Get your business ready for Black Friday 2022

This year, Black Friday will fall on Friday 25 November and with the number of cautious shoppers out there, it is possible that a lot of customers will be looking to see what deals they can find this year. 

This US shopping event happens after Thanksgiving, a holiday period in the US. With a lot of families out and about, it would make sense to put on offers for them as we get into the final weeks before Christmas. 

Here in the UK, we have been following this trend for the last decade and more, with shoppers queuing up outside retailers to get their hands on deals, with electrical items often getting a lot of focus. Over recent years, this has developed into a weekend sale and some retailers putting up week-long offers. The Monday after is also known as Cyber Monday with a lot of tech companies doing their sales promotions. 

Importantly, you can make a Black Friday offer for anything, as customers will be aware of what the term means and if they can see you promoting it. It’s become so well known that even hospitality and professional service businesses are able to make the most of these promotions.

Get your business ready for Black Friday 2022

So if you are looking at these dates and getting ready to do your own promotion, here are 7 tips that you may want to consider for your own situation.

Jaw-dropping reductions

Whilst you don’t need to put everything on sale, you should do some huge offers on products which are ‘too good to miss’ so a 60% or 75% off deal is going to get customers’ attention. The term I like to use here is ‘Doorbuster’. How can you get customers wanting to break down your doors to get their hands on your offers?

Limited time offers

Create a situation where customers will need to queue up and act immediately to take advantage. Make them in specific supply, so instead of 1,000 items, make only 100 available at this special price.

Promote your discounts

Make sure customers know in advance the normal price and the offer price, so they know to make you their priority when they are deciding where to go on Black Friday.

Consider your floor plan

It is perfectly acceptable to set up a specific area of your business for the offers, but try and make it so that customers have to walk past your other products as well so they get the option to buy something else as well. Supermarkets often position milk and bread near other things, so customers will get tempted to buy more.

Click here to learn more about the importance of floor plans in store layout.

Create online and offline offers

You can make it easier for your customers to buy from you by also making your offers available online. You could even offer online-only offers to customers, which may help you to shift a wider range of old stock by putting it on offer to clear it out.

Consider click-and-collect

Again, making it easier for your customers, you could offer a click-and-collect service, where customers can order and pay online without having to come into store, trawl through the aisles and then queue up to pay.

Benefits for loyal customers

The final thing to consider when getting ready for Black Friday 2022 is to offer regular customers or members additional discounts or offers. Running a membership scheme, or a loyalty program is a great way to track consumer behaviour, but also generate customer loyalty. I think it’s a great idea to give additional discounts or opportunities to your loyal customers.