Halloween is barely over and Christmas is already lurking around the corner. With just a little over a month left before Santa Claus is coming to town, lots of people are starting to prepare their wish lists for the holiday season. However, the real kickoff of the holiday season will happen on the 24th of November, the day after Thanksgiving – better known as Black Friday – when millions rush to the shops for their gift shopping spree.
Store owners anticipate the demand for Christmas gifts and goods by cutting down heavily on prices and offering their customers the best deals. Since the beginning of this millennium, Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year. Millions of customers spend billions of dollars, with an estimated £2 billion in the USA in 2016, solely on Friday.
However, these customers are not just going to the store without any pull from store owners, nor do they spend their money on deals that they aren’t aware of. To achieve maximum performance on a day like Black Friday, it is extremely important to plan ahead, both for consumers and store owners.
If you are a store owner, preparations cannot start early enough. First movers on the market are often rewarded with more engaged customers. A good marketing strategy can set you apart from competition and generate more consumer traffic to your business. While marketing is a great deal of the preparation, it is not enough.
Increased traffic to your store also means that your store equipment and staff need to be operating like never before. Before it all goes down, make sure that you have taken care of the following things. Update your website to optimize user experience for the highest conversion rate. Hire extra staff to keep up with the questions and queries of customers. Double-check that your payment systems, such as ePos systems and cash registers are functioning. Stock up your inventory with enough products and consult with your shipping companies to ensure they are able to deliver what your customers demand.
Naturally, store owners need a lot more preparation than the customers they are trying to satisfy. But customers should not go into Black Friday unprepared either. As it is the busiest shopping day of the year, customers are competing amongst themselves to get a share of the best deals available. To make sure you are not left with empty hands at the end of the day, some planning is in order.
Wishlists are a good start for any customer looking to snatch some good deals on Black Friday. If you know what you want, you know where to look. Make sure that you find the stores that offer the best deals for the items on your list. Anticipate how much you are going to pay for each item, and what payment method you will use. This saves valuable time when you’re out shopping!
Get the most out of YOUR Black Friday, using the guide to Black Friday preparation below!
