Mark your calendars! This year, Black Friday is November 23, 2018 and will last all weekend long until Cyber Monday on November 26, 2018.
Held on the day after Thanksgiving in the US, the Black Friday period marks the start of the Christmas shopping period and has attracted a growing number of buyers from around the world each year.
Have you noticed the excitement in the shops that the event brings in just a few days? This passion is found online, too.
According to the French e-seller federation Fevad[1], global e-commerce turnover increased by 69% in 2017 over the previous year.
This unmissable e-commerce event is approaching fast. It's time to prepare your online store to boost your sales. Follow our guide!
Tip #1: Increase your pages' loading speed
Don't you hate having to wait for a site's pages to load? User experience is not just a design question. We know that after 5 seconds 74% of internet users are ready to give up browsing[2]. Imagine the potential losses in sales that represents! Optimizing your pages' loading time is a priority.
You can use the Google Test My Site tool to test how your pages load on mobile and help you optimize your slowest pages.
PrestaShop can also help you optimize your online store's performance.
You can easily compress all your images using the TinyPNG Module and activate browser caching for all your pages using the Page Cache Ultimate module!
Planning ahead for the increase in traffic to your store during Black Friday also means avoiding predictable slowdowns. Contact your web host; they may be able to recommend a temporary hosting solution that will boost performance.
Tip #2: Optimize your online store's SEO
Did you know that 40% of visits to online stores come from organic searches[3]? Looking after your SEO is not an option.
First, check that each of the product pages you want to showcase for Black Friday is SEO friendly.
Check that the following are present:
- the <title> tag
- the <meta-description> tag
- your product description
- your chosen keywords in these 3 strategic places
- <alt> tags for every image
Don't miss the opportunity to increase your chances of appearing in the top search results and learn about the SEO Expert + SEO Images (Pack) Bundle developed by PrestaShop which will save you time by automatically creating SEO tags for your online store.
Also, delete as many special characters and underscores as you can from your URLs and don't forget to create redirections to limit 404 errors!
Tip #3: Have your clients test the purchase journey
What if you asked your clients to test your site? User feedback is always precious and will allow you to ask yourself the following strategic questions:
- Do categories and filters work?
- Is the internal search bar visible on all your pages?
- Are action buttons impactful?
- Is the order tunnel easy to understand?
Your product pages, action buttons and images must also adapt to mobiles. Think responsive! Today, more than 20% of online purchases are made on mobiles[4].
Tip #4: Customize your homepage's banners and visuals
Get creative and make your pages visually attractive by preparing special pages for Black Friday!
Customizable sliders, countdowns, promotion banners, discount labels: there are many ways to make a visual impact!
You are spoiled for choice on our PrestaShop Addons marketplace! Many modules will help you add Blocks, Tabs, and Customizable Banners to your online store's pages.
Our tip? Create dedicated landing pages for all the events on your online store. By centralizing all the Black Friday information and sales, you will reinforce your presence on Google.
Tip #5: Vary your sales techniques to increase your average cart
There are several ways to increase your sales and offer your clients a complete purchasing experience. Look around the Cross-selling & Product Bundles category on PrestaShop Addons to find all the additional sales modules that you can integrate into your online store.
For example, the Average Cart Booster (Cross-selling) Module can offer your customers additional products based on the selection rules that you have determined yourself (similar or already seen products) or that depend on the amount of your customer's cart or order history.
And why not create sales bundles? The customer will pay less for a set of products than if they bought them separately. It's a bonus for them and for you since you will sell your stocks much faster. Isn't that the goal of Black Friday?
To encourage impulse buys on Black Friday and before Christmas, remember to use the much-loved Flash Sales. When combined with an email pre-campaign, they can improve your conversion rate by up to 59%!
Finally, don't hesitate to offer options that will give your clients a truly complete buying experience to maximize your sales. Gift wrapping and personalized gift cards are little touches that buyers will find useful and recipients will just love!
Tip #6: Remind users about abandoned carts
Remember, the easier it is to pay, the more you reduce your risk of abandoned carts!
The official Abandoned Cart Reminder Module developed by PrestaShop sends automated reminder emails to your clients to remind them about the products waiting in their cart. This strategy can increase your transformation rate by up to 15%!
Conclusion: Maximize your sales during Black Friday with PrestaShop!
As you have seen, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are sales periods that you can't afford to neglect! Successful sales will allow you to sell your stocks and increase your sales volumes by offering extremely attractive prices to your clients.
On our marketplace PrestaShop Addons, you will find our selection of modules to make it easier to browse your online store, optimize your conversions and increase your average cart according to your needs!
Download our free White Paper "12 tips to prepare your e-commerce site (in French)" written in collaboration with online payment solution PayPlug to learn more.
[1] Fédération du e-commerce et de la vente à distance
