Your browser does not support JavaScript!
Close
  • About us
  • Services
  • Our work
  • Shopify Plus
  • Journal
  • Contact
  • About Juno

  • The team
  • Clients
  • Careers
  • Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Find us

  • 4-6 Broadway, Nottingham
    NG1 1PS, UK
  • Contact

  • +44 (0)115 941 8122
  • info@junowebdesign.com
Menu
  • About us
  • Services
  • Our work
  • Shopify Plus
  • Journal
  • Contact

Juno Ecommerce

banner

How to prepare for Black Friday 2020 in a climate of uncertainty

04.11.2020

Since its introduction to the UK in 2010, Black Friday has steadily grown in popularity, accounting for an average increase of up to 1708% in sales compared to regular shopping days. Categorised by a weekend of promotions, Black Friday marks the start of the festive shopping season – a slew of sales before brands go full-steam ahead with their Christmas campaigns.  

But in the wake of the global pandemic, this year’s Black Friday event (and the festive season as a whole) is shrouded in uncertainty. After months of local restrictions, brick-and-mortar stores have been hit with another national lockdown, leaving in-person Black Friday shopping almost completely off the table. And the impact isn’t limited to the high street – ecommerce stores have felt the hit, too. Cancelled spring and summer plans meant that categories like occasionwear and holiday clothing saw their sales fall drastically, leaving businesses with warehouses full of unsold stock. Compounded by job losses and economic uncertainty, the retail industry is struggling to regain its footing. 

Which means this year’s Black Friday is more important than ever. 

7 ways to make Black Friday 2020 work for you

As the festive shopping season approaches, brands have the opportunity to win back some of the sales they lost to the pandemic. But it won’t be enough to rinse-and-repeat previous years’ campaigns. To really make the most out of their sales this year, businesses will need to be a bit more strategic. 

From trend-led discounting to extra online support, here are some top tips for maximising your sales on Black Friday 2020. 

1. Load-test your site 

Every year, businesses battle to get their tech infrastructure ready for the surge in traffic that Black Friday brings. And with all non-essential UK stores forced to close over Black Friday weekend 2020, it’s safe to say brands can expect more online traffic than ever before. 

If you’re on a platform like Shopify, you don’t need to worry too much about overloading your site. With unlimited bandwidth and extra support during peak sales, Shopify is especially good at offering merchants a robust Black Friday experience. 

However, it’s still a good idea to do your own load-testing, just to be safe. You can do this with tools like k6 Cloud, which gives you an easy way to test and monitor your site’s performance over time. You should also take this opportunity to run some speed tests with PageSpeed Insights to make sure your site is performing at its best. 

Source: k6 Cloud


And it’s not just about your website. Any systems connected to your online store – such as your ERP or WMS – also need to be ready to handle a surge in orders. If one platform has an issue, it can impact your entire infrastructure, leading to catastrophic outages. With that in mind, it’s worth reaching out to your tech and integration partners to see how they’re planning on managing Black Friday this year. Make sure they’re aware of which days you’re planning on running promotions so that they can have additional support in place, if necessary. 

2. Create contingency plans

As bleak as it might seem, preparing for a successful Black Friday also means preparing for your worst-case scenario. Website outages, fulfilment issues, shipping delays, staff sickness – anything that could possibly go wrong needs to be planned out and prepared for. 

The first point of call would be to shift your staff’s hours around – especially across your IT and customer service teams – to make sure that your online store is covered for out-of-hours support issues. If you’re an enterprise-level business, you’ll probably need to hire additional staff to cope with the increased demand. 

In case of any technical issues or outages, establish the points of contact with all your key partners – including your ecommerce platform, ERP, WMS, and your logistics partner. That way, if something does go awry with one of your systems, your team knows exactly who to call. 

Warehouse and shipping services are the most impacted by surges in orders, so make sure you create contingency plans here, too. If you outsource your fulfilment services, find out what your warehouse or logistics partner’s contingency plans are, and share that information with the relevant teams. 

Don’t be afraid to communicate delays to your customers. If your shipping times have been impacted by the pandemic, make customers aware of this upfront, and give them a rough estimate of how long they can expect to wait for their order. Not only is this better from a shopping-experience perspective, but it also stops your customer service team from being overwhelmed with complaints!

3. Make it relevant 

2020 has been a year like no other – which means your old tried-and-tested marketing campaigns aren’t going to do the trick this time around. To get the most out of your sales this Black Friday, you need to position your marketing in the context of the year. 


In a strange way, drafting relatable messaging has never been easier. Never before have your entire audience (and beyond) been in the exact same boat, the exact same set of circumstances. Because this is the year of staying in. Of self-care, home improvement, investing in hobbies and creating a space to weather the storm. Of practicality over fashion and comfort over style. If you can use these themes as springboards for your marketing messaging, you’re onto a winner. But remember – keep it sensitive! 

4. Keep it personal 

Your audience is likely feeling a little more isolated than usual this year, and many will be missing the experience of in-store shopping. That’s why it’s important to make your customers feel extra special. 

A blanket, site-wide sale isn’t always enough. If you can, reach out to your repeat customers with offers personalised to them – based on their shopping history, their wishlists, or products they’ve viewed recently. These targeted approaches not only have a much higher conversion rate, but they make your customer feel valued. 

To make these offers work, start promoting them a week ahead of the actual sales. Remember, not everyone cares enough to mark Black Friday in their calendar – so make sure you get the word out in plenty of time. But be careful not to spam your customers with offers. A few personalised sales emails over the course of the week are much better than a barrage of generic promotional emails.

5. Embrace the trends 

Never has the industry seen such a drastic shift in consumer trends as in 2020. Categories like luggage and fashion, particularly occasionwear and holiday clothing, were hit massively by the pandemic, leaving brands with warehouses full of spring and summer stock. Meanwhile, homeware, loungewear, lifestyle and wellbeing sales all soared as consumers adjusted to life in lockdown. 


According to Shopify, the top-trending product categories in lockdown are: 

  • Indoor and outdoor furniture 
  • Home office equipment and accessories 
  • Board games and puzzles 
  • Exercise equipment
  • Self-care and beauty products
  • Leisurewear

Although you might want to focus your discounts on your traditional bestsellers, as well as any unsold stock, it would be remiss for brands not to include at least some of these thriving categories in their promotions this year. If you can, incorporate these shifting trends into your Black Friday marketing campaigns. It’s a great year to have a push on pyjamas and scented candles! 

6. Clever cross-selling 

Cross-selling is an easy, incredibly simple way to improve your conversions and increase your average order value. If you’re not already utilising cross-selling techniques, now’s the time to do so. 

The easiest way to win at cross-selling is through product recommendations, such as a product-page carousel that showcases similar products to the one the customer is viewing. For fashion brands, one of the most effective ways to cross-sell is to have a ‘Complete the look’ section on product pages, giving customers a chance to buy coordinating or complementary items. To go even further, you could offer personalised recommendations based on your customer’s purchase or viewing history, creating a shopping experience that’s entirely unique to them. 

Source: Nosto


Luckily, there are dozens of apps designed to automate this kind of product recommendation and content personalisation. When working with Shopify merchants, we recommend Nosto, which is designed to integrate seamlessly with Shopify stores. 

7. Highlight your returns policy 

Showcasing your returns policy is always a good idea, but this year, it’s more important than ever. With another national lockdown in place, customers will be keen to know how flexible your brand is with returns. Are you extending your returns window? Do you charge for returns? How long will a refund take? By addressing these questions prominently on your site, you’ll be able to reassure potential consumers about spending with you in lockdown. 

Black Friday weekend 2020

Despite the uncertainty, there’s still plenty of potential for a whopping Black Friday this year. To make the most of all that extra online traffic, make sure you prepare early, create backup plans, and be smart about your discounting. Happy selling!

This year’s Black Friday weekend will commence on the 27th of November 2020. 

  • Share on
Marketing Shopify

By Chloé Rose Whitmore

Copywriter

The resident copywriter and content queen at Juno. Drinks 13 cups of tea a day and finds dogs' ears calming.

Add comment

4-6 Broadway, Nottingham,
NG1 1PS, UK

+44 (0)115 941 8122

info@junowebdesign.com

  • banner
  • banner

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

At Juno eCommerce we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. As a result we are transparent in everything we do.

This policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website, request information or enquire about a product / service from Patchworks.

The policy explains how we use that information, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.

We may change this policy from time to time so please check this page to ensure that you’re happy with any changes.

By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.

Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent, by email, to: info@junowebdesign.com.

Who are we?

Juno eCommerce

Where to find us

16 Commerce Square, Nottingham, NG1 1HS, United Kingdom

How to contact us in case of a complaint

+44 (0)115 941 8122

info@junowebdesign.com

How to contact us to request access to, or change, any personal data we may hold on you

+44 (0)115 941 8122

info@junowebdesign.com

ICO Registration Details

We are registered as a Data Controller with the Information Controller’s Office (ICO).

Registration Number: ZA376490

How do we collect information from you?

We obtain information about you when you use our website, email us or call us to enquire about our products and services, or if you register to receive one of our newsletters. We also collect information about you when attending industry-specific exhibitions, events and through networking.

We do not react to Do Not Track (DNT) signals, as any details captured are for the sole purpose of enquiring about, or signing up for, the Patchworks Integration Platform as a Service.

What type of information is collected from you?

The personal information other than business information that we collect might include your name, address, email address, IP address, and information regarding what pages are accessed and when.

Like many other websites, https://www.junoecommerce.com/ uses cookies. ‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual.

Cookies enable us to provide you with a personalised experience, both online and via other media.

It is possible to switch off cookies by setting your browser preferences. Please refer to your specific browser’s help / settings for more information on how to switch off cookies. Turning cookies off may result in a loss of functionality when using our website.

How we use your personal information

We use personal information about you in connection with the following purposes:

(Please Note: we will never keep paper copies of any of your personal data)

Fulfilling your requests:

to provide you with the information, products and services that you have requested from us
to complete any transaction you are undertaking with us
to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into you and us
to administer any promotion or competition that you enter via our website(s)
to allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so
in the course of processing a job application or enquiry
to meet a legal or statutory obligation.

Marketing:

to provide you with information about other goods and services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about
to measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you, which may be based on your activity on our website(s) or the website of another Juno eCommerce Company or third parties’ websites
to make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of our site about goods or services that may interest you or them, which may be based on your activity on our website(s) or the website of another Juno eCommerce Company or third parties’ websites.

If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please email us on info@junowebdesign.com.

Service Improvements and account management:

to ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer
to administer our site and for internal business administration and operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes
to notify you about changes to our service and to send you service emails relating to your account
as part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure
to manage and operate your account with us

Please Note: We do not use automated decision making tools.

Sharing your personal information

We will not share your information with 3rd parties for marketing purposes.

However, we may pass some information to our third party service providers, agents, subcontractors and other associated organisations for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf (for example to process products and to keep you informed).

When we use third party service providers, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service and we have a contract in place that requires them to keep your information secure and not to use it for their own direct marketing purposes. Please be reassured that we will not release your information to third parties beyond the Patchworks Network, unless you have requested us to do so, or we are required to do so by law, for example, by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime.

These third parties may include:

Credit reference agencies and other companies for use in credit decisions, for fraud prevention
We may transfer your personal information to a third party as part of a sale of some or all of our business and assets to any third party or as part of any business restructuring or reorganisation, or if we’re under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply our terms of use or to protect the rights, property or safety of our staff and customers. However, we will take steps with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected.

Controlling your information that we hold

If we do not have a business relationship with you, then you have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us.

We will not contact you for marketing purposes by email, phone or text message unless you have given your prior consent. We will not contact you for marketing purposes by post if you have indicated that you do not wish to be contacted.

You can change your marketing preferences at any time by contacting us on info@junowebdesign.com

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal information for marketing purposes.

You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking or unchecking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us on info@junowebdesign.com.

​How you can access and update your information

The accuracy of your information is important to us. If you change email address, or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us on info@junowebdesign.com.

You have the right to ask for a copy of the non-business personal information Patchworks holds about you.

If you wish to raise a complaint regarding how we have handled your personal data, please email info@junowebdesign.com in the first instance and the Patchworks Team will investigate and report back to you.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Keeping your information safe

When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely. Any personal information is encrypted and protected via SSL and secure data storage. When you are on a secure page, a lock icon will appear on the bottom of web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer.

We may store your personal information on Google and Amazon’s Clouds and in our Portal, CRM, Messaging, Accounting, Support and Email Service Provider software.

To read the detailed specification of how the third parties we work with keep your data safe, please click on each of the relevant links below:

https://cloud.google.com/security/compliance

https://www.digitalocean.com/security/

https://aws.amazon.com/security/

https://www.hubspot.com/security

https://slack.com/security

https://www.xero.com/accounting-software/security

https://www.atlassian.com/trust/security/

https://mailchimp.com/about/security/

https://www.elastic.co/legal/privacy-statement

In addition to the security and compliance policies documented above, Patchworks have GDPR compliant contractual agreements and / or Data Processing Agreements in place with each of our data processing sub-contractors.

Non-sensitive details (your email address etc.) are transmitted normally over the Internet, and this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best efforts to ensure its security on our systems. Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.

We will hold your data for no longer than we need it for, or if you have advised you wish us to delete it or we have a legal reason such as tax purposes. We aim to keep your data no longer than 5 years in all other cases.

You can request a copy of our retention schedule by emailing

info@junowebdesign.com.

Patchworks agree to the individual redress principle, which requires that individuals have a right to pursue legally enforceable rights against Data Collectors and Processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or a government agency to investigate and / or prosecute non-compliance by Data Controllers and / or Processors.

Should a data breach occur, every person whose data we control will be notified within 7 business days.

Keeping children safe

We are concerned to protect the privacy of children aged 18 or under. If you are aged 18 or under‚ please get your parent/guardian’s permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.

If we learn that we have collected the personal information of a child under the relevant minimum age without parental consent, we will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible. Parents who believe that their child has submitted personal information to us and would like to have it deleted may contact us on info@junowebdesign.com.

Profiling

We may analyse your personal information to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you with information relevant to you. We may make use of additional information about you when it is available from external sources to help us do this effectively. We may also use your personal information to detect and reduce fraud and credit risk.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites run by other organisations. This privacy policy applies only to our website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.

In addition, if you linked to our website from a third party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site.

Transferring your information outside of the European Union

We operate internationally. As part of the services offered to you by Juno eCommerce, the information which you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Union (“EU”).

By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK. By submitting your personal data, you’re agreeing to this transfer, storing or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this Policy.

If you use our services while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.

We keep this Policy under regular review.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Cookie Policy

More information about our Cookie Policy