Mobile is the determining factor for mastering Black Friday [5 Reading Tips]

Quelle: click_and_photo - Fotolia — Quelle: click_and_photo – Fotolia

Last November, we could certify that the European shopping psyche was turning. The battle for bargains is played online thanks to the uprooting power of the American Black Friday, led mainly by the giant Amazon. Since 2012 his phenomenon has been smashing all online sales records year after year, boosting the e-commerce sector even more.

This year shoppers take Black Friday into account for their Christmas shopping as never before. It is a fact that its influence has changed the shopping behaviour in some countries such as UK and Spain.

Additionally, more retailers increasingly spread their Black Friday promotions over so many days, and some others are joining in the bonanza shopping day. The centrepiece for both retailers and shoppers is undoubtedly the smartphone.

Mobile optimisation and good pricing

Mobile has been the driving force behind the exponential e-commerce growth over the last years and the figures speak for themselves. The smartphone revenue will outpace tablet revenue in Europe for the first time this year, according to Adobe.

On the other hand, the mobile share of all online transactions in Germany is expected to increase to 24 % according to Adobe’s predictions about this Christmas shopping season, and German m-commerce share (43,1%) is surpassing UK (42,3%) as the second nation with the highest mobile share, only behind the USA (43,9%), indicated RetailMeNot.

Moreover, online retailers should listen to shoppers and respond to the demands they issue as fast as they can. According to Adobe, only around ¼ of respondents is convinced that online shopping through smartphones has become easier and simpler. In contrast, they indicated that the mobile optimisation of online shops (56%) and apps (45%) has greatly improved over the last years.

Quelle: Adobe — Quelle: ADI Holiday Spending Survey 2016

Another aspect to take into account for this Black Friday is that the main motivation for consumers to buy presents online is the competitive and attractive prices in comparison with the ones offered at brick and mortar stores.

Many online retailers that are placing big bets on marketplaces like Amazon to boost their sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, are sacrificing their margins to reach a higher ranking because only the most competitive prices will appear at the top of the search results.

This price war, coupled with the high delivery costs related to fulfilling orders, has also contributed to convey the idea that the Black Friday shopping event is not profitable enough for retailers. However, the key here can be to find a balance between retaining their market share during the busiest time of the year and not neglecting their sales.

End note

In conclusion, in order to definitely spearhead their Christmas campaigns, retailers should provide an excellent service. To do so, logistics providers like Hermes and DHL are hiring many extra staff for this Christmas season, especially for strengthening their packaging departments.

Mobile optimisation of online shops and apps is the other pillar on which every retailer should base their shopping campaign this year if they want to convert the increasing number of visits they receive through this channel. Which retailers will reach a new Black Friday record sales? Who will be successful without damaging profitability?