The date November 23, 1951, marked an important day in the history of the retail industry all over the world. The Factory Management and Maintenance journal used the term ‘Black Friday’ to refer to the day following Thanksgiving after a majority of employees took a leave on that day to enjoy a four-day week-end.
After that year, American stores and retail outlets celebrate the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday to offer incredible discounts and deals. It also marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the States. Over the years, retailers all over the world have revelled in the celebrations to start a massive shopping spree.
In this blog post, we have discussed five effective loyalty program strategies that business owners can use to bolster their Black Friday sales campaign. So, without further ado, let’s dive right into this blog post and learn more about the strategies.
Black Friday Loyalty Program Strategies 2023
1. Free Shipping
Did you know that free delivery (or free shipping) is the biggest incentive for nine out of every ten customers to shop online? That’s right! A Future of Retail study conducted by Walker Sands revealed that 90% of the respondents said that the availability of free shipping is their number one incentive to shop online.
That explains why free shipping must be your number one priority for your Black Friday strategy. You don’t have to worry about the costs you’ll have to incur for delivering products to your loyalty program members for free.
You see, during the Black Friday sale, your loyal customers are more likely to purchase a larger volume of products than usual. That will cover the delivery charges. Apart from that, it will save them the hassle of standing in long queues and enduring the huge crowds and long wait-time.
2. Early Access for Loyalty Members
If you follow Amazon’s Black Friday Sale between November 24 and 25 or its Indian counterpart—The Great Indian Festival in October every year, you must have noticed that they provide early access to deals to their Prime Members. Just imagine the privilege Prime members have when they can access attractive discounts and deals before other customers. They get to buy the best stuff by paying the best price while the regular customers have to choose from what’s left from the early access deals.
Interestingly, the company released a stat in October 2022 that showed the power of early access on its clients. As per the report, the Prime Early Access Sale Day generated 27% higher Sales for one of its clients compared to the Prime Day in July same year. Speaking of stats, as per a study, 21% of respondents said that they would be happy to spend a little extra for early access benefits in their loyalty memberships.
Early access can work like magic if you have tiers in your loyalty programs. You can reserve the benefits for Gold- or Platinum-tier members. The best part about early access to sales and deals is it’s free. Your loyalty program members can access the deals one day or two before the general public. And as your most valuable members, customers will complete their shopping before the official Black Friday deal, they won’t be influenced by the deals and offers of your competitors.
Suggested Read: Loyalty Program Strategies: Everything You Need to Know
3. Social Media Engagement
If your business has a presence on social media, you must know its power to influence the buying decisions of your target customers. As per a study conducted by GlobalWebIndex, more than half of social media users use various platforms to research products and social media platforms influence the purchasing decisions of 71% of customers.
You can leverage social media to promote your Black Friday deals and entice your loyalty program members to buy products. You can also leverage social media to create close-knit groups and build a sense of community among your loyalty program members. That will encourage them to share their shopping experiences, tips, and favourite finds on social platforms. You can also gamification your loyalty programs by adding elements such as badges, points, and challenges to engage your members.
You can also leverage influencers’ recommendations on social media. As per a survey among social media users between the ages of 18 and 54, one out of every five of them has bought a product or service after an influencer’s recommendation.
4. Personalized Offers and Recommendations
As an entrepreneur or marketer, you must be aware of the fact that almost 70% of customers abandon their shopping carts due to various reasons. Price is one of the major reasons for cart abandonment. And, you can address that issue during your Black Friday sale! Just imagine the joy of your loyalty program members when they find a valuable product (or service)that they have been looking for in the past few months, for an attractive price point.
That’s where keeping track of your customer data, their browsing history, and past transactions can come in extremely handy. Once you have maintained records of which of your loyalty program members have abandoned their carts in the recent past, it would be easier for you to send them personalized Black Friday deals based on their preferences.
When your loyalty program members feel that you understand their needs and preferences, they are more likely to make a purchase.
5. Provide Omnichannel Experience
Providing an awesome online shopping experience to your loyalty program members isn’t just enough for Black Friday. You must provide an omnichannel experience to your members. If you have a mobile app, integrate your loyalty program into it. That’ll enable your customers to track their rewards, access exclusive offers, and make purchases all within the app.
A well-designed app can enhance the overall shopping experience and make it more convenient for loyal customers. Implementing a mobile pass system will make it easier for customers to store membership on their phones. Customers can scan the mobile membership pass with a point-of-sale (POS) device and redeem their reward automatically.
Creating an omnichannel experience will not only make your loyal members feel special but also encourage them to shop with you on Black Friday.
Everything Said and Done,
Black Friday is observed on the Fourth Friday in November every year. Business owners offer extraordinary discounts on that day to attract shoppers and drive massive shopping sprees. Many successful businesses leverage loyalty programs to provide additional benefits to their loyal customers.
At LoyaltyXpert, we can help you create tailored loyalty programs for your Black Friday campaigns. If you are looking to make the most of the upcoming Black Friday (November 24, 2023), contact us today to book a demo.