nShift: Five Ways to Protect Black Friday Profits
The right delivery management software helps create the agility and resilience that ecommerce companies need to thrive
This year’s Black Friday looks set to be as big as ever, with global sales expected to exceed $40 billion on 24 November.[1] But just because the day itself is destined to be a success, does not mean that each individual retailer can guarantee to make a profit, warns nShift, the global leader in parcel delivery management software.
From cutting margins too tightly with excessive discounting, to running the risk of absorbing the cost on countless returned items, a number of factors can undermine profits during peak periods.
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nShift has created a list of five strategies to maximize profits on Black Friday:
- Keep customers coming back for more – retailers should not just focus on the “share of wallet” they can secure from a customer on Black Friday. They need to consider the “share of life” they can secure by building loyalty with shoppers over the long term. To do this, they need to focus on delivering the best possible customer experience throughout the entire lifecycle of the order, and not rely on deals and discounts alone
- Up selling and remarketing – customers are far more likely to open delivery update messages than other marketing communications. That makes delivery communications a powerful digital marketing channel for retailers able to take advantage of it
- Stop returns killing profits – some one in three items bought on Black Friday are quickly returned.[2] However, operating the right returns solution can convert 30% of returns to exchanges. It can also help facilitate the right returns policy, for example by encouraging customers to make returns and exchanges in-store, increasing footfall
- Ensure capacity to deliver – three-quarters of shoppers will abandon a retailer over poor delivery service.[3] But at peak times, it can be challenging to ensure that there is sufficient bandwidth to meet increased demand. Retailers and warehouses must quickly scale up, which may involve using a greater range of carrier companies
- Reduce abandoned shopping carts – some 80% of baskets are abandoned on Black Friday.[4] Offering the right range of delivery options can increase conversion by 20%
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Sean Sherwin-Smith, Post-Purchase Product Director at nShift, said: “Black Friday on 24 November is once again expected to be a sales record breaker. Ecommerce and multichannel retailers should set themselves up to take advantage of the increased traffic. But they can’t assume that their activities will automatically be profitable.
“Using the right delivery management software gives retailers and warehouses the flexibility to quickly increase the range of carrier companies they use to ensure transport capacity. These increased delivery options at checkout also gives customers the choice they expect – helping to reduce cart abandonment. Retaining the customer communication in the final mile opens all sorts of new revenue opportunities for retailers, and by digitalizing returns, they can convert returns to exchanges – protecting revenue and profits.”
