How to create a Black Friday sale strategy that excites your customers

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: some of the biggest online sale events of the year

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (collectively titled Cyber Weekend) have acquired legendary status amongst bargain-hunters and shopping aficionados.

What started as a post-Thanksgiving in-store event in the United States has morphed into a global, online shopping frenzy – with brands offering huge discounts and deals to entice shoppers to stock up on Christmas bargains.

Unlike Click Frenzy, Afterpay Day and Vogue Online Shopping Night sales, Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t organised events. This means there’s no need to sign up and no fees to pay, making it the perfect chance to create your own marketing plan around the event themes that work best for your business.

Whether it’s a week of sales, flash promos on specific items, or exclusive offers for your loyalty program members, you’re in total control of what you promote and when.

The Black Friday sales have been growing in Australia every year. By 2023, it had experienced 88% growth when compared with 2019.¹

Top Black Friday sale strategies

Let’s look at the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale strategies that could give your eCommerce business a chance of breaking your own sales records this Cyber Weekend.

The early bird Black Friday sale strategy

Shoppers are ready early for the Black Friday sales, so it’s a great idea for your business to jump on board early to maximise their anticipation.

Many eCommerce businesses kick off their promotions about a week early, which can allow you to make the most of this record-breaking event.

This strategy also gives customers more time to take advantage of big-brand discounts on the best items for Christmas, without breaking the holiday budget.

Retailers also often extend their Cyber Monday sale strategy to run deals for the entire week, ensuring shoppers could secure any bargains or Christmas gifts they may have missed on Black Friday.

Go big and get creative with exclusive deals

Shoppers have come to expect big discounts during Cyber Weekend sales. This is the time to bring out the best you can do, whether it’s Black Friday deep discounts or Cyber Monday exclusive deals.

It’s also a time to let your imagination loose. Some creative ideas that have generated high profile interest from brands in past sales include:

• Creating a game to find exclusive discount codes on the online shop before Black Friday, which increased website traffic and got shoppers browsing ahead of time.
• Some brands ditch the discounts, and offer exclusive products instead. US bookshop chain Barnes & Noble is a famous example of this: they sell at standard price a series of books signed by high profile authors, available exclusively on Black Friday.
• Use the opportunity to create a memorable brand experience, like skincare brand Lush did. They made a limited edition orangutan shaped soap for Black Friday, selling it alongside a sustainability awareness message that reminded shoppers of their brand values.
• Extend your returns policy. Some brands (including big jewellery name Cartier) opt to give a little unexpected something extra, allowing shoppers extra time to make their minds up about a purchase. An extended returns policy might include a longer period of time or a refund on sale items instead of the usual store credit.

Consider your loyal customers

Many eCommerce businesses are using the Black Friday sale event to recognise the value of their loyal and returning customers.

Some give their subscribers early access to Cyber Weekend discounts, others give loyalty club members bigger discounts, while some businesses choose to add a small gift to a loyal customer’s purchase.

Some brands go deeper, offering tiers of Black Friday extras depending on the status of a loyal customer, where VIP customers receive the best offers.

Create a buzz online

Social media, email campaigns, website countdowns, ads across various channels – it’s time to create a sense of anticipation among your existing customers and potential new customers.

Some businesses also leverage influencer marketing to their buzz-building strategy, as well as teaser campaigns, exclusive sneak peeks, engaging blog or video content, or a targeted campaign across a variety of social media channels – it all depends what your target market is likely to respond to.

Don’t forget post sale engagement

The sale’s over – but the strategy has really just begun.

Now you want to keep your customers coming back to your shop again and again. Some eCommerce businesses do this by offering post-Black Friday deals that can be used in the following weeks – with the festive season in mind – which can be tied in with subscriptions to help convert them into recurring shoppers.

It's then time to do a deep dive into the data to discover which products sold well, which deals resonated the most, which marketing channels were the most effective, and whether customer feedback or reviews hold some insights to learn from.

It’s also worth reviewing the delivery experience you offered your customers during the sale period. Look at some things you can do to make it smoother next time, like encouraging customers to use the AusPost app for better tracking, or offering collection points for more delivery options.

This can all be put into action over the coming year as you take part in more online sale events.