Marketing Strategies to Boost Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales in Australia

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest sales events of the year – now’s the time to make sure your business is ready for the rush!

Statistics from the 2023 Black Friday Sales in Australia show a total retail sales growth of 12.5% compared to 2022, which surpasses pre-pandemic levels by 5.7% (compared to 2019). Online shopping saw a particularly strong performance, and physical stores also recorded an increase in foot traffic – demonstrating that businesses would benefit from taking a hybrid approach.

Shoppers are motivated to buy at this time of the year, but the competition is fierce. When Black Friday rolls around, your business will need to be in full promotional gear to take advantage of the spending surge. Here, we’ll provide tips for creating a Black Friday marketing strategy that will connect with your audience and make your business stand out from the crowd.

What is Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

“Black Friday” is the name given to the shopping day that occurs after American Thanksgiving, which always happens on the third Thursday in November. It has traditionally been the biggest shopping day of the year for many US businesses, as it’s a federal holiday. This year, it will take place on Friday November 29.

The word “black” refers to retailers going from “in the red” to “in the black” as they begin to turn a profit. Based on 2023 Black Friday trends, Australia is expected to continue its trajectory of retail sales growth this year. Forecasts for Black Friday 2024 show that Australians plan to spend $375 per person – both online and in physical stores – this Black Friday alone. Additionally, the average Australian Black Friday shopper tends to buy an average of four products.

Cyber Monday occurs on the Monday after Black Friday – this year it’s happening on Monday December 2. The first official Cyber Monday took place in 2005, providing online shoppers with the chance to grab a deal. Historically, Black Friday was for bricks-and-mortar stores while Cyber Monday was exclusively for online retailers, however these days the distinction between the two events has blurred. Due to the rapid growth of eCommerce in recent years, businesses tend to save their biggest online sales offers for Cyber Monday.

Essential tips to maximise your Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales

Here, we’ll share our best Black Friday marketing ideas to boost Q4 sales volume. Follow these tips to ensure your business is positioned to capitalise on the boom in consumer spending during this time.

1. Understand peak shopping times

At the top of your Black Friday checklist should be an awareness of peak shopping times. In Australia, the bulk of Black Friday shopping activity occurs between 10am and 2pm. You can build your promotional strategy around these key hours by offering doorbusters (special limited-time deals), both in-store and online.

Google Trends data shows that most Black Friday-related searches in Australia occur on Thursday and Friday, with interest starting as early as Wednesday. Plan your promotions accordingly, so you're ready when consumer interest peaks.

2. Focus on popular product categories

On Black Friday 2023, the most popular categories among Australian shoppers were electronics, footwear, clothing, and homewares. If possible, tailor your promotions to these categories, and consider offering discounts based on purchase size – such as a tiered discount system to encourage higher spending.

3. Leverage mobile shopping

In 2023, over 72.5% of Australian Black Friday shoppers used smartphones to purchase items, which is a 10.2% increase from 2022. Therefore, optimising your website for mobile shopping should be at the top of your Black Friday eCommerce checklist. Offering price matching in-store for mobile users can build loyalty, as many shoppers use their phones to compare prices while shopping.

4. Offer exclusive VIP deals

Reward your most loyal customers by giving them early access to Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Personalised VIP offers not only increase customer satisfaction but also create a sense of exclusivity. Email campaigns are a great way to deliver these exclusive deals.

5. Encourage Repeat Purchases

Another effective Black Friday marketing tactic is to offer gift cards or coupons that are redeemable in January and February. This strategy helps maintain customer engagement beyond the holiday season, encouraging higher average order values.

Supporting marketing and sales tactics

Let’s now take a look at some Black Friday campaign ideas to support your existing marketing and sales tactics. It’s important that your Black Friday eCommerce strategy aligns with your branding to provide a cohesive experience for your customers.

Pre-promote your deals

Not all Australians are aware of the exact Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates, so it’s essential to promote your offers early. Start by adding banners or countdown clocks to your website, and consider in-store signage to raise awareness. You can also pre-promote on social media with engaging content that teases upcoming offers. As you build up your local customer interest, consider additional holiday marketing tips for businesses to maximise outreach and engagement with your community.

Segment and send targeted email offers

Email marketing offers a multitude of benefits – one being that you can use your customer database to segment audiences. Our Black Friday eCommerce tip is to send separate emails for different segments – such as VIPs, customers who haven’t shopped recently, and those interested in specific product categories. Sending targeted messages will increase the likelihood of conversions.

Leverage social media and discount sites

Tease your sales on social media and partner with discount sites like Finder.com.au and Retailmenot.com.au to broaden your reach. These platforms are popular with deal-hunting shoppers, and partnering with them can help to drive traffic to your store.

Run retargeting ads

Don’t let interested customers slip away. Use retargeting ads to remind website visitors of the products they viewed, and offer an easy way to complete their purchase. Retargeting ads are especially effective for Black Friday marketing, with conversion rates generally always higher compared with ads targeting the general public.

Promote beyond Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be the most notable shopping days of the calendar year, but that doesn’t mean your holiday marketing strategy has to stop when they’re over. There’s great potential for sales throughout the entire holiday season. For additional holiday marketing tips for businesses and guidance on making the most of local holiday shopping trends, consider strategies that keep your business visible and engaging well into the New Year.

You can determine the rules when it comes to your holiday sales promotions. If you’re in the process of brainstorming Cyber Monday marketing ideas, consider continuing your promotion into the week that follows (or even the entire month). If the possibility of an increase in sales makes up for the loss in margin for a discounted product, this strategy could work for you.

Your eCommerce checklist to survive Cyber Week

You’ve been working for months to prepare for Black Friday, and now it’s almost here. For most business owners, this is the busiest time of the year, which means it’s important that you’re ready to handle the season's rush.

Hopefully you’ve already started your holiday marketing plans, but if not, there’s still time to make things even better. That’s why we’ve created a final checklist to help you get the most out of all your hard work.

Optimise your website

Ensure your website is ready for high traffic and conversion. Prominently display trust signals such as product reviews, and streamline the checkout process.

Create a dedicated landing page

Many people may visit your website over the holidays in search of gift ideas. However, consumers’ time and patience are often limited in the hectic weeks before the holiday season. If visitors have to dig through all your offerings to find the perfect gift, they may get overwhelmed and leave your site without buying anything.

You can avoid that situation by encouraging customers to visit a distinct shoppable landing page where they can quickly find what they want and buy.

There are several ways to use these purpose-built landing pages to drive sales during Cyber Week:

• Introduce your newest merchandise
• Highlight best-selling products
• Encourage customers to stock up on favourites
• Create a sense of urgency due to limited quantities
• Offer a special promo code

A shoppable landing page allows even a business without a full eCommerce shop to generate online sales, letting you take full advantage of the holiday buying season no matter what size your business.

Get the most out of your homepage

Your homepage is likely the most viewed page on your website, so it should be formatted for success during the holidays as part of your Cyber Monday marketing plan.

Don’t worry about scaring off customers with heavy-handed promotions on your homepage. During Black Friday and Cyber Week, most customers expect to see a ton of them – so it’s OK to feature any sales you're running. It's also a good idea to add a promotional message announcing any new products customers might actively search for that week.

Audit your inventory

The last thing you want during a busy shopping season is to run out of products. That’s why you should conduct an inventory audit to make sure you’re fully stocked for the holiday rush.

Run through all of the products listed on your site and check to see if you’ve got them in your inventory. If you're an appointment-based business owner, check your calendars to make sure you’ve got the required availability for future customers. Then, make a plan for if an item sells out. Consider offering a gift card in its place, so customers can convert while they're still ready to purchase. And last, tag them to set up an automated follow-up email once the item is back in stock.

Review your shipping and return policies

In such a competitive marketplace, your company’s shipping and return policies can have a huge impact on sales during the holidays. When you’re up against other businesses that may be selling similar products at comparable price points, removing these costs may be a major differentiator.

Having a flexible shipping and return policy shows customers that you're confident about the quality of your products. The policy can also be a major convenience during a time when customers are making a number of purchases and returns. If free shipping for every product seems like an expensive endeavour, consider doing it only for bulk orders to make the option more affordable.

Test drive your shopping experience

Even if you feel like your website is in prime condition for the holiday rush, it doesn’t hurt to double-check. Test drive your site’s shopping experience to make sure it’s fully optimised to service customers.

Start from your homepage and navigate the customer’s shopping experience from start to finish. Are the CTAs clear and actionable? Is there a simple, mobile-friendly checkout that provides multiple ways for customers to pay? Do on-site purchases trigger confirmation and follow-up emails that nurture relationships with customers? Taking a look and asking yourself these questions can help you find areas that need improvement on your website.

Improve cybersecurity measures

It’s essential for retail businesses to have effective cybersecurity measures in place to stay protected against cyberattacks – data breaches, in particular. Strong security protocols such as encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular system updates, can help to safeguard sensitive customer information and prevent damage to your company – both financial and reputational.

Beyond internal protections, educating customers on safe online shopping practices (such as using secure payment methods) is equally important. This not only helps customers avoid falling victim to scams, but also builds trust in your brand.

Scale up your customer service support

Ahead of Black Friday, make sure your customer support systems are able to handle the surge in enquiries and issues that are likely to arise during this busy shopping period. With increased traffic comes a higher volume of customer questions about product availability, shipping, and returns – you should consider extending support hours and adding extra staff to manage the load.

Integrating chatbots can also help to improve efficiency and reduce wait times. For businesses using platforms like LiveChat or Zendesk, ensure these systems are fully optimised for peak demand.

Reward your customers

When a customer puts something in their shopping cart, you know they’re already interested in your products. This is a great time to offer them a discounted price on a package deal for related items or multiples of the same thing.

Up-selling and cross-selling at checkout is an easy way to increase your revenue during Cyber Week. Another way to boost your holiday sales is to send purchasers a follow-up email featuring more deals on bestsellers or products that go with their original order.

Consider the following incentives:

• Ship purchases for free when the total reaches a certain limit
• Add a deeper discount over a certain dollar level
• Offer a future promo code for referring another customer

How QuickBooks can help you this holiday season

Get ready to supercharge your Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing strategy with QuickBooks by your side. Streamline your financial operations and focus on what really matters – making the most of this retail powerhouse.

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