What do you still have time to consider before Black Friday?

If you work in retail or marketing, then you can’t hide from Black Friday. Preparation has been well underway for months so that brands are ready for the biggest sales period of the year. It is now 2 weeks away so you might think it’s too late, but there are still things you can think about to prep for Cyber Week and beyond. From being visible to your consumer when it counts to spending budget at the right time, our Senior Client Success Manager, Samantha Bluckert, has collated the top things you still have time to consider to get the most out of your marketing activity and Black Friday demand this peak.

1. Anticipate Peak Traffic Volumes

Use your planned peak budget, especially on key shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, to estimate the traffic it can drive. Analyse past data to pinpoint your peak traffic hours, and share these insights with your web team. They can use this data to ensure your site performs smoothly during high-traffic periods. Hourly traffic data is crucial for aligning your marketing campaigns with when customers are actually shopping.

2. Track Customer Conversion Timeframes

Understanding the time between when customers first search for your products and when they buy is essential. The customer journey is increasingly complex with multiple touchpoints. Knowing your typical “days to conversion” helps you determine when to start intensifying your campaigns before peak periods. Reviewing this data by campaign allows you to prioritise those with the highest potential impact.

3. Capitalise on the Full Cyber Month

Many shoppers begin researching their purchases at least a month before major sale periods, with 58% researching early and 60% engaging in 6 or more interactions before buying. Boosting your ad coverage leading up to peak sales can drive demand and interest, so customers are ready to purchase as soon as your sale launches.

4. Leverage Sales Badges and Feed Annotations

Draw attention to key promotions with sales badges and annotations in your ads, making it easier for customers to identify discounts and deals.

5. Upgrade to Performance Max (PMAX) Campaigns

If you haven’t switched to PMAX campaigns, consider upgrading now. PMAX campaigns typically deliver a 12% revenue boost over standard shopping campaigns, often at an equal or better ROAS. With PMAX, you’ll reach customers across multiple touchpoints, enhancing both engagement and brand recall.

6. Refresh Your Product Feeds Regularly

Keeping your ad inventory updated is critical, especially on peak days when stock can fluctuate quickly. Refresh your feeds as frequently as possible to avoid advertising out-of-stock items, saving ad spend and protecting click-through rates, bounce rates, and conversion rates. Tools like Productcaster’s FeedManager can automatically update your feeds hourly to ensure the most accurate information.

7. Stay on Top of Competitor Activity

Peak periods are highly competitive, so monitor your auction insights daily to gauge competitor activity. Research their sales and offers, and prepare strategic responses to potential aggressive competitor moves, allowing you to stay focused on your strategy without being thrown off track.

8. Prioritise High-Performing and Sale Products

Set up a dedicated campaign for your best-selling and sale items. Since these products are more likely to convert, allocate a larger share of your budget to these campaigns to maximize your sales potential.

9. Reconnect with Your Target Audiences

As Cyber Weekend approaches, more than half of shoppers are in research mode. Create audience lists to track these visitors and add them as audience signals in your campaigns. This way, you can re-engage with them when they’re ready to complete their purchase.

 

If you want advice around online marketing and how you can maximise your shopping performance, get in touch with our experts today at info@productcaster.com and for more practical tips to action pre peak, read our blog on feed management optimisation.