Prepping for Black Friday 2020

Prepping for Black Friday 2020 The retail world looks a little different this year thanks to the coronavirus taking a strong foothold across the globe. Shoppers are opting to make purchases online, from the comfort and safety of their own homes, to reduce exposure to the virus. When it comes to holiday shopping, that’s why it’s predicted that nearly 70 percent of consumers plan to shop online this Black Friday—as compared to 51 percent just last year. What was once an exciting opportunity to line up outside a mall at 4 AM to catch the “doorbuster” deals will most likely be put on pause this holiday season. Now, shoppers will likely be flooding the web with digital traffic—and you’ll need to be prepared. While we’re still several months out from the kick-off to the holidays, there’s never been a better time to start prepping for Black Friday 2020 so your business can shine.

Is Your Website Up-to-Speed?

Your e-comm site is going to have to be able to scale in order to handle the influx of traffic you may see this season. Be sure to read up on our tips to Nix Page Load Lethargy and increase your website’s speed. It’s also important to conduct load and stress testing on your site to ensure it’s capable of peaks in traffic.

Dedicate Landing Pages to Your Black Friday Deals

To get your organic search rankings up, consider creating a dedicated landing page announcing your Black Friday deals. Getting pages like this live ASAP (meaning way before the holidays) is important in gathering the visibility you need to rank higher in Google search results. Be sure to do your research on SEO keywords for Black Friday sales—this article from Neil Patel gives some great pointers.

Nail Down Your Email Strategy

Multiple touchpoints are key to a successful Black Friday email marketing strategy. You’re really going to have to raise the bar on your creativity to stand out in people’s inboxes this year, especially given the current retail landscape where digital is king. Check out this piece from Omnisend that breaks down the best times to send your Black Friday emails.

Don’t Forget BOPIS

Buy Online, Pick Up in Store = BOPIS. And it’s more popular now than ever before. If you’re hoping to drive foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar shop via your website, making BOPIS available to customers is a wise tactic. Just be sure that the Black Friday discounts you’re offering online match the ones you’re advertising in-store—this will help you avoid any heated exchanges with customers who would rather have the online deal (or the in-store deal).

Whether you implement all of these strategies or just one, timing is everything this year. Start smart by starting soon and get your brand’s name out there prior to the major holiday rush. Pepper Black Friday teasers throughout your newsletters, email sends, and social media posts to whet customers’ appetites for what’s to come after the Big Feast. And stay tuned to ARF Financial’s blog for more updates as we get closer to bringing 2020 to a close.