Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday – Which one is stronger?

Why would you just take advantage of Black Friday perks when you can also get profits from Cyber Monday? Both special sales are just around the corner! Although it seems that the Black Friday is taking all the spotlight, Cyber Monday is becoming even more successful since the pandemic hit our lives. So make sure you prepare  your seasonal marketing strategy for your business in advance.

One of the advantages of Black Friday is that it lets the customers experience shopping in your physical store and compare the products they are interested in. However, Cyber Monday allows you not only to shop without leaving home, but also accelerate the shopping process while avoiding crowds. 

In this post, you will get some tips to face Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Keep in mind that 2022 has been declared the year of online sales and get ready for your advertising campaigns!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales 2022: What to expect 

Until a few years ago, Black Friday was the key day to get a head start on holiday shopping. But what has changed with the consolidation of Cyber Monday? First, your conversions! Thanks to special promotions, you can boost your sales. Take a look at the forecasts for 2022!

• Black Friday 2021 saw 88 million Americans shopping online.
• In-store traffic increased by nearly 19% year over year.
• Black Friday online shopping sales hit $8.9 billion.
• Average savings on Black Friday specials were 24%.
• Average order values increased by 9% in 2021.
• Nearly 43% of Black Friday sales happened through mobile phones.
• Millennials were the biggest spenders.
• About 29% of women intended to shop during Black Friday 2021.
• Amazon accounted for 17.7% of all Black Friday sales.
• The average adult spent $430 during the shopping event.

Source: Spendmenot

Prepare your business for Black Friday or Cyber Monday 

Plan your seasonal marketing strategy and launch your Google Ads campaigns. Black Friday and Cyber Monday is the ideal opportunity to prepare your site and offer special discounts. What do you need to stand out?

• You can start by doing keyword research on the search intent of your potential customers and add them to your ad groups. Create specific ads for Black Friday and Cyber Monday to use these two words as keywords.
• Use remarketing campaigns to bring customers back to your store and remind them of your brand/products. And last but not least, increase your budget significantly. This way your campaigns don’t run out of budget and stop showing up when people are searching for your products at their peak.
• Apply promotion extensions to your ads to draw potential customers’ attention. Since this will help you increase your click-through rate, don’t forget to drive them to the proper product landing page they are looking for. The goal is to click and convert! 
• 59% of searches on Black Friday are from mobile devices. Using Display ads is the best option because they provide you the opportunity to engage users with appealing ad formats. 
• Check your website speed and checkout process. It is the best strategy to reduce abandoned carts. 

Black Friday vs Cyber Monday Google Ads campaigns on Google

Let’s see some examples of Black Friday advertising campaigns already running on Google.

SEPHORA

Sephora usually uses catchy titles to promote the upcoming November 25 deals. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the perfect time to buy those high-priced items. Pay attention because cosmetics firms usually advertise Cyber Weeks. They usually use newsletters to notify the start of Cyber Week each year. This is last year’s campaign:

 

 

IKEA

Black Friday represents the strongest side of consumerism. That’s why every year more and more companies are joining in to create sustainable initiatives and reach out to people who share the same values. Last year IKEA offered its customers the possibility to return used IKEA furniture during the week of Black Friday and receive coupons for up to 50% of the original price.

 

 

 

ASOS

Another seasonal advertising trend is reusing last year’s landing pages. Here’s an example! ASOS is promoting Black Friday and Cyber Monday clothing deals by using the updating technique. In the metadata description, you can see they have missed to change “November 2020”. Why do they prefer to reuse a landing instead of creating a new one? This landing has good SEO and it is well-positioned in Google results. 

 

 

Black Friday vs Cyber Monday Shopping: Customer point of view

“What day should I shop?” “What sale does it fit me better?” If you are wondering those kinds of questions, we have the answer! Your choice between Black Friday and Cyber Monday depends on the products you need and your shopping preferences. While Black Friday has better deals on technology items, Cyber Monday discounts focus on appliances and products such as clothing, makeup, toys, and gifts. 

Both dates are very close to Christmas, so we advise you to plan your gifts in advance and take advantage of Cyber Monday to reduce expenses. For Black Friday, pay attention to the big stores, as they are the ones that can afford to have smaller margins. 

Keep in mind that offers also depend on the platform. For example, although Amazon, the eCommerce giant, offers discounts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the best prices will be available on Cyber Monday. Furthermore, you will notice some major perks if you are an Amazon Prime subscriber.