We know the year has flown by when we start thinking about the end-of-year sales season. What day does it start? What's on my wishlist? Will I find what I want? As shoppers, we start comparing prices at different stores to, in the end, get the best deal.
And what about the people in charge of e-commerce or online stores? Of course, they must start planning every element of their business so that, in the end, both users and suppliers have their needs met.
If you're here, you still have time to fully optimize your e-commerce and have it ready for this Buen Fin, which will take place from November 15 to 18, and Black Friday - Cyber Monday (BFCM), which will take place from November 29 to December 2.
Context: Where do sale seasons come from?
The origin of Black Friday in the United States, according to various theories described in a National Geographic article, comes from The New York Times in 1975 to refer to the heavy traffic that occurred after Thanksgiving due to the large number of offers that could be found in prestigious stores.
Since then, various brands have begun participating in Black Friday to offer discounts on their most popular products and thus achieve wholesale sales. To get a better idea of its impact on the market, in 2023 alone, those with online stores using Shopify reached a record $9.3 billion in sales during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend in the United States.
The phenomenon spread to various parts of the world, such as Mexico with El Buen Fin, launched in 2011 as an initiative by the government and the private sector to revive the country's economy and encourage the population to buy within Mexico without the need to make purchases abroad.
Best practices your e-commerce business should have
The following best practices have been tested by a Shopify Plus Partner, so you can be confident that by following these tips, you'll optimize your e-commerce site for Black Friday and Black Friday. Before you start planning specific strategies to increase sales during this peak season, it's important to have this checklist to ensure your e-commerce foundation is in order.
1. What works within your e-commerce?
Answer that question by analyzing your own online store. Within Shopify, and in conjunction with your Shopify Plus Partner, you can conduct A/B testing and observe user behavior within your e-commerce site to gain insights into areas for improvement during this peak season .
Run experiments on your online store and identify the variables that perform best. Launch two variations of the same e-commerce site, but one with a different element, and analyze which one performs better.
2. Prepare your stock for the peak season
Keep track of your inventory and prepare for the high demand for orders that may arise in your Shopify store.
Some tips we can give you to keep your online store optimized are:
- Reserve a portion of your stock for your star products in your e-commerce store. This ensures you can fulfill as many orders as possible.
- Establish honest shipping rates and delivery methods. In other words, don't promise next-day shipping if you can't meet high demand.
- Automate emails to your customers. You can implement a good email marketing strategy to maintain more direct communication with your customers and let them know that, even during peak season , you're attentive to their needs.
3. Optimized design and user experience
Inprevious blog posts , we've mentioned that one of the aspects that influences buyers is the design of your e-commerce site. Why?
For example, when an online store takes a long time to load, or starts to freeze when clicking on different sections, it will frustrate your potential customer and cause them to look for their products in another, better-performing store. On average, a user waits a maximum of 4 seconds before deciding to leave the store.
Now imagine that these kinds of setbacks happen during peak seasons like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or El Buen Fin (Mexico's Black Friday equivalent). That's why it's important to perform a technical analysis of your store and, if necessary, optimize the size of your images , as well as improve SEO and responsive design , to make it visually appealing to users.
Additionally, if your business has several products or several categories and subcategories, it's best to organize them within a mega-menu and apply intuitive filters to the collections page so customers can easily find what they're looking for.
TIP: A good practice is to add the categories that generate the most sales conversions to the menu bar, and include an additional one for offers, so that this Black Friday and Black Friday, users can quickly find your best deals .
4. Mobile-First
What is this? To better understand, you can visit your favorite online store on both your mobile phone and your computer. Can you see the differences?
It's important that your e-commerce site is optimized to the point where you can easily find every element, such as categories, carousel images, and CTAs ( calls to action). For example, you can add icons or photos to the menu in each category for those visiting your e-commerce site from their mobile phones. This will make the purchase process from a phone just as easy as doing it from a computer, and vice versa.
Did you know that a user is three times more likely to visit your e-commerce site via mobile phone, but only twice as likely to buy from their computer? That's why it's so important that every element of your online store looks good on different devices.
5. Take care of the product page
At this point, the quality of your product page's appearance will determine whether you make a successful sale or not. Remember that users need to get a clear idea of what your product looks like and how to use it, so add at least 5 images (1) that show your product in as much detail as possible, including some that highlight other important aspects of your product.
Make sure your product name and description (2) are easily identifiable both on the first page (the first screen) and in search engines. You can do a brief keyword study to optimize your online store for SEO and ensure your products appear easily in search results.
Another element to consider is social proof, which can be summarized by the star rating your product has based on the number of reviews (3) . This element, however small, has a significant impact on your customer's decision to make a purchase. Following this element is the price (4) . You need to specify if you have any offers and make that discount visible so the user is aware of what they will pay for the product.
You should also make sure that the CTA ( call to action) is eye-catching and prominently displayed on the first screen (5). Another point to consider is the trust symbols (6) , which are usually located near the CTA. Here, you can add valuable information to your customer in a visually appealing way, such as shipping methods, payment options, or warranty information. These are generally the crucial elements that a user considers before deciding to buy a product.
6. Optimize the FAQ and reviews section
Below the elements we discussed in the previous point are the FAQ and reviews sections. These are usually located at the bottom of the page.
We know that 30% of adults in the United States are willing to pay more for a product where its brand values align with their own, and one way to find this out is through frequently asked questions, where you answer their main concerns and provide other relevant information when making a purchase.
Your previous customer reviews also count, as they not only give customers an honest perspective but also provide the necessary confidence for them to decide to buy from your e-commerce site.
7. Importance of the checkout page
Whether you're using a standard Shopify store or a Shopify Plus account, you'll need to ensure your checkout page perfectly matches the look and feel of your online store. This means incorporating your brand's logo and color palette into your text, and organizing shipping and payment methods by starting with the most frequently used option and ending with the least common. This way, you can build trust with your customers from start to finish.
It's important to specify each payment method along with a brief description, especially if there are any promotions. Also, if you have a space where users can enter discount codes, make sure they are clearly visible.
Since these are peak sales seasons, we recommend being as transparent as possible. Clearly indicate the discount your customers will receive throughout the entire process, and specify the estimated delivery time. This will greatly help maintain customer trust in your brand.
TIP: When setting up your shipping options, make sure they are as clear and honest as possible. We recommend setting delivery times within a range to avoid negative experiences for your customers. For example:
- Standard (3 to 5 days): $90 MXN
- Express (2 to 3 days): $120 MXN
The best tips for El Buen Fin and BFCM 2024
1. A/B Testing
A/B testing is essential for any Shopify store, but its importance becomes even greater during peak sales seasons. During this time , customers are more willing to buy and spend their holiday gift cards, but they're also looking for the best deals and a smooth shopping experience.
Therefore, testing different versions of your e-commerce site, such as button layouts, offer banners, or pop-up messages, can help you see which one converts best. Show 50% of your users a version with these elements, and the other half see your e-commerce site with different elements.
Finally, analyze which one performs best and make the corresponding changes.
2. Optimize your cross-selling strategy
When users are about to check out their purchase, you can use cross-selling , which consists of giving your customer more purchase suggestions that might interest them.
This strategy, in addition to increasing your average ticket, is an excellent opportunity to show your customers that you have other products that may suit their lifestyles, offer slow-moving products, obtain customer data, and improve the user experience.
For cross-selling, there are tools like Rebuy , a sales suite that helps you with these types of strategies to recommend products to your customers and generate awareness. Remember to contact your trusted Shopify Plus Partner for better advice on this useful tool.
There are different strategies for cross-selling; our favorites are:
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Smart Cart : This feature offers complementary or additional products through the shopping cart based on items already being purchased. For example, if a user adds a pair of shoes to their cart, the Smart Cart could add a shoe care kit or similar options. With each product added to the cart via the Smart Cart, promotions such as free shipping or free gifts are unlocked, just like we did at Vital Pet Life .
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Frequently purchased items: As a brand, you can take advantage of this to showcase other products in your catalog that the customer may not know you offer. This type of cross-selling is very effective at increasing the average order value for two reasons: if both the main product and the recommended product sell, sales increase. And if they don't, the customer is very likely to return based on that recommendation in the future.
2.1 Cross-selling for Shopify Plus members
The beauty of this strategy is that both Shopify Standard and Shopify Plus members can use it to increase their sales. However, Shopify Plus members have the advantage of being able to use cross-selling at checkout through checkout extensions.
Once the customer is about to pay for their order and is filling out the shipping form, the page will display a section of related items below the main order.
If you needed a reason to join the ranks of brands using Shopify Plus, this is one of them, as it allows for greater flexibility at checkout . However, this Shopify plan has many advantages worth considering if you're experiencing exponential growth.
3. Provide exclusive access to your frequent and new customers
When it's Black Friday and Black Friday, it's a great opportunity to reward your most loyal customers and, why not, encourage new users to buy from your e-commerce site.
For example, for your loyal customers, you can offer premium shipping rates such as express delivery or free shipping with no minimum purchase. Another type of reward could be offering an exclusive virtual event where they can discover products that will be on sale and have the opportunity to buy them before anyone else.
For new customers, offering discounts when they create an account in your online store is a strategy that never fails.
4. Create bundles of your featured products
When it's Black Friday and BFCM, many people are looking for Christmas gifts, whether for their loved ones or for themselves.
If you, as an e-commerce business, have several products to offer, you can create gift sets with your star products or with those that are not in high demand to introduce them to people and give your inventory a boost.
It's also an opportunity to unleash your creativity, creating unique and eye-catching packaging that stands out from the competition.
5. Make personalized gifts over long distances
And speaking of the holiday season, we know that sometimes we can't see our loved ones who live far away. That's why giving your customers the option to send gifts of your products to their loved ones is a great way to generate sales for your e-commerce business.
The difference with gift sets is that your customers can choose the gifts they want to send, as well as the packaging and the personalized message they want to send to their loved one.
6. Create collections for Buen Fin and BFCM
Sometimes shoppers know exactly what they're looking for during peak sales seasons, and sometimes they just need a little inspiration. To make it easier for them to find what they're looking for, you can group your star products within a menu bar labeled "Seasonal Deals" or "Black Friday Deals," for example. This allows you to highlight your best offers, better structure your e-commerce site, and secure a sale.
These types of collections capture the excitement of the season and can boost sales by motivating customers to take advantage of limited-time offers.
7. Gamification for BFCM and Buen Fin 2024
This is a strategy that not only grabs attention, but when used properly, can generate conversions that lead to profits for your online store. But what exactly is gamification ?
It involves applying game elements in a non-recreational environment to create a fun and motivating experience that leads consumers to complete a purchase or some other specific action. For example, the prize and discount roulette wheels that sometimes appear on the homepages of online stores.
With sales in peak season , standing out from the competition is paramount. This strategy will give you an edge and enhance your customers' shopping experience.
8. Use email marketing to your advantage
It's always a good idea to remind your customers about the kinds of offers you'll have this season. In addition to leveraging your social media channels, include an email marketing campaign to ensure your message reaches the right people.
You can use Klaviyo, the email marketing platform that works very well within Shopify, as it segments and personalizes emails in real time so they're always visible. Think of Klaviyo as a CRM for your e-commerce business.
You can even offer your subscribers special discounts via email; add personalized discount codes to give users more reasons to shop on your e-commerce site. Just make sure the code is applied automatically; this will streamline the process and improve your customers' experience.
Conclusion
Whether it's for peak season in Mexico or the United States, optimizing your e-commerce platform with best practices will help you achieve your goals. While it can be a busy time, remember that one of the advantages of using Shopify is that you have a stable platform that's constantly being optimized thanks to the technical maintenance included in each plan. Now all that's left is to think outside the box and put your creativity to work.
Put our tips into practice and start optimizing your online store for the rest of the year! You still have time to partner with a Shopify Plus Partner to help you achieve your business goals.
