper into a loyal customer.
Shoppers during BFCM are often in a rush and may have questions about your products or policies. Implement a live chat option using apps like Tidio or Gorgias to provide real-time assistance to customers.
A comprehensive FAQ page can reduce the number of inquiries and help customers find answers quickly. Include information on shipping times, returns, and exchanges, especially if these policies change during BFCM.
To handle a surge in customer inquiries, consider using AI chatbots that can respond to frequently asked questions. This will allow your customer service team to focus on more complex issues.
Prepare your customer service team for BFCM by training them on common issues, return policies, and the promotions you’re offering. Make sure they know how to respond quickly and professionally to complaints or questions.
BFCM is the perfect time to maximize your marketing efforts, especially through email campaigns and social media promotions. A well-planned marketing strategy can drive traffic, boost sales, and keep customers engaged throughout the entire shopping period.
Segment your email list to send personalized offers based on customer behavior. For instance, you can create campaigns for:
VIP customers: Offer early access to sales or exclusive discounts.
Loyal customers: Thank them for their loyalty with personalized discount codes.
New subscribers: Send welcome emails with BFCM offers.
Many customers visit stores and abandon their carts during BFCM. Use retargeting ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Google to remind them of the items they left behind and encourage them to complete their purchase.
Start building excitement for your BFCM deals by teasing promotions on social media platforms. Use engaging visuals, countdowns, and interactive posts to keep your audience excited about the upcoming deals.
Partner with influencers to promote your BFCM offers. Influencers can help spread the word about your deals to a larger audience, increasing brand awareness and driving more traffic to your store.
Finally, monitoring your store’s performance throughout BFCM is essential to ensure you’re hitting your goals. Shopify offers a variety of analytics tools that can help you track key metrics like traffic, conversions, and average order value.
Focus on metrics that matter the most during BFCM, such as:
Sales per hour
Cart abandonment rates
Top-selling products
If you notice certain promotions or products performing better than expected, be ready to pivot your marketing efforts. For example, you can allocate more ad spend to a top-selling product or send an email campaign highlighting its popularity.
Some shoppers wait until Cyber Monday to make their final purchases. Make sure your best deals are still highlighted for last-minute shoppers and consider offering additional incentives to encourage them to make a purchase.
Even during BFCM, it’s possible to improve performance by running A/B tests on email subject lines, homepage banners, and call-to-action buttons. Test small but impactful changes, like the color of your "Buy Now" button or the text on your checkout page, to see what drives the best results.
The work doesn’t end after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. A well-thought-out post-BFCM strategy can help you capitalize on the new customers you've acquired and encourage repeat purchases throughout the holiday season.
Show appreciation to your BFCM customers by sending personalized thank-you emails. This small gesture can help strengthen your relationship with customers and encourage them to return.
Ask customers to leave reviews for the products they purchased. Reviews are crucial for building social proof, especially for new customers who may be discovering your store for the first time during BFCM.
Consider offering a follow-up discount for future purchases to customers who shopped during BFCM. A time-limited offer, such as “10% off your next purchase before December 31st,” can incentivize customers to return for holiday shopping.
Post-BFCM is an excellent time to gather feedback from your customers about their experience. Use this data to improve your store for future sales events and optimize the customer journey.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a once-in-a-year opportunity to supercharge your Shopify store’s sales and customer base. By preparing early, optimizing your store for speed, creating irresistible discounts, and ensuring a seamless shopping experience, you can make the most of BFCM 2024.
Remember, it’s not just about maximizing sales during those two days but also about building long-term relationships with your customers. A strong BFCM strategy doesn’t just bring short-term revenue—it can lead to lasting customer loyalty and increased sales throughout the holiday season and beyond.
So, start planning now, execute your strategy with precision, and prepare to see your Shopify store thrive during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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