Complete Black Friday 2018 Guide for eCommerce Businesses

Parcel Monkey´s Guide to Black Friday 2018

Black Friday is one of the busiest retail days of the year, and a great opportunity for online retailers to boost sales. However, to really make it a success, it’s important you and your business are well prepared. Whether you have your own e-commerce website or an account on eBay, this Black Friday guide will ensure your holiday season gets off to a productive, profitable and problem-free start.

Read some top tips for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday success.

First of all – when is Black Friday? 

Black Friday 2018 falls the day after Thanksgiving, Friday 23rd November.  

Although Black Friday is mostly big retailers offering even bigger discounts, that´s not to say small online retailers shouldn't bother. You don't need to slash your prices and compete with the big boys to cash in on the hype surrounding this sales day phenomenon. Simply provide deals you know your customers will want, and you'll enjoy a kick-start to your holiday season sales.

You will need to prepare for the big day(s), however. That way, you'll maximum sales, minimize mistakes and make sure customers are more than satisfied – so they'll come back to you again and again. This is where our Black Friday 2018 tips come in…

Decide on your Black Friday 2018 sale items – now

The sooner you decide what products you want to prioritize in the sales, the sooner you can start promoting them. Not only will this help to create a buzz around your offers, but it will also help you to prepare for logistical issues such as organizing packaging and covering postage costs. Black Friday coupons for certain items are a great way to get your sales flowing! 

It also allows you to create contingency plans; for instance, deciding on substitute sale items, should you sell out of your big-ticket items. And talking of contingency plans… 

Make your website ready for the Black Friday deals

Will your site be able to cope with a sudden increase in traffic? Will tech support be around to help out, should any problems arise? (They certainly should be!). Are your promotions simple to navigate to? Finally, is it easy for customers to make payments and arrange delivery? If you are anticipating large volumes of orders. it might be worth uploading a CSV file using our bulk shipping tools, or even connecting a Shopify or eBay store so that you can multiple shipping quotes all at one time! 

Get all hands on deck

If you have the manpower or even just friends who can help out, make sure they’re on standby at the very least, in case things get really busy. You don't want to upset customers by not being able to fulfill your Black Friday shipment promises. As a physical touch point with your customers, make sure your packaging represents your brand and add those small, memorable touches that will stick with your customer. 

If you think you're going to struggle here, then it may be a great time to consider an order fulfillment service could be just the thing you need to save you time and hassle – and maybe even your sanity!

Offer a helping hand

Make sure you´ll be on-hand at all times, to answer customer queries. If you don't already have one, think about offering a live chat function, like we do, down there in the corner. We’ll be available throughout the whole Black Friday period, should you need us – maybe you could promise the same to your customers?

Provide swift, low-cost and reliable postage

That's where we come in! Parcel Monkey offers some of the lowest prices for domestic and international shipping, plus we'll collect from your business for free. Rather drop off at the Post Office or local FedEx store? We can cater for this too. 

In the world of eCommerce tracking is very important, you can track all packages shipped with Parcel Monkey using our tracking tool so you can keep tabs on all your shipping in one place if you book via our shipping calculator. 

And we won't let you down. Don't believe us? We collect customer reviews for all of our services, so feel free to check up on us if you like.  

Follow up with more of the same

You´ll have plenty of new customer details when it´s all over. Make the most of that by sending out an email with more promotions. Of course, we don't recommend you spam, everyone, mere hours after they've made a purchase. However, your customers should be pleased to hear from you a week or so later – if you've followed our tips, that is! – so give it a go…