Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are two of the most important events driving some of the best sales across categories, with people lining up in hordes trying to get their hands on the best deals and discounts, making them so popular among consumers.

However, with supply chain crunches and shortages of products, a lot of things have changed post-2021. Things are yet to normalize due to the repeated lockdowns, which had become the mainstay during the last couple of years.

Therefore, merchants need to employ smart strategies to entice people to shop at their stores and make BFCM as successful as it has been since its inception. In this blog, we will look at a few key insights you can employ to make more sales this season.

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Shopping Trends to Pay Attention to in 2022

The year 2021 has once again reinforced the fact that it’s not only the products but the customers who make BFCM events a success.

Without them, even the best products will fail. Here are a few strategies that can help you make a killing this season!

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1. Give Your Customers Early Access to Seasonal Inventory

Gone are the days of offering doorbuster deals with tight shopping windows. Instead, customers prefer early access to products spread out over a few weeks to give them more time to shop.

The average economy has changed a lot post-COVID, with people being wary about how they spend their money and on what. Instead of shopping on a specific day, people now prefer to shop in advance, picking up things in batches rather than in one go. This allows them to pick up products as and when their pocket allows.

A deal that runs for longer, such as an end-of-summer sale, rather than an event that runs for a week, can get you more sales.

The changed behaviour of customers in the post-COVID world indicates they are much keener on saving than splurging. It’s a trend that brands can also benefit from by offering promotions that maybe start on a BFCM note but run for a much longer time.

This allows you to give customers a wider window to shop, as the days of one clean sweep during BFCM week are almost over.

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2. Offering 'Buy Online, Pickup in-Store' Options

Social distancing is a word that’s still ringing in people’s ears, and they would rather avoid being a part of a large crowd these days.

Online shopping got a boost during the pandemic when people ordered everything from groceries, medicines, and clothes to next-gen consoles from the comfort of their homes.

Brands can leverage this behaviour by allowing consumers to buy products online, which they can later pick up from the store. This model is commonly referred to as BOPIS or curbside pickup.

It can help make BFCM sales skyrocket without exposing shoppers to the risk of infection as they can simply walk into the store at their preferred time and day when the crowds are thin to pick up their ordered items.

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3. Offer New-Age Payment Options

Up until recently, credit cards were the most preferred method of payment among consumers; however, that’s all changed. Millennials and Gen Z consumers deem credit cards too risky and prefer using debit cards, Buy now, pay later options, etc.

Consumer spending has gotten tighter over the last few years, and the fear of a looming recession is holding back people from utilizing credit with high-interest rates.

The latest trend among consumers is thus to spend their money and not borrow for shopping. Provide them with more payment options if you want to see an uptick in your sales figures.

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4. Offer Free Shipping

This year’s BFCM event will likely see more online shopping than offline shopping at stores. Therefore, offering free shipping on products can turn out to be a sales multiplier for many merchants.

The gap between online and offline shopping is only 3.5%, and consumers still prefer to shop in person. However, leveraging that small gap can do wonders for your business, especially when people are choosing to stay away from places where large crowds are predicted to gather.

Who knows, maybe this year, the tide might be in favour of online shopping rather than in-person. It’s best to be prepared just in case to avoid missing out on making sales.

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Conclusion

BFCM is a highly sought-after event, and consumers wait for this time of the year to buy their favourite products at heavily discounted rates.

As a business owner, you must be prepared, and learning from past trends can help you make better sales in 2022. Times have been unpredictable, supply chains have been disrupted, and consumer spending patterns have changed significantly during these last 2-3 years.

Therefore, to make the kind of sales you expect during something as big as BFCM, you need to adapt to the changed realities of the market to make the best of it.