Even though some retailers have been having Black Friday Sales for weeks now, the actual Black Friday is now just a few days away. And with it, we officially kick of the holiday selling season. So, today I'm going to share some of the types of marketing strategies that we've seen help retailers go beyond Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday. These are proven strategies drive traffic into your store between now and the end of the year.
Make Sure the Price is Right. Over this upcoming holiday weekend, shoppers are looking for bargains – they want low prices and big discounts. But studies show that after this weekend, customers expect to pay closer to full price as the holidays get closer and the items they want get scarcer. Advertising a few doorbuster type deals to give a low price perception can drive traffic without taking a big hit on storewide markdowns. In fact, if you're selling some of the hot items people believe will be scarce, just advertising you have them could drive traffic to your store or site.
Guaranteed Delivery Before Christmas. If you sell online or sell larger items that require delivery, people are going to be nervous about getting the items on time. If you can guarantee they will have it before Christmas, it will boost their confidence and push them to shop your store. And when you're approaching the final day you can guarantee that delivery, make sure you push that in your advertising, social and online channels. It pushes the urgency factor for someone to buy now, before it's too late.
Suggest Gift Certificates. This may seem like a simple thing that doesn't require mentioning, but you'd be surprised how much more you can sell just by marketing the fact you have them. And it works even for large ticket retail. For several of our furniture clients, we simply put a message like "and (store name) gift certificates make great gifts." Sales of gift certificates saw a huge spike compared to the year before, when we didn't mention them.
Last Minute Gifts. As the holiday gets closer and a large segment of consumers start to panic shop, wondering what in the heck they're going to get for Aunt Martha – throw them some last minute gift ideas. It doesn't matter what you sell, somebody will glom onto it as a great idea for someone. So, make sure you're marketing in those final days with suggestions to drive them in to your store for the answers to their last minute needs.
Day After Christmas Will Be Big This Year. The day after Christmas is always a big shopping day, with people cashing in gift certificates, spending cash they got, exchanging presents they don't like or just taking advantage of what is perceived as a big clearance day. This year that day falls on a Saturday, always a bigger shopping day, so you have a whole weekend where people are off and shopping. Here again, the consumer is looking for deals, low prices and big discounts. Make sure you serve those types of offers that fit into this customer perception.
Those are just a few of the types of marketing strategies that work for our retail clients. Feel free to add a few of your own – what's worked and what hasn't. Good luck and may you have a happy holiday shopping season!
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