Here’s the funny thing about running an eCommerce business. The minute you start seeing spooky little Halloween skeletons hanging from the aisles of your local grocer, it’s Christmas time. 

I mean, not literally. Christmas is still some a bit away. But, as an eCommerce entrepreneur, if you’re not ready for the holiday shopping season by the time Halloween rolls around, you’re not exactly in for a treat.

The holiday shopping season traditionally begins with Black Friday, which itself is a major sales day preceding Thanksgiving – an American holiday. While we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in South Africa, we do take part in Black Friday. More importantly, more and more eCommerce stores are also beginning to take part in the Black Friday sequel, Cyber Monday, which only includes online deals. 

Whether you intend to offer Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday deals, or both from your eCommerce business this year, you can expect to rake in the cash – but only if you’re properly prepared. We’ve written a handy guide to some of the things you should be doing to prepare for the holiday shopping rush so that you’re not in the dark about Black Friday. 

Step One: Marketing

Here’s a pro tip: start your Black Friday campaign early. As in, yesterday. Like we said before – if the first signs of Halloween are showing and you aren’t prepared for the holiday shopping season, then you’d better hop to it! 

Don’t panic, though. We’re still here to give you some insightful tips on how to get your marketing campaign up and running in record time. While timing is important with these things, you won’t get very far if your campaigns are not also well-researched, well-placed, and high-quality. So, take some time to craft a campaign that is going to bring a high return on investment back into the business. 

Because so many eCommerce retailers take part in Black Friday, you’re up against some stiff competition. That means that your marketing strategy needs to work twice as hard to set you apart. When your shoppers are caught up in the mad rush of Black Friday sales, you’re going to want them to remember your business’s name. 

So, do something worthwhile remembering. You could start the buzz early by offering exclusive deals and early access to your sale items for email subscribers. This will up your subscription count, which can do wonders for your email marketing reach. Don’t just put any old ad campaign out there, though! If you’re serious about attracting big revenue, you need to be running A/B testing for your campaigns. 

Another idea to gain more email subscriptions and expand your marketing reach is by creating a sense of urgency with promo codes that expire on or before the end of Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You can use pop-ups or floating bars on your website to get people to enter their email addresses and receive their exclusive BFCM promo codes. Bonus: you just gained more subscribers. Marketing win! 

Step Two: Prepare for chaos 

The influx of BFCM shoppers to your site can be overwhelmingly high, so prepare for the worst! The last thing you want is for your site to crash or for impatient shoppers to abandon their full carts while they wait for a slow page to load. 

Here’s another hot tip: if your eCommerce site is not mobile-friendly, you’re signing the death order of your own business. Most people shop online using their mobile phones, especially for Black Friday. So, ensure that your site is optimised for mobile users now in preparation for the sales which are going to skyrocket from late November. 

Step Three: Restock, restock, restock 

Obviously, you’re going to need to make sure that you have enough stock to support demand. You’re also going to need a dependable logistics partner who can offer you both the support and the transparency that you need to get those goods to South Africa from China, stat. 

Luckily, we know just the person for the job. It’s us! Because Airpool uses airfreight exclusively, we can offer our clients top delivery speeds when it comes to shipping goods from our hub in Wihu straight to your stoep. Plus, your speedy delivery will take place at the most cost-effective rates. You can read more about exactly how it works by giving this webpage a squiz. 

Black Friday best-sellers 

If you aren’t already sure what you’re going to be restocking, perhaps you’d like to know which items are likely to be flying off the shelves this year. We’d be happy to help you forecast!

Well, Takealot’s claim to their best-selling product might sound like it’s full of hot air – and that’s because it is. The best-selling product on Takealot for 2022 has been the air fryer, according to an interview with CEO Mamongae Mahlare. 

Electronics continue to be some of the most reliably moving products in eCommerce stores, even today. One of the top-selling Black Friday items on Takealot in 2018 was televisions. Baby products and home decor items also made it into the top 20 best-selling items of the year, a trend which has stayed the course into the 2020s. 

Takealot’s current best-sellers include hair and skin care products, water bottles, small electronics like cellphones, laptops, and computers, and e-gaming equipment and games. Toys and baby products are always in dependably high demand and, if all else fails, DIY stuff is also pretty popular. 

So – are you ready for Black Friday? If you follow our simple three-step guide, you’ll be smiling when the shopping mania of Black Friday descends (and Cyber Monday and Christmas and New Year). If you’ve left it just a smidge late, stay cool – Airpool it. It’s the fastest way to get your goods to SA from China, my china. The best part? You can sign up for free!

 

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