Looking back on Black Friday: The Effect on Small Businesses

And breathe… the Black Friday rush is over. And boy, aren’t we glad it’s been and gone!

Throughout the week, our team at ThinK HQ have been documenting our progress in sales, the demand of stock, and how many times we have had to apologise to our courier Martin. Yet despite all of the hard work, sweat and tears, it has been totally worth it.

For businesses, the 24th of November is marked as doomsday in the calendar for most directors, particularly those who run small businesses. This, unfortunately, has resulted in the gradual decline of 85% of independent retailers dropping out of the Black Friday hype and refusing to take part. Instead, the sudden surge to boycott Black Friday has fastly become the latest campaign! 

If you are a lover or a hater, the US is to thank/blame for this time of year. To mark the end of Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas shopping season, Black Friday to businesses is an opportunity to exceed sales targets and drive business right at the end of the year.

For those businesses that may be in two minds about whether to join in on this campaign, here is a list of pros as to why you should get involved.

The importance of increasing website traffic is vital when it comes to attracting new customers, generating sales and getting the word out about your business. Most companies tend to do this by decorating their landing pages with Black Friday discounts all over, to entice visitors to stay on their page for longer and check out exclusive offers. Others may choose to do this via their social media accounts and linking their webpage in posts and stories. 

Building trust and quality products is KEY in keeping customers coming back to businesses. This can be achieved through subtle measures such as a thank you for ordering DM, a handwritten note in their packages or making your regular customers affiliates - these are just a few ideas that have worked for us! Not only does this encourage your customers to keep shopping, but it encourages them to spend more money.

Black Friday is an excellent test to see what everyone is looking for this Christmas. It is a time for businesses to sort out their stock and get some festive sales! Now with customer loyalty and a good reputation being built - thanks to Black Friday - Christmas will see a massive influx in growth and revenue. Our marketing team, here at ThinK, have been busy photographing our Christmas hampers and putting them into attractive flyers which we have sent out in every Black Friday order. This is one of the ways we have gotten a head start on the Christmas season this year.

To appeal to new and returning customers on Black Friday, brands must stay on trend and market effectively. This can be achieved through massive sales, discounts, or eye-catching advertisements. However, these marketing efforts have a lasting effect, as approximately 26.9 million UK adults, according to Finder, have been looking to spend during the Black Friday weekend this year!

Successful big brands like Pretty Little Thing who drop their annual discount of “99% off certain lines for an hour” and Amazon who run their Black Friday sale for a total of 11 days, always attain customer retention and make record breaking sales. But, when it comes to small businesses, deals like this are impossible to keep up with. 

As a small luxury wine business, only able to offer profitable deals, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd during Black Friday. However, with a good team and creative ideas, Black Friday doesn't have to be as intimidating and can be a time for small businesses to grow.