Black Week

The most important sales week of the year for many online stores is about to start. Products are chosen with care, price adjustments are planned, and businesses are bracing themselves for what they hope will be an influx of orders. What should you do and not do? We've spoken to our community to find out.

DO

Dapper: « Rather than giving deep discounts, we usually focus more on how and where our products are manufactured and what value they give to the customer year-round. We show the customer that if you purchase a razor from us, it will give you joy for many years to come, and most likely save you some money since you don't need to buy another one next year. Customers are increasingly thinking about the environmental impact of Black Week, so don't feel like you must join the craziness just because everyone else does it.

If you do go for big discounts, make sure that you have enough people in the warehouse. With Pio, this is much less of a challenge than with a traditional warehouse, so hopefully you might get time for that coffee break even on Black Friday ».

Famme: « Be sure to test your offer before Black Friday so you know it
works. The simplest offer is often the best ».

Ko:Ko: « Make it very clear to the customer what ́s discounted. In other
words, be sure have already discounted items in the online store. Inform
when the discount ends and use a countdown if you can. We recommend campaigns on individual categories before Black Friday - so the sales don ́t stop the week before. Make plans for good promotions after Black Week. There is no point having good Black Week sales if the weeks before and after are bad».

Der/Ute: « Link to the campaign page from the front of your online store,
in the bottom menu in advance and from the main menu when the sale
starts. Make it easy for customers (and Google) to find the good deals ».

Vakre Vene: « Prepare well in advance by setting up a landing page for SEO. Build customer lists on e-mail, customer club, and social media. Have enough people at work to handle the flow of goods and customer service. Make it easy for the customer to find return policies and exchange rules/deadlines ».

Gents: « Make the effort to bring in new customers before Black Week, as
it is too expensive to advertise during this holiday. Invest in getting customers into your organic channels (e.g., Newsletter) - then you can communicate with them there during Black Friday, keep costs down, and maximize profits. Keep your offer short and simple. Customers have even less attention span during this "holiday".

Are you a company that sells products suitable for Christmas gifts? Then try to connect Black Friday with the Christmas shopping - for example, put flyers in the packages about your best Christmas gifts or even samples of other products that you know they will like if they get to try them. In this way, you can leverage the bump in Black Friday sales to market directly to your customers for Christmas.».

DON'T

Dapper: « Increasing the prices in the weeks leading up to Black Week
and then running discounts that aren't really discounts is a tactic that
many small and big retailers have utilized over the last years. Be honest
and just don't do this. If you can't afford huge discounts, then rather
explain to your customers why your products bring them value at the
regular price ».

Famme: « Discount codes never work as well as discounting the item ».

Ko:Ko: « No discount codes - there will be many emails and a lot of work
for us afterwards from customers who forget to enter the code at checkout ».

Der/Ute: « Use relevant, high-quality images. It should go without saying,
but many online stores continue to neglect this point ».

Vakre Vene: « Don't make the offers too complicated ».

Gents: « Don't just jump on the train just because everyone else is doing
it.Be critical of yourselves, is Black Friday even for you? Does it cost you
more than it gives? Or can you see it as a market activity? ».