Retailers and customers can celebrate once more since it is that time of year. The time is running out and Black Friday is rapidly approaching.
Deals are synonymous with Cyber Week’s retail holiday. The conventional holiday shopping experience is shifting to the internet age this year, much like it did in years before during the epidemic. In reality, despite damaged supply chains, PC orders were at 49% in 2020, while smartphone orders accounted for 43% of all orders during a record-breaking year.
Consumers will still be able to get amazing Black Friday deals, whether they shop on laptops, smartphones, or other mobile devices.
We’ll discuss how companies of all sizes may get ready for Black Friday in this article. To understand how all this chaos and frenzy began, let’s first explore Black Friday’s past.
The History of Black Friday
The most widely held misconception about the origins of Black Friday is that, based on their balance sheets, retail establishments had a net loss for the most of the year. On the day following Thanksgiving, retailers were anticipated to start turning a profit as the holiday shopping season began. Additionally, their balance sheets showed this, turning from red to black.
The real story behind Black Friday and its genesis, however, is far different from the widely accepted narrative.
Black Friday was so well-liked by 2003 that it still holds the title of busiest shopping day of the year in the United States. The well-known holiday shopping extravaganza has also spread to other continents.
Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday
Following the popularity of Black Friday, additional shopping holidays, including Cyber Monday, emerged. Few individuals are aware of their differences because they’re frequently thought to be so similar. Therefore, let’s start by talking about Black Friday.
It is customary for Black Friday to occur on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The start of the holiday shopping season is now official.
Black Friday began as an all in-person, in-store sales event. Retailers created such alluring offers that bargain-hunting customers flocked in droves to physical locations to take advantage of them.
On the other hand, Cyber Monday is predominantly an internet event. It was established in 2005 to assist smaller merchants compete with well-known companies offering Black Friday deals. The Monday following Thanksgiving is known as Cyber Monday.
How to Prepare Your Ecommerce Store for Black Friday
One thing is essentially certain this Thanksgiving weekend: there will be a spike in traffic to your online store because so many customers are anticipated to shop for deals online. While that’s fantastic news, the drawback is that without the proper ecommerce platform to support your business, excessive traffic can soon result in subpar site performance. This applies to both owners of small and large e-commerce businesses.
Businesses must have their websites ready for the inevitable Black Friday rush, including SEO optimization, given the estimated number of Black Friday sales.
See our holiday readiness guide for more information on how to get ready for Cyber Week and beyond.
Here are some pointers to make sure your website is prepared for the anticipated increase in traffic on Black Friday:
Plan Early: It’s never too early to begin planning, and you ought to have the following heading into the Christmas season:
a user interface that is simple.
a strategic plan with the user experience at its core.
a smooth checkout process with a variety of payment options, such as digital wallets.
Extensive mobile functionality
Check your site speed: For harried consumers who don’t want to waste time waiting for their preferred e-commerce sites to load, the holiday season can be a stressful time. Additionally damaging to credibility with customers and risking customer retention is having a slow website.
Audit your checkout process: People who shop online are frequently stressed for time, especially during the holidays. They anticipate a quick and easy checkout process on your website.
You want to take advantage of the chance to generate as many sales as you can on a day like Black Friday when clients are eager to buy. Customers should be able to purchase from your store easily thanks to a smooth checkout experience.
If customers are unable to complete the checkout process, all of the marketing money you invested in promoting your store’s opening will be for naught.
