Don’t know about you, but I feel like we’re barreling towards Christmas at a rate of knots, but before we get there, we’ve got two key retail periods to contend with. Like ‘em or loathe ‘em, Black Friday (November 24) and Cyber Monday (November 27) are fast approaching and have become a bit of a big thing here in Straya. What essentially began as an American trend, these two days are now global consumer movements. Big ones. And given the cost of living these days, and the big event next month, consumers will be holding out and saving their cents in anticipation.

Say Black Cyber whaaat?

The origins of Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving, date back to the 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came to the city to do their holiday shopping. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts, dealing with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting and all sorts of other issues that come with big numbers of humans in one place. Cyber Monday, falling on the first Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday, is a 24-hour online shopping event, that was created by businesses to encourage people to shop online, but it’s now turned into an extension of the Black Friday sales. Regardless of the origins, these two dates are two of the busiest shopping days of the year globally, so if you can, jump on board.

The Countdown Begins

If you sell stuff, whether it’s actual things or services, consider whether you could take advantage of Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday. A couple of weeks out, start generating excitement by promoting the offers you’ll have available over those days, as they could be a mighty lucrative 48 hours for your business.

In saying that, it’s also important to make your promotion worth waiting for. There will be a lot of other promotional noise to cut through, so if you want customers knocking down your IRL or virtual doors, this is your once-a-year opportunity to give them something that is just too good to refuse. And giving them advance warning will allow them to plan who they will be spending their dollars with over that long weekend – make sure you are front of mind. 

5 Marketing Tips:

1. Use your database to let your current and past customers know about your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Make your email eyecatching and interesting and be straight to the point with your offers.
2. Use your socials. Post on your business pages, and take advantage of local group pages, particularly if you have a special deal they need to know about! Avoid spamming these groups though, that could lead to you being banned, or trolled (eyeroll), so make sure it’s a good, genuine offer that is relevant to them.
3. If you have a shop window, put up an old-fashioned poster, more people notice these than you think, and they’re a cost effective way of letting people know you’ll be having a huge Black Friday sale.
4. If your offer is big and you have a bit of budget, then TV and radio advertising can also be cost-effective ways of promoting your offers.
5. If you’re going to partake in Cyber Monday as well, make sure your website and online store are working efficiently to cope with more traffic than usual.

What are you waiting for?

Get to it! Find a good offer and start building excitement in the countdown to Black Friday and Cyber Monday - make it something worth waiting for. Then we can start planning for Christmas!

Stay fruity

Barefruit x