We printed our Black Friday Cyber Monday report in September figuring out the information was only the start. 

The tendencies surrounding these main on-line gross sales made sense: Refill on stock, optimize your buyer expertise, diversify your cost choices, be sure your website can deal with the visitors, and let internet buyers know that cyber week gross sales are coming properly prematurely. 

There’s a lot that goes into the preparation for this large on-line procuring weekend, so in fact, there’s extra assist we will present. This submit will give extra context to the printed report and supply suggestions for the most well-liked instruments that different retailers are utilizing to arrange.

We divided analysis areas into 4 key themes for preparation:

1. Stock and operations
2. Black Friday advertising methods
3. Funds technique
4. Website efficiency and cellular optimization

We then surveyed prospects, companions, and companies, and gathered inside knowledge about plugin and extension downloads from October to December. Now, we’re able to share these findings with you. Let’s dig in.

Key knowledge from our Black Friday Cyber Monday 2024 survey 

Black Friday gross sales and vacation procuring contribute a major quantity of income: 72% of retailers attribute greater than 20% of their annual income to BFCM and the vacations, making preparation extraordinarily essential. 81% of shops do plan forward for his or her Black Friday Cyber Monday promotions, however the important thing discovering of our analysis is that many would profit from beginning earlier (greater than a month prematurely). 

Use this submit to tell your to-do checklist, and get began instantly. There’s so much to cowl.

This knowledge was gathered from WooCommerce shops who’ve opted into sharing their web site knowledge with us — for which we’re at all times grateful. Should you’d prefer to allow knowledge sharing to assist us make WooCommerce higher, go to your admin dashboard, after which choose WooCommerce > Settings > Superior > WooCommerce.com and make sure the checkbox labeled “Allow Utilization Monitoring” is checked (please word that we don’t observe or retailer private knowledge out of your prospects). Learn this web page for extra info on utilization monitoring.

When taking a look at the most well-liked extensions put in across the vacation season and forward of Black Friday weekend, the information surfaced 5 overarching classes:

15 In style extensions and plugins for Black Friday preparation

1. Good Coupons
2. Customized Order Standing
3. Woo Low cost Guidelines
4. Superior Product Fields
5. Reward Playing cards
6. Again in Inventory Notifications
7. WooPayments
8. Google Analytics
9. Import Export Suite
10. Google for WooCommerce
11. TikTok for WooCommerce
12. Klaviyo
13. Jetpack
14. Checkout Subject Editor
15. PDF Invoices & Packing Slips

Now, let’s get into the technique and particulars.

Stocking up on stock for Black Friday Cyber Monday

For many survey respondents, stock preparation for BFCM means rising inventory ranges based mostly on tendencies from this 12 months and final 12 months — 26% of shops are engaged on increase their stock. 

Anecdotally, that stock increase is a problem, together with stocking up on the associated transport provides. Hopefully, you’ve already made some progress on this. If not, we suggest beginning now to unfold the prices out as a lot as attainable.  

Tento: Financing may help with Black Friday Cyber Monday and vacation bills

Ordering inventory and provides can add up shortly, which is why we not too long ago launched a partnership with Tento, a monetary wellness firm serving rising companies. Financing could be helpful for development wants throughout the BFCM and holidays for issues like increase stock, diversifying product choices, promoting and campaigns, hiring further employees, upgrading expertise, or bridging gaps between gross sales and funds.

Present a greater buyer expertise by means of product alerts, transport, and return insurance policies

Since stock and operational planning occur on the again finish of an ecommerce enterprise, it may be straightforward to neglect that communication round these items can considerably enhance the client expertise (and result in extra Black Friday gross sales). 

To present your prospects the absolute best procuring expertise this Black Friday season, construct these options into your web site (and take a look at the extension suggestions beneath for this performance):

Add inventory alerts to encourage Black Friday purchases

Create urgency by including a inventory depend to low-stock gadgets. Inventory counts can encourage a sooner buy choice and stop the frustration when gadgets unexpectedly exit of inventory. We additionally suggest providing e-mail or textual content alerts when gadgets are restocked, which entice prospects to return to make a purchase order.

Supply free transport to draw prospects

Prospects love free transport, a lot that 62% received’t make a purchase order with out it. If free transport for everybody isn’t possible, setting a free transport threshold can enhance common order worth, enhance complete vacation gross sales, and reduce cart abandonment. 

Supply a number of transport choices

If prospects don’t attain your free transport threshold, it’s essential to supply them with choices for sooner transport, or lower-cost however slower transport. That is particularly useful for vacation customers, who may want quick transport for last-minute presents.

Ship order replace emails

Prospects need to know when their orders have shipped, and once they’ll arrive. Internet buyers have come to count on monitoring for all of their purchases. We suggest sending automated standing updates (like fulfilled, shipped, out for supply, and delivered) and monitoring numbers.

Supply an prolonged return window for the vacations

For areas that take part in Black Friday weekend, it may be an enormous vacation procuring occasion. The one downside? If the reward doesn’t land, it could be outdoors of normal return home windows. Give your prospects peace of thoughts by extending your return coverage by means of the calendar new 12 months: 45 days ought to do the trick.

WooCommerce Print Invoices and Packing Lists by SkyVerge

Generate invoices, packing slips, and choose lists on your WooCommerce orders to assist streamline your success course of after the Black Friday and cyber week rush.

WooCommerce Order Standing Supervisor by SkyVerge

Create, edit, and delete fully customized order statuses and combine them seamlessly into your order administration stream to make your prospects’ on-line procuring expertise one of the best it may be.

Again In Inventory Notifications by Woo

Notify prospects when your merchandise are restocked, particularly in the event that they weren’t capable of buy as a part of your Black Friday offers.

Decide Checklist by Consortia AS

Grasp order success, allow QR and barcode scanning for seamless choosing, packing, and monitoring.

Cut up Orders by Vibe Company

Cut up orders so you may course of and ship every half individually if wanted.

Customized Inventory Standing by Addify

Show customized inventory statuses to speak exact details about your inventory availability and maintain Black Friday prospects knowledgeable when merchandise are about to promote out.

Superior Notifications by Woo

Simply arrange new order and inventory e-mail notifications for a number of recipients of your selecting.

WooCommerce Delivery by Woo

Print USPS and DHL labels proper out of your WooCommerce dashboard and immediately save on transport. WooCommerce Delivery is free to make use of.

Desk Price Delivery by Woo

Superior, versatile transport with the flexibility to outline a number of transport charges based mostly on location, worth, weight, transport class, or merchandise depend.

Take a look at our full checklist of transport suppliers.

Product Bundles by Woo

Supply personalised product bundles, bulk low cost packages, and assembled merchandise.

Product Suggestions by Woo

Supply smarter upsells, cross-sells, and “continuously purchased collectively” suggestions that increase gross sales. Measure their affect throughout your Black Friday sale with in-depth analytics.

Amazon for WooCommerce by CedCommerce

Join, sync, and optimize your listings on Amazon from WooCommerce. Rank excessive and showcase your merchandise on the world’s largest ecommerce platform.

PayHelm: Export, Stories, & Analytics for WooCommerce by PayHelm

Analyze your prospects, merchandise, taxes, stock, visitors, marketplaces, channels, and advertising campaigns to raised perceive retailer efficiency and shopper shopping for patterns.

Jetpack by Jetpack

Safety, efficiency, and advertising instruments made for WooCommerce shops by the WordPress consultants. Get began with fundamental safety and pace instruments free of charge to maintain your ecommerce enterprise up and operating throughout the complete vacation season.

Wordfence by Wordfence

A complete suite of safety features powered by analysis and an organization devoted 100% to WordPress safety.

Google Analytics for WooCommerce by Woo

Perceive — and appeal to — prospects and enhance income with the world’s main analytics platform, built-in with WooCommerce free of charge.

Good Search & Product Filter by Searchanise

The Searchanise extension is an all-in-one search and filter resolution to enhance your retailer’s conversion fee.

This may appear apparent, however isn’t really easy to attain: Make certain vacation customers find out about your Black Friday sale! It may be laborious to seize prospects’ consideration whenever you’re competing with each on-line retailer and platform, so the important thing to a profitable Black Friday advertising technique is to take an omnichannel strategy.

Make use of each avenue: e-mail advertising and SMS, natural and paid social media advertising, and Google Adverts will all be useful throughout your Black Friday promotions. Inform potential prospects about upcoming offers, supply unique reductions to e-mail subscribers, and supply early entry in change for SMS signups.

Lastly, don’t neglect about search engine optimization! SEO needs to be a year-round initiative to assist your corporation rank greater in search outcomes on your target market. That is particularly helpful for brand new prospects who’re trying to find an merchandise however don’t have any particular on-line retailers in thoughts. Paid advertisements will even are available hand right here and assist your merchandise get discovered by your target market.

October is the time to launch a warm-up marketing campaign and construct your e-mail checklist. In November, tease your Black Friday promotions all the way in which till the top of Cyber Monday — and launch your Black Friday marketing campaign not less than 20 days prematurely. Then, comply with up in December with vacation content material and promotions.

Personalization needs to be central to your e-mail advertising technique

A complete Black Friday advertising marketing campaign consists of personalised provides — particularly on your most loyal prospects.

Jamal Miller, Senior Director of Product Advertising at Mailchimp, shared that, “the secret this vacation season is personalization. Entrepreneurs and small companies are utilizing instruments like segmentation, automation, and AI to construct loyalty, drive conversions, and inspire repeat purchases. It’s not about sending e-mail advertising blasts anymore — it’s about refining communications to be as tailor-made to prospects’ wants as attainable.”

That is your busiest and most essential time of 12 months. And with good cause: your income objectives are highest, and so is the chance to seize new prospects. Final 12 months, the highest 100 performers on the Mailchimp platform noticed a 325% spike of their every day order worth throughout the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend in comparison with their common every day order worth. And 65% of orders that Mailchimp prospects with related shops obtained have been from new prospects.

— Jamal Miller, Senior Director of Product Advertising, Mailchimp

They famous that personalised provides in your Black Friday campaigns will stand out from the tons of of different emails that your prospects will obtain. And this doesn’t simply imply dropping their first identify in a greeting: Use your buyer and website knowledge to suggest merchandise based mostly on previous orders or buyer demographics.

Get forward by assessing what knowledge you may have now, and what you’ll must construct your greatest Black Friday e-mail advertising technique. Then, ask for that knowledge by means of account creation, product critiques, or awarding particular reductions for e-mail and SMS signups. 

Take a look at this submit for extra on Black Friday e-mail advertising methods. 

Use social media advertising to assist your Black Friday marketing campaign and construct belief along with your viewers

We suggest constructing in your natural social technique with promoting — on a variety of social platforms. For Black Friday Cyber Monday, and the vacations TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest are nice locations to focus your consideration. Every of those extensions permit for product catalog syncing, so you may reap the benefits of natural product tagging and computerized updates.

Share constant messaging and imagery throughout all platforms for a real omnichannel expertise — and to let prospects know that you just imply what you submit. Talk your Black Friday gross sales forward of time, and promote signing up on your e-mail checklist in change for early sale entry or insider reductions. 

Buying engaged and constant prospects now will assist your Black Friday advertising campaigns attain extra folks later. Publish high-quality photographs and media with conversation-style captions — ask engaged prospects for his or her enter, about their habits or preferences, and get to know them. By asking prospects to take part within the feedback part (and interesting with them again) they’ll really feel extra intently related along with your model.

Model new to advertisements? Meet Blaze

Blaze is the promoting platform constructed by our friends at Automattic and designed to advertise your merchandise to over 100 million customers throughout Tumblr and WordPress. Whether or not you’re a newbie or a professional, establishing advert campaigns is quick and easy. You’ll be capable of customise your advert picture, copy, and viewers focusing on, all throughout the intuitive Blaze interface.

Sync your WooCommerce product feed with Google

Do you know that you may sync your Woo retailer straight with Google Procuring? Google for WooCommerce is free to put in and provides a product sync characteristic that permits your merchandise to point out up in search outcomes and on different Google platforms. 

As soon as your merchandise are synced, you need to use Google Efficiency Max advertisements to showcase merchandise throughout Google surfaces together with Procuring, Search, YouTube and extra — all to high-intent prospects which are a very good match for your corporation. That is precisely what Woo buyer DOMMA did, and it helped them develop 350% in a single 12 months. 

Google additionally helps you study extra about your prospects with insights from conversion monitoring, computerized tagging, and simply adjustable campaigns.

Diversify your channels

Google for WooCommerce by Woo

Promote your merchandise and Black Friday offers throughout Google — from Search to YouTube and past. Attain the fitting prospects to take advantage of your peak season.

TikTok by TikTok for Enterprise

Sync your catalog, create TikTok advertisements to showcase Black Friday offers and promote your merchandise, and set up the TikTok Pixel and Occasions API for focused promotions. 

Mailchimp for WooCommerce by Mailchimp

Improve visitors, drive repeat purchases from loyal prospects, and ship personalised SMS and e-mail advertising campaigns utilizing Mailchimp’s AI advertising instruments.

Klaviyo for WooCommerce by Klaviyo

Develop sooner and extra effectively with personalised e-mail, SMS, superior analytics, and product critiques. Powered by your individual buyer knowledge.

AutomateWoo by Woo

Highly effective advertising automation for WooCommerce — providing you a while again throughout the busy Black Friday interval. AutomateWoo has the instruments that you must develop your retailer and earn more money.

Bolster your web site content material

Good Coupons by StoreApps

Enhance gross sales and loyalty with reward playing cards, reductions, BOGO offers, retailer credit, free presents, and extra.

Trustpilot Critiques by Trustpilot

Accumulate and showcase verified critiques that buyers belief — useful for encouraging buy choices from new prospects.

Yoast search engine optimization Premium for WooCommerce by Yoast

Optimize your posts and merchandise on your desired key phrases extra simply. Yoast search engine optimization can acknowledge associated key phrases, phrases, synonyms, and completely different phrase varieties to allow you to write extra naturally.

Put money into your Black Friday advertising technique

Affiliate for WooCommerce by StoreApps

Run your individual associates program as a part of your Black Friday advertising marketing campaign. Monitor referrals, gross sales and commissions; make payouts, create fee plans and campaigns multi function place.

Google Tag Supervisor for WooCommerce Professional by Tag Concierge

Improve knowledge high quality and unify occasions monitoring throughout all channels with this premium Google Tag Supervisor integration.

Blaze for WooCommerce by Automattic

Promote your merchandise, companies, and Black Friday offers to over 100 million customers throughout Tumblr and WordPress blogs with Blaze for WooCommerce.

AdRoll for WooCommerce Shops by AdRoll

Join your WooCommerce retailer to AdRoll and run show, social media, and e-mail advertising campaigns — all on one platform.

Google, Fb, Retargeting all-in-one Advertising by Kliken

Promote your Black Friday Cyber Monday offers to potential prospects with retargeting. Acquire most publicity on your Black Friday advertising and a higher return on promoting spend.

Now could be the time to ensure your retailer provides specific and various cost strategies to take away checkout friction and enhance conversion. Use WooPayments so as to add Apple Pay and Google Pay specific checkout, which can be appreciated by these doing their Black Friday procuring on cellular units.

With a high-volume procuring season, it’ll profit Black Friday customers and ecommerce companies alike to introduce a purchase now, pay later or installment possibility. WooPayments consists of Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna as BNPL and installment choices on your retailer. Including PayPal and PayPal Pay Later can even assist enhance your conversion charges.

Affirm: Purchase now, pay later will increase common order worth by 60%

A 2024 survey from Affirm discovered that BNPL choices considerably elevated common order values. “Shoppers are more and more looking for extra clear and versatile cost choices, particularly throughout the busy vacation procuring season,” stated Erika White, VP of Advertising and Communications at Affirm. “Our current survey discovered that almost 1 in 2 shoppers say the supply of interest-free provides at checkout will have an effect on their buying choices.” 

With vacation procuring beginning earlier and earlier every year, it’s important for retailers to give attention to ensuring that their checkout experiences are as pleasant as their services. That’s why Affirm is proud to work with WooCommerce and produce higher alternative and adaptability to its community of companions.

— Erika White, VP of Advertising and Communications, Affirm

Surprisingly, solely 11% of ecommerce shops provided purchase now, pay later to Black Friday customers in 2023, and solely 22% provided specific checkout. Each choices assist on-line retailers serve a broader viewers and meet buyer expectations for a easy checkout expertise.

How one can audit your cost technique break up

Earlier than including new cost strategies to your retailer, test which choices your prospects use essentially the most, and which strategies you don’t presently supply. When making your alternative, contemplate buyer areas, platform processing charges, and platform critiques and reliability.

Anticipate tax wants earlier than you need to: Understanding gross sales tax nexus

Taxes fluctuate from location to location, so this generally is a robust one to handle for ecommerce companies. Avalara recommends keeping track of a number of issues: elevated gross sales in non-nexus areas, new cross-border gross sales, promoting new merchandise, and promoting in new channels. 

“Gross sales tax nexus is the connection between a vendor and a location that requires the vendor to register then gather and remit gross sales tax in that location. Appropriately figuring out whether or not financial nexus has been created in a given location is not any small effort. However it may’t be missed — not even throughout the busy vacation season.”

— Oliver St. George, Senior Accomplice Advertising Supervisor, Avalara

Tax or financial nexus varies from state to state and nation to nation. Within the EU, should you attain nexus in a single nation, you’ll have reached nexus in each member of the EU.

WooPayments by Woo

The one cost resolution absolutely built-in with WooCommerce. Settle for credit score and debit playing cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and native cost choices with no setup or month-to-month charges.

PayPal Funds by Woo

PayPal’s model recognition helps give prospects the arrogance to purchase. PayPal’s all-in-one checkout resolution permits you to supply PayPal, Venmo (US), Pay Later at no further price, credit score and debit playing cards, country-specific cost choices, and extra.

Amazon Pay by Amazon Pay

Allow a well-known, quick checkout for tons of of hundreds of thousands of lively Amazon prospects globally.

Avalara AvaTax by Avalara

Automate tax compliance on your WooCommerce retailer. From gross sales tax calculation and tax returns to exempt gross sales and extra.

WooCommerce Tax by Woo

Mechanically calculate how a lot gross sales tax needs to be collected for WooCommerce orders — by metropolis, nation, or state — at checkout.

Affirm Funds by Woo

Purchase now, pay later for your corporation — however smarter. Improve conversions and AOV by providing customers versatile cost plans from Affirm. Additionally out there inside WooPayments.

Klarna by Klarna

Develop your corporation with elevated gross sales and enhanced procuring experiences at no additional prices. Additionally out there inside WooPayments.

Take a look at (pun supposed) our full checklist of cost choices right here.

Afterpay by Afterpay

Afterpay permits prospects to buy merchandise and select to pay in 4 installments over six weeks or pay month-to-month (US solely). Additionally out there inside WooPayments.

Sezzle for WooCommerce by Sezzle

Sezzle is another cost platform that will increase gross sales and basket sizes by enabling your prospects to purchase now and pay later with interest-free installment plans.

We requested our Woo Company Companions about typical Black Friday Cyber Monday preparation actions, and so they shared constant solutions: Retailer house owners search assist with distinctive technical adjustments, person expertise updates, integrations, customized workflows, and website pace. 

Of these surveyed, 85.7% of companies put together their purchasers’ shops by optimizing website pace, adopted by including cost strategies, and customizing checkout. 

Different common Black Friday preparation requests embrace lead era, touchdown web page creation, and bug fixes — with requests for assist sometimes coming in a single to a few months prematurely. That stated, earlier is at all times higher, to provide your company sufficient time to make and modify adjustments to suit your wants. 

In search of superior assist? Take a look at our licensed Woo Company Companions. 

There are many efficiency areas that retailer house owners ought to take note of, with a number of companies mentioning code audits, stress assessments, historic knowledge critiques, person expertise audits, plugin consolidation, and safety assessments. 

Neuralab emphasised the significance of beginning early, noting that finances and time constraints can impede much-needed enhancements. Kanuka Digital echoes this sentiment, sharing that they first carry out code audits for website well being, pace, and stability, earlier than addressing issues and making their suggestions.

Guarantee sufficient internet hosting to satisfy vacation retailer visitors surges

Inverse Paradox helps their purchasers be certain that they keep internet hosting stability throughout the holidays, which notoriously embrace fluctuations in visitors — particularly round gross sales like Black Friday Cyber Monday. 

Optimize for cellular and omnichannel

With cellular procuring on the rise, CoSpark famous that website pace optimization wants to make sure quick load instances, user-friendly interactions, and a seamless expertise between on-line shops, bodily areas, and social media platforms. 

Improve website pace and navigation for a greater procuring expertise

Buyer expectations are excessive: Sleeping Big Studios has launched new UIs on cellular to enhance person expertise and create more practical buyer journeys — which subsequently enhance conversion charges.

Leverage analytics and AI for personalization

Use AI to supply personalised suggestions and improve buyer engagement — which additionally means ensuring that your knowledge flows seamlessly between your retailer and its built-in methods. Sparklabs México has famous a rise in knowledge wants amongst their purchasers for higher analytics implementation.

Put money into cybersecurity to guard your corporation and prospects

Implement sturdy safety measures to guard buyer knowledge and construct belief — and never only for Black Friday. Like website efficiency, safety is an ongoing effort that must be repeatedly monitored.

Combine and automate what you may

Sleeping Big Studios helps their purchasers streamline operations by integrating with buyer relationship administration (CRM) platforms, enterprise useful resource planning (ERP) methods, and automating as many workflows as attainable.

Be strategic along with your investments

Give attention to leveraging present sources and be conservative with new investments. Each Inverse Paradox and Kanuka Digital famous that their purchasers’ investments are extra conservative round new options and performance, as a substitute specializing in enhancing their present

Be proactive about website upkeep

Take a proactive strategy to Black Friday Cyber Monday to make sure optimum efficiency throughout peak procuring durations. Steady monitoring, frequent backups, and software program updates all play their position in a worthwhile vacation procuring season.

Pause your website edits early to cut back mishaps

Virtina works forward with purchasers to proactively audit and suggest adjustments — after which they enact a code freeze beginning November 1st. CoSpark recommends having a upkeep plan in place all through the vacation season.

It’s so much — we all know. However assistance is at all times out there with WordPress and WooCommerce. The Woo Group is useful and an inspiring useful resource, whereas extra devoted assist will be discovered with our licensed Woo Company Companions throughout a plethora of wants.