If you are a retailer and want to use Black Friday to boost this year's pre-Christmas sales, now is the time to get on it. There are a few Black Friday preparations to make as Black Friday 2024 approaches!
We want to help you identify potential pitfalls early, attract visitors, optimise your Black Friday sales in Germany and maximise your sales opportunities this year. Here are 19 ways to prepare your shop for Black Friday. Are you ready?
Table of contents
- When is Black Friday 2024?
- Black Friday & Cyber Monday: What is the origin of these bargain days?
- Black Friday in numbers:
- Advantages and disadvantages of participating in Black Friday for online retailers.
- Black Friday trends
- 19 Black Friday tips in e-commerce: what should you prepare for the Black Friday Sale 2024?
- Online traders beware - warnings are imminent!
- Conclusion
Need help preparing your store for Black Friday? Contact us and we will be happy to help you!
When is Black Friday 2024?
Since Black Friday is a trend that comes from the United States and has been picked up by many European countries, it is worth taking a look at a US calendar. Black Friday is always the day after Thanksgiving and thus the fourth Friday in November. So in 2024, the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend begins Friday, November 29 and marks the start of the pre-Christmas shopping season. If you're wondering when you should start Black Friday preparations, the answer is right now. You have only a few weeks left to spruce up your online store and start thinking about the appropriate Black Friday advertising.
Reading tip: You are already too late and can only do the last minute tricks? Then we have the right BFCM checklist here!
Important update: The Black Friday brand
Until 2023, Black Friday was a registered trademark of Black Friday GmbH and the term was therefore protected. This regularly led to warning letters for trademark infringement. However, retailers can now breathe a sigh of relief: last summer, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ended the long-standing legal dispute over the trade mark, meaning that retailers are now allowed to advertise with the term.
However, it is important to note that other trade mark registrations can be found in the database of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, although these originate from different rights holders and relate to different countries. Anyone wishing to use the campaign day for advertising in other EU countries should check the specific regulations in these countries and seek legal advice if necessary.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday: What is the origin of these bargain days?
The shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday originally come from the USA. There, families traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. The following Friday was used by many employees as a bridge day on which the first Christmas purchases were made.
This trend did not go unnoticed by retailers, and as a result, more discounts were offered on this Friday year after year. The history of Black Friday in the United States dates back to the 1960s. However, it took decades for this trend to spread to Europe. In 2013, Black Friday then also took place on a larger scale in Germany for the first time.
Originally, the term Black Friday was primarily associated with brick-and-mortar retail. As a counterpart, online retailers eventually introduced Cyber Monday, but nowadays at least as many customers go bargain hunting in online stores on Black Friday or Black Week as in brick-and-mortar retail.
Reading tip: A/B testing is an excellent way of testing changes to your marketing measures, your online store, etc. Read what it's all about.
Black Friday in numbers:
We have provided some statistics that could be very useful for your Black Friday preparation:
In 2023, retailers generated total sales of €5.8 billion with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up 3% on the previous year.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers are best reached via television advertising (47%), followed by online adverts (46%) and radio advertising (32%).
90% of online shoppers compare deals and discounts. So make sure your Black Friday sales are transparent and easy to find.
61% of consumers search for deals before Black Friday. So start your campaign in time - at least already at the start of Black Week.
Men spend 50% more than women.
49.35% of shoppers browse Black Friday ads online and offline for deals.
Over the Black Friday weekend, consumers spend a total of around €4.2 billion.
On average, Germans are willing to spend between 101 and 300 euros on Black Friday weekend. But on what, actually? The most common items shopped for in recent years have been clothing, electronics, shoes, cosmetics and household appliances.
Reading tip: Find out what options are open to you in mobile shopping for your own store and what you should pay attention to.
Advantages and disadvantages of participating in Black Friday for online retailers.
E-commerce retailers should develop a well-thought-out Black Friday strategy to reap the benefits while minimizing the drawbacks. This includes careful discount planning, ensuring smooth logistics and an effective marketing campaign. We have summarized which advantages retailers can benefit from here and which challenges they will face:
We have summarized which challenges they face:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| ✅ Sales increase: Black Friday is one of the strongest days in retail sales. Retailers can see a significant increase in their sales figures on this day. | - Pricing pressure: To be competitive, retailers often have to discount heavily, which reduces their margins. |
| ✅ Increase visibility: Participating in Black Friday can increase a company's visibility. Promotions and discounts can attract more customers to the store. | - Logistics challenges: A sudden surge in orders can cause logistics problems, especially if retailers are not well prepared. |
| ✅ Customer loyalty: Black Friday offers the opportunity to reward existing customers and attract new ones. Loyal customers can be retained through exclusive offers. | - Marketing costs: Promoting Black Friday deals can be expensive, especially when done through multiple channels. |
| ✅ Selling off stock: Retailers can use this opportunity to reduce excess inventory and make room for new merchandise. | - Excess inventory risk: If demand for supplies is not as high as expected, retailers may end up with excess inventory. |
| ✅ Competitiveness: In many industries, customers expect discounts on Black Friday. Participation enables retailers to remain competitive. | - Customer inquiries and support: Increased order volume can lead to increased customer inquiries and support requests, which requires additional resources. |
Black Friday trends
Black Friday has evolved in recent years and has long since gone beyond the classic discount campaign. The following trends can be observed here:
Changing the name for a suitable brand identity
Many shops take part in Black Friday, but the campaign day is given a different name that is better aligned with the brand and brand identity. Good examples of this are Miss Pompadour with ‘Better Friday’ or ZOÉ LU with ‘Early Black Friday’. Brands such as Nø Cosmetics, on the other hand, rely on ‘Nø Black Friday’ - we explain what this means in the next section.
IKEA's ‘Buyback Friday’ is a sustainable alternative to the classic Black Friday offers that focus on discounts and bulk purchases. IKEA launched this campaign to promote awareness of sustainability and the responsible use of resources. Instead of offering discounts, IKEA encourages its customers to return used IKEA furniture.
Renouncing Black Friday
Many brands, including the well-known beauty brand Nø Cosmetics, are not participating in Black Friday at all. Nø Cosmetics is even going one step further with its ‘Nø Black Friday’ campaign and is closing both its online shop and brick-and-mortar stores on the campaign days. Customers who visit the online shop on the day are instead shown references to charitable organisations. The brand is thus focussing on charitable causes and following two trends at once.
Social commitment instead of discount campaigns
Are you tired of the constant discount battles and would rather make a statement or support a good cause? You are not alone in this, but you are still in the minority. Only a few companies go down this route. In recent years, however, you can see that a trend is clearly developing.
For example, you can use the traffic to plant a tree for every item purchased or donate a certain amount to a charity organisation. You can also create an additional shop by selling just a handful of products and then donating half of the profits to an organisation.
Latori customer Asphaltgold takes this approach every year on Black Friday and wants to use the attention of Black Friday for a meaningful cause. Asphaltgold organises an anti-racism campaign every year. Last year, the motto was ‘We all dance the same earth.’ For this purpose, 3 T-shirt designs were created as well as a design for a cap, which adorns the motto ‘Motivated by Love.’. The proceeds will be donated to the organisation European Network Against Racism Aisbl (ENAR). This has already raised €60,000 in donations in 2021 and 2022.
Extension of the campaign days
The fact that Black Friday is no longer a single promotional day has become increasingly widespread in recent years. Many shops already organise a Black Weekend (Black Friday to Cyber Monday) or even a Black Week (the Monday before Black Friday to Black Friday/Cyber Monday). However, there are also brands such as ZOÉ LU that extend Black Friday to 2-3 weeks under the motto ‘Early Black Friday’ in order to take the hustle and bustle away from customers.
19 Black Friday tips in e-commerce: what should you prepare for the Black Friday Sale 2024?
We've created a 19-point Black Friday guide for you to make sure you don't forget anything in your Shopify Black Friday preparation this year. If you are a Shopify merchant, you don't need to worry about the most important things already: you don't need to move Shopify to a new version, you don't need to install any updates and the expected traffic peaks will be cushioned for you by the cloud system. Time to take care of the other things:
1. Make sure that storage, processing and support are ready
Imagine your sales and marketing strategies going so well that your sales explode. If you're unprepared, it can lead to empty warehouses, delivery bottlenecks and angry customers. So make sure your back-office processes are up to scratch. You need the necessary infrastructure to process all sales in a timely manner. Make sure your processes in warehousing, order processing, customer support and returns are robust enough to handle all orders.
If you can already foresee that you will run out of some products, install a back-in-stock app now. Now Back in Stock, for example, is suitable for this. Surfers who are interested in a sold-out product can use it to leave their contact details and be notified as soon as the desired product is back in stock. This allows you to make the best of the situation and improve the customer experience!
2. Analyse and improve your shop's user journey
The best way to find out how visitors move around your website, what they click on, where they get stuck or why they leave the page without making a purchase is to look over their shoulder. There are certain softwares and apps that record visitors and create heatmaps of your website. This gives you a lot of valuable data and allows you to make changes in preparation for Black Friday to ensure that the user journey is fluid until the purchase is completed. Apps such as Lucky Orange Heatmap & Replays, Saviour - Heatmaps & Replay or Replay Site Recorder & Surveys help with this.
3. Prepare landing pages, images and other creative elements
Ready to get creative? Start preparing your sales campaigns and get them out there with eye-catching banners, enticing images or attention-grabbing gifs. Of course, we could just tell you to "stand out from the crowd"! But you should already be aware of that. The competition is immense, especially on Black Friday weekend. So what to do to stand out? Depending on your target group, it might be worth adapting your advertising images to hypes and current trends. Turn your ad into a meme, photoshop your products into the squid-game setting or pick up on a viral TikTok trend and make your own video featuring your products. Be anything but boring!
If you only want to offer certain products or categories on the weekend, it can be worthwhile to create an additional landing page to convert customers in the funnel more quickly.
You should already start building up your email distribution lists and acquire new followers on Facebook and Instagram in order to play these "warm" contacts with retargeting ads on Black Friday.
Need help customising your Shopify or Shopify Plus store? The Latori team is happy to help! Contact us today without obligation!
4. Optimise the average order value
If prospects are willing to spend money and shop in your shop on the sales weekend anyway, you should use this commitment to boost the average order value. We have already described how you can do this in an additional blog post: 13 ways to increase the average order value.
5. Plan your sales and discounts
Plan your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in detail and ask yourself some important questions for this: Do you want to use the whole weekend for discounting? Will the offers change over the course of the weekend? Do you want to promote certain products at certain times? Do you need separate countdowns for these products? Do you have an offer to start the sale and draw as many people into the shop as possible?
Don't forget the power of up-sell and cross-sell. A customer has bought a scarf? Maybe he also wants the gloves with the same pattern! You can find numerous apps for this as well.
By the way: If you have something special planned and the Shopify App Store does not satisfy you, we can help! The Latori team programs your individual Shopify App!
6. Create a wish list
Set up a wish list in your online shop in the run-up to the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend. This way, customers can save products for later if they're not ready to buy yet. They can also share the list with friends and family on social channels - free marketing and maybe even more customers!
7. Set up abandonment emails and use discount codes.
If you don't have an email automation for abandoned carts yet, now is a good time to set one up. Shopify already offers this option in your backend, by the way, but service providers like Klaviyo also make it possible. If a prospective customer has placed products in his shopping cart but aborts the purchase process in the meantime, he will have an email in his inbox a short time later with his forgotten products in the shopping cart. If you mean particularly well with him, you can attach a discount code in this email. However, this should remain a BFCM measure, otherwise word of the extra discount will spread quickly and future buyers will take advantage of this good nature.
Please be aware that you need the buyer's consent for such follow-up emails. It is best to talk to a data protection expert you trust.
8. Be quick about it! Convey a sense of urgency!
Create a sense of urgency around your sale in your ad copy and on your website. Limited stock or an imminent end to the sale will help make your visitors more likely to click on the 'add to cart' call-to-action. Try including a countdown timer on your product page that shows how many minutes shoppers have left to qualify for next-day delivery. Remember that Black Friday purchases are often impulse purchases. A little persuasion helps to get these items into the basket and to the checkout.
Also, a countdown showing how many products have already been sold can increase the urge to want to check out faster.
9. Build customer trust
Yes, Black Friday purchases are impulsive. However, most online shoppers have a healthy scepticism and want to be able to trust a seller. Adding customer reviews to your website helps reassure potential customers that you are a reputable brand. So take care of getting new reviews for your website now at the latest.
Including trusted payment methods such as PayPal and major credit cards also adds to the sense of security. A well-written "About Us" page (which, by the way, experience shows are often clicked!) provide the finishing touches in terms of trust.
If you sell products that require explanation, you should also prepare an FAQ page or add questions (and answers) to your existing FAQ page that have often been asked by customers recently.
10. Sell bundles that are only available at BFCM.
Provisional bundles of different products are a great way to highlight items you want your customers to focus on when they are looking for a bargain. Such bundles are also suitable for combining store-bought items with top sellers, as many people shop for gifts on Black Friday and are willing to buy the bundle of top product and rather uninteresting item - the gift recipient might like it anyway, after all.
You can create temporary collections for such bundles or special BFCM products.
Reading tip: We helped our client Shape Republic to improve sales with bundles and a new shop. Read the case study here.
11. Optimise the check-out
The path to your check-out is most important for the profit of your business. You have worked hard to attract customers, but if they leave your website without making a purchase, all your efforts have been in vain. The success of your e-commerce shop depends primarily on how many sales are made, not on how many users visit your shop.
If you manage to increase the completion rate at the checkout by even five or ten percent, you can significantly increase the overall sales of your shop. Make your check-out as simple as possible.
12. Track your performance
If you've followed our advice in this article and our tips for maximising average order value, you should be well on your way to a great Black Friday weekend. However, it's important to track your metrics via Google Analytics and the stats from your shop and any other channels you use, such as Facebook or Instagram. This is the only way you can understand how your performance was, what went well and what you can improve next year.
Reading tip: Here you will find our 13 tips for Christmas in e-commerce.
13. Black Friday Marketing and Advertising
Marketing efforts are critical to getting the most out of Black Friday. Here are some effective strategies retailers can implement for this shopping event:
Email marketing: send a series of emails to prepare your customers for upcoming deals. Use countdowns and teasers to build anticipation.
Social media: create teasers and countdowns on your social media platforms. Use hashtags like #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday to increase visibility.
Influencer marketing: work with influencers to promote your offers. They can help you reach a larger audience.
Paid advertising: run targeted ads on platforms like Google Ads and Facebook to attract new customers. Use remarketing ads to bring back existing customers.
SEO optimization: make sure your website is optimized for relevant keywords related to Black Friday. This will improve your visibility in search results.
Content marketing: Create informative blog posts, videos or infographics that highlight your Black Friday deals. This not only helps with SEO, but also shows your expertise.
Landing pages: create dedicated landing pages for your Black Friday offers. These pages should be clearly structured and easy to navigate.
Customer acquisition: offer special incentives for new customer registration, such as exclusive discounts for first-time customers.
Social Proof: Use customer reviews and ratings to build trust and reinforce the credibility of your offerings.
Real-time updates: Keep your customers informed about ongoing offers and remaining stock during the Black Friday event.
These actions can be customized and combined to create a tailored Black Friday marketing strategy. It's important to understand your target audience and select those tactics that best fit your business. You should also start thinking about your measures early on and implement them in a timely manner.
Latori customer Sennheiser relies on a balanced Black Friday marketing strategy. This also includes teasers on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The brand keeps it short and simple to arouse the interest of customers and lead them to the online store.
14. Offer exclusive deals for regular customers
Reward your loyal customers by giving them early access to Black Friday offers or offering special discounts for regular customers only. Use customer loyalty programmes or newsletters to target this customer group. This increases the likelihood that they will take advantage of your offers and not switch to other shops during Black Friday.
15. Extend the Black Friday sale
Many customers want to make their purchases before or after Black Friday itself. Take advantage of this by launching your offers a few days before the event or extending them to Cyber Monday and beyond. This reduces the pressure on your infrastructure on Black Friday itself and gives customers more time to decide to buy. At the same time, you can generate more sales.
Latori customer Neuland did the same last year and extended the Black Friday sale to a whole weekend.
16. Optimise for mobile devices
More and more customers are shopping on their smartphones, especially during the busy Black Friday sales. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly by ensuring fast loading times, easy navigation and clear, customisable call-to-actions. A responsive design ensures that your website is displayed optimally on all devices. Use Google Mobile-Friendly Test or similar tools to make sure your mobile version doesn't create barriers to conversions.
In addition, you can also consider offering a dedicated app or a Progressive Web App (PWA) for your business. Apps offer a seamless and personalised shopping experience, and customers who already have your app installed on their smartphone can browse through your range quickly and conveniently. PWAs offer similar benefits to native apps, but without the need to download an app from the store - they run directly in the browser and offer features such as push notifications, offline functionality and faster loading times. This provides an optimised mobile experience and can further increase conversion rates.
17. Offer free shipping
Free shipping can often be the deciding factor that persuades a customer to make a purchase. Consider offering free shipping, either for all orders or above a certain minimum order value. Communicate this offer clearly on the website and in the checkout process to motivate customers to buy more to reach the threshold.
18. Create a ‘Coming Soon’ pop-up or banner
Increase the anticipation of your Black Friday offers by setting up a pop-up or banner that indicates upcoming discounts. Let customers enter their email address to receive exclusive advance information or offer a newsletter that reminds them of the sale in good time. This will help you build a mailing list for targeted email marketing campaigns while keeping customers interested.
19. A/B testing of offers and discounts
Use A/B testing to find out which offers are best received by your customers. Test different discount levels, such as 10 % vs. 20 %, or different product bundles and analyse the results. The same applies to the placement of call-to-action buttons: Check whether a prominent ‘Buy now’ button on the homepage or directly next to the product descriptions brings in more conversions. These tests will maximise your sales figures and optimise your conversion rate.
Online traders beware - warnings are imminent!
European Price Indication Regulation
Since 28 May 2022, online retailers must comply with the current Price Indication Regulation. This states that every online shop must clearly label discounted products with the lowest price in the last 30 days. This is intended to offer European consumers more transparency and guarantee protection against fake discounts.
You have not yet found a solution to fulfil this new obligation? Our developers in the Latori team have programmed a Shopify app specifically for this purpose, which you can download from the Shopify App Store!
DOWNLOAD LATORI BEST PRICE INDICATOR NOW
Conclusion
We hope that our Black Friday tips will help you to significantly increase traffic, leads and sales on these promotional days. Whether it's Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or the entire Black Week, use this year-end sales booster to get your Black Friday sales out there! If this is your first Black Friday, treat it as a learning experience for now. Stay motivated and ambitious, set realistic goals and remember not to lose the joy of it.
You need support for the BFCM preparation of your online store? Whether design, app programming or the construction of suitable landing pages - we are there for you. Contact us today without obligation.
Frequently asked questions about Black Friday tips
When does Black Friday start?
Every year towards the end of November, Black Friday is on the agenda of many retailers and bargain hunters. Black Friday 2024 takes place on 29 November and usually starts at midnight. However, Black Week or Cyber Week begins on Monday 25 November. The big shopping event comes to an end on Cyber Monday 2024, which falls on 2 December.
Until when is Black Friday?
Black Friday shopping day takes place on 29 November this year and the discount campaigns normally run for the entire day. However, some companies are taking part in the entire Black Week and are therefore offering their discounts from Monday 25 November to Cyber Monday 2 December.
When is Black Friday in Germany?
Black Friday Germany takes place on 29 November 2024. However, some companies start their Black Friday sales the evening before or even take part in the entire Black Week, which starts on Monday, 25 November and only ends on Cyber Monday (02.12.2024). If you are competing with international shops, you should pay attention to the different time zones.
How do I prepare my online store for my Black Friday promotions?
Meanwhile, countless stores participate in Black Friday or Black Week, which is why the competition is correspondingly large. In order to keep up, you should prepare your store for your Black Friday promotions. In the article, we have compiled a Black Friday guide with 19 tips for you, with which you will definitely succeed.
Why should I participate in Black Friday?
Participating in Black Friday can not only increase the conversion rate and thus increase sales, but also strengthen customer loyalty. It also gives retailers the opportunity to sell off products with high stock levels or increase brand visibility, as good Black Friday marketing attracts attention.
How can I make customers aware of my Black Friday deals?
Use email marketing, social media, paid advertising and SEO optimization to reach customers.
What tools can help me prepare for Black Friday?
Use analytics tools to track customer behavior, e-commerce platforms like Shopify for sales, and email marketing software like Klaviyo to send effective newsletters.
What is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is an annual shopping day that always takes place on the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. While Cyber Monday was originally intended as a counterpart to the traditional Black Friday, which is primarily focused on physical stores, it has become one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.
How do Black Friday and Cyber Monday differ?
Black Friday often focuses on physical stores and door-opening deals, while Cyber Monday is better known for online deals. However, the differences are becoming increasingly blurred.
When should I start my Black Friday preparations?
The earlier, the better! It is advisable to start planning and preparing a few weeks before Black Friday. Especially if they have planned SEO measures, they should rather plan too much than too little time. Also corresponding postings or newsletters want to be carefully prepared.
