Black Friday is probably the biggest date in the ecommerce calendar, and some brands will have been preparing for the big day weeks or months in advance. Other brands will be less prepared, having instead dedicated time to navigating (and surviving) today’s challenging economic climate. Whichever camp you’re in this year, there’s always more you can do to maximise your success.
Black Friday 2022 promises to be more challenging than recent years, with the cost of living crisis leading Brits to spend less than usual. According to data from Finder, spending across Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the UK will decrease from £6 billion in 2020 and £4.8 billion in 2021 to just £3.95 billion in 2022.
This stark fact makes it more important than ever that ecommerce brands do everything they can to get set for Black Friday 2022, working extra hard to attract a smaller pool of consumers and optimising their websites for maximum conversions.
We asked ecommerce specialists from the UWP team for the quick-fixes brands should embrace to make the most of the big weekend. Here are their last-minute Black Friday tips to help ecommerce brands maximise their success this year.
Optimise your ads for Black Friday 2022
Cara Bousfield, Paid Ads Specialist
“Heading into Black Friday 2022, it’s vital to have the right ad copy to make you stand out. Make your ads as appealing as possible by adding your specific Black Friday deals to your headlines and descriptions.
Also, don’t forget to set up your Google Ad extensions, including price extensions to highlight your best promotions, site links to pages on your website showcasing your special offers, callouts and structured snippets. Ad extensions are a great way to drive additional clicks to your site through the extra information displayed.”
Last-minute SEO fixes
Peter Lee, SEO & Email Specialist
“My top Black Friday tip for brands is to optimise your page speed. Almost 70% of consumers say that page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer. Last-minute fixes like compressing your images and removing heavy functionality will help to prevent visitors leaving your site because it’s too slow.
On top of this, fix any 404 errors and get rid of any out of stock products to create a smoother user experience for your customers.”
Black Friday tips to enhance your ecommerce strategy
Natalia Howard, Head of Ecommerce Strategy
“Black Friday is likely to drive an increase in traffic to your site. Don't let a customer come to your site and leave without giving you their email address! Try implementing a pop-up banner to gather this information and utilise a welcome flow to begin nurturing them.
Make efforts to get phone numbers too, to get set for future SMS marketing efforts.”
Quick fixes to maximise your conversion rate
Lilliana Miller, CRO & UX Specialist
“A few last-minute Black Friday tips I’d give to ecommerce brands to maximise their conversion rate this year are:
- Display positive reviews wherever possible (on your homepage, key landing pages, product pages etc.)
- Make sure your CTAs are clear and visible
- Emphasise scarcity and urgency in your Black Friday sale. Displaying a countdown on certain offers is really useful for this to generate FOMO.”
Retention, retention, retention
Nathan Abbott, Head of Growth
“Given the rising cost of customer acquisition, many brands are shifting their focus towards their retention strategies. To do the same for Black Friday 2022, and to make the most of your investment in each and every customer, prioritise deals and offers that encourage repeat purchases, such as a discount on a monthly subscription.
Also, make sure you have a chat feature ready for the BFCM weekend to resolve the queries of the influx of visitors to your site.”
Black Friday email marketing essentials
Peter Lee, SEO & Email Specialist
“Over the BFCM weekend, you’ll probably see a spike in traffic. Ensure your abandoned cart and checkout email flows are active and functioning to give you the best chance of bringing users back to your site if they fail to complete the checkout process.
Also, make the most of your traffic by ensuring you’re making efforts to drive signups to your newsletter so you can nurture those leads in the coming weeks and months."
UX optimisations to help you stand out
Lilliana Miller, CRO & UX Specialist
“In this year’s competitive market, UX is more important than ever. Optimise your site by:
- Taking a look at last year's top performing landing pages to ensure this year's landing pages yield a great return as well
- Speeding up your site where you can to prepare for extra users on site
- Test banners on your site for page speed
- Measuring how quickly your content loads in the browser to avoid an increase in exit rates.”
Get set for sale season
Here at Underwaterpistol, we specialise in growing best-in-class ecommerce brands, working strategically to create stand-out customer experiences and optimise sites to sell.
If you need some extra support going into sale season, we’re here to help. Our specialist team would love to chat through your challenges and present solutions that will ensure you’re set for success for Black Friday 2022. Get in touch now.
