Black Friday - What to expect for your eCommerce Website in 2023
Black Friday - What to expect for your eCommerce Website in 2023
In 2023, Adobe Analytics are suggesting that online sales will soar to a new record.
Predictions for Black Friday this year:
1. Rise of click and collect
Click-and-collect is expected to rocket in terms of popularity, with research from Business Insider suggesting click-and-collect will double in the amount of people who use it from last year and will only continue to grow until 2024.
With the increasing strain on delivery drivers and the possibility of delivery times increasing or items getting lost more often, retailers might incentivize customers into buying or reserving online and collecting in-store or at certain drop-off points. Retailers could add bonuses to accounts who use click and collect or discounts on items when bought using click and collect.
The pros of using click and collect as a customer are quite substantial, as you can jump the queue, have a look and feel of the item before you pay for it (if you pay on collection), and save on delivery costs.
It does have its cons also, with it requiring you to have some sort of transport to get to a location where you can collect. However, I think for buyers who are buying from places near a collection point, this won’t be a problem.
2. Live shopping deals
Over the last few years, live-shopping services have gained lots of popularity, such as on TikTok where people can sell goods during a livestream.
The idea or concept of live shopping eCommerce isn’t exactly a brand-new thing. Teleshopping is a clear ancestor of live shopping, with people seeing an item and rather than calling in like in Teleshopping to put in an order, people simply click a link and their order is made. In fact, it’s already a multi-billion-dollar eCommerce concept in Asia, only just now reaching the US and UK.
Phone company OnePlus launched exclusive discounts through their Instagram and various other social feeds, so we can expect other brands to follow suit. Black Friday is a perfect time for this, with people shopping online more than ever, there. We’d recommend following all your favourite brands on social media (if only over Black Friday season) so you can pick up any exclusive discounts announced on social.
3. Flexibility with payment
In the last few years especially, we saw a massive rise of Buy Now Pay Later options and services such as Klarna and PayPal Credit. Services like these give you the option to divide payments into 3 or 4 separate payments.
Choosing to use these forms of payment can have their risks, for example if you’re unable to pay certain instalments, it can cause some complications along the way. It can lead to all kinds of debt if you are not careful, however, with the current state of people’s financial situations not being the best, we will most likely see even more usage of Buy Now Pay Later options at checkout over Black Friday, or retailers offering their own financing options.
4. Free next-day delivery
With next day delivery quickly becoming a norm in eCommerce, retailers may be more open and willing to offer and entice shoppers with free next-day delivery to limit people from crowding stores. The fact is people are more impatient than ever for deliveries these days. Gone are the times where you would be checking your post-box every day or so to see if an item has been delivered.
Almost every eCommerce website has a next day delivery option, no matter the type of item. It’s also a way that eCommerce retailers online can compete with giants like Amazon, who often become the go-to for the more impatient and demanding shoppers with a Prime membership. Prime allows unlimited next day delivery on eligible items for free.
5. More refurbished offers
The refurbished market is one area that has boomed during and now after the COVID-19 pandemic. Refurbished devices are beneficial in multiple ways, with a lower cost due to them being second hand and they help with the environment as you are buying a recycled good, saving the planet from electronic waste.
Refurbished devices are always becoming more accessible, with new phones and laptops releasing almost every month, it won’t be hard at all to find refurbished devices of great quality tech, all at lower prices.
We are now two weeks away from the busiest online shopping season in history. If you’ve not prepared your marketing strategy or tested your online performance, that’s okay! Take on these predictions and get yourself ready ASAP!
One final tip would be to hire an eCommerce Developer. Black Friday we all know means increased website traffic, so if your website isn’t up to scratch, you could have a few unneeded problems. Hiring an eCommerce Developer is a great way to ensure your website is of a high standard.
A website called Developer Connection is a great place to find the perfect eCommerce Developer for you, so visit it now before Black Friday to get your website ready to rumble!