Black Friday and Cyber Monday is coming!

The 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) sales period in Australia was a record‑breaking event, with a strong focus on value, convenience and early engagement. Australian shoppers were expected to spend a record $6.7 billion online, a 5.5% increase from 2023. Shopify data showed a 14% increase in the number of consumers making purchases, with similar data reported by Shippit, a shipping business responsible for a significant share of Australian parcel delivery.

The ABS reported overall sales growth of 3% year‑on‑year in November 2024, with Black Friday giving the sector a much‑needed boost.

Below are some of the key strategies that contributed to its success:

Extended sales periods. A major trend was the move away from a single weekend event. Many brands started promotions as early as two weeks before Black Friday — a strategy dubbed “Black November” — to build anticipation, manage traffic and capture sales over a longer period.

Emphasis on value and budgeting. With cost‑of‑living pressures, consumers were more strategic, with many using the sale period to complete their Christmas shopping. Successful campaigns offered:

• Clear, high‑value deals — shoppers wanted genuine discounts on wishlist items, not minor price drops.
• Bundles and incentives — bundling related products, or “buy one, get one free”, lifted average order value while giving customers more for their money.
• Cashback and affiliate marketing — brands leveraging affiliate networks and attractive cashback rates saw significant growth.

Mobile and omnichannel experience. Mobile shopping apps saw significant traffic, and successful retailers ensured their sites performed well on mobile. The data also showed a resurgence of in‑store shopping, with two‑thirds of sales happening in physical stores — highlighting the importance of a unified online and offline strategy.

A sense of urgency and exclusivity. Campaigns that created urgency were highly effective:

• Flash sales and countdown timers — limited‑time offers and visible timers encouraged immediate purchases.
• Early‑bird and VIP access — rewarding loyal customers and subscribers with exclusive early access built loyalty and drove initial traffic.

Creative and authentic marketing. Brands that stood out used creative, authentic campaigns:

• Short‑form video — eye‑catching clips on TikTok and Instagram were highly effective at grabbing attention.
• Unique giveaways and loyalty programs — requiring a sign‑up to access a sale gathered first‑party data and helped build long‑term customers.

If you haven't started preparing for the 2025 BFCM period yet (Black Friday in 2025 falls on Friday 28 November), here are some ideas for your success.

Strategic planning and preparation (start now!)

Plan your “Black November” strategy. Don't wait until the last minute. Map out an extended promotional calendar that starts several weeks before Black Friday — early‑bird deals, daily specials and flash sales leading up to the main event. You might use the eNudge Message Series feature to orchestrate each campaign in succession.

Analyse your 2024 data. If you ran a sale last year, review your BFCM data to identify best‑selling products, most profitable customer segments and most effective channels — then use it to inform your 2025 inventory and marketing plans.

Inventory and logistics. Ensure your inventory management can handle the surge in demand. Communicate early with suppliers and logistics partners to avoid bottlenecks and ensure timely delivery.

Optimise your technology and user experience

Mobile‑first design. Your website must be fast and easy to navigate on a phone — test performance and checkout across devices. A mobile app may drive deeper engagement; for example, LSKD's mobile app has seen customers spend 51% more per purchase than via their website. Make sure your emails display well on mobile too — eNudge makes this easy with a drag‑and‑drop editor with mobile views and the ability to customise display and behaviour on mobile.

Stress‑test your website. A slow site loses customers. Use tools like PageSpeed Insights to optimise loading speeds, and consider upgrading your hosting or using a CDN to handle a major traffic surge without crashing.

Seamless checkout and payment options. Simplify checkout by offering guest checkout and a range of payment options, including popular Buy Now, Pay Later services like Afterpay and Zip.

Develop your marketing and customer engagement strategy

Build your email and SMS lists. Start a “warm‑up” campaign well in advance. Offer an incentive (like early access) for people to subscribe, then use personalised email and SMS to build anticipation with teasers and countdowns. eNudge allows unlimited personalisation, so think about how you can employ it better this year.

This was a strategy employed by Skoop in 2024. As a small business that couldn't match the big players' steep discounts or marketing budgets, Skoop focused on encouraging customers to sign up to its owned channels — predominantly its email list — and offered subscribers 30% off the entire range plus spend‑and‑save offers between 27 November and 2 December 2024.

Leverage social media. Create engaging short‑form video, run competitions, and partner with aligned influencers. Encourage user‑generated content by asking customers to share photos of their purchases. Read more on how social media is re‑shaping Australian shopping behaviour. eNudge's “Share in Social” link can help extend your reach — to separate the social sharing data, use a different internal email address per platform when sharing your email content.

Create urgency and scarcity. Limited‑edition products or limited‑stock deals create urgency. Clear, compelling messaging about the limited nature of your offers encourages customers to act quickly.

Focus on post‑purchase retention. BFCM isn't just about a single sale. Use post‑sale communication to thank customers, provide order updates and encourage repeat purchases — a crucial time to ask for reviews and recommend complementary products. Capturing email addresses and mobile numbers is an obvious first step, but also consider gathering customer preferences using eNudge public categories and preference management.

If you need any help planning your Black Friday or Cyber Monday campaigns, don't hesitate to reach out.