Are you a retail business who struggles with Black Friday? The rise of online shopping meant a 7% decrease in in-store sales in 2018, according to Vend.

More and more individuals turn to online shopping as a convenient way of saving money. Large corporations like Amazon can be very hard to compete against (especially when they held 26% of Black Friday shares in 2018).

But online marketing isn’t just for online purchases, it can also encourage footfall and in-store sales. So what can you do to encourage people outside?

1) Make In-Store Discounts More Appealing

Who said your online discounts had to match that of your in-store discounts? Giving larger discounts to in-store items encourages the public to come and visit.

In 2018 in-store discounts sat between 20% and 30%. This is enough of a deal for consumers to want to invest, but not high enough to be running at a loss.

It’s also worth noting that men tend to spend more than women, with the highest spenders being Generation X. East Anglia also has the 3rd highest spending average in the UK (with London being 1st and South West 2nd).

With this in mind, ensure you’re placing discounts on appropriate products. Men tend to buy higher value items in small doses, while women spend less but buy more.

Also make sure these products are fully stocked and readily available. Shoppers will look up deals all the way up until the day itself, so they know exactly what they want and where they are heading.

2) Team Up With Other Businesses

It may sound crazy at first, but partnering with other businesses is mutually beneficial. For example, you could partner with a local coffee shop where customers get a free tea or coffee on shops over a certain amount.

Consumers who do visit local towns on Black Friday are more likely to be sticking around to hunt out bargains. With cafe and coffee shop visitors spending over 30% more over the last 10 years, you’d be mad not to think about it.

3) Give Away Freebies

Everybody loves a freebie, whether it be food & drink or a balloon animal. In 2018 Walmart used this tactic and gave away free cookies and coffee to increase footfall.

There are several examples throughout the year where businesses use a specific day to give away free stuff, most famous is Ben & Jerry’s renowned Cone Day. And they’re not mad, they’re using clever psychology.

Studies have shown that the idea of ‘free’ is hard grained into all of us. One study by MIT’s Duke professor Dan Ariely found that when 2 chocolates (of different prices) were presented, the popular choice would be the higher value product. Reduce the costs equally to make the cheaper one free and subjects would always gravitate to the free item over the discounted higher value product.

Although giving stuff away for free seems ludicrous, it can increase your sales by up to 2,000%. The sheer volume of individuals and demand for ‘free’ make for a fantastic Black Friday campaign.

4) Donate Profits To Local Charities

Pledging money towards a charity with a percentage of your profits can increase interest in product sales. This is especially so around Christmas, where we are taught to give what we can and be charitable with friends and family.

Knowing that your shopping could positively impact the world removes some of the guilt of spending more than we should. Amazon, for example, have launched Amazon Smile – a platform where you can opt for Amazon to give 0.5% of the net purchase price of certain products to a charity of your choice.

Having this as an ‘automatic’ donation makes it more appealing to customers. You can give to charity and not even think about it, so why not do the same in store?

Key Takeaways:

– Make in-store discounts between 20% and 30% off.

– Men spend more than women on Black Friday.

– Generation X are the highest spenders on this day.

– Working with other businesses can be mutually beneficial.

– Giving away free items can increase sales by up to 2,000%.

– Offering charitable donations makes your business more personable.

Do you need help with your Black Friday deals? You better be quick, 29th November 2019 is only around the corner! Speak with a member of our team today to see what we can do for you.