Should you be doing Black Friday/Cyber Monday as an Australian business?

If you've been on the internet this month, you would know every man and his dog are having a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale. What started out in the US as something like our Boxing Day sales, but pre-Christmas during the Thanksgiving long weekend, Black Friday has taken over the world of e-commerce one email and sales banner at a time. So, how do we feel about that?

If you're one of our marketing clients, we offer you an opportunity to participate in a sale event without impacting the brand's 'on sale' reputation. Everyone's doing it, so it looks okay to offer 20%, 30%, or even 40% off your stock, depending on your margins and what you have to clear.

The customer doesn't bat an eyelid because these ads are being delivered everywhere. It's a pre-Christmas sale that many people wait for to shop. Even Australian customers have been conditioned to do the same over the past few years. Despite sales coming at them from every angle, they welcome the opportunity to get a good deal and save money on the shopping they will likely do anyway.

Or that's what they tell themselves. Most shoppers are likely to find something for themselves while shopping for others. More likely, even.

Participating can build brand trust and goodwill. I bet you didn't see that one coming! Haha. The customer wants to shop, and you can be the one who gives them that opportunity. They are grateful to you for the opportunity. Everyone wins with a correctly chosen discount and a solid digital campaign (emails, ads, social media).

Most importantly, as a business owner, you should be comfortable with your decision to participate, or not. Planning for these sales (and other end-of-year/Boxing Day sales) starts months in advance. So, put it on your calendar for next year and work on what you have coming up. You should log out of your emails for another week or two until this ends. Haha.