What we expected
Having left the worst of the pandemic behind, in 2022 we faced a new Black Friday with uncertainty and low expectations, despite the need to recover the sales lost over the previous two years. The context did not promise a good campaign: the war in Ukraine, inflation, economic recession, loss of purchasing power.
Forecasts were discouraging, even though purchase intent in Spain stood at around 72%, second only to Italy in Europe:
- 80% of consumers worried about rising prices.
- 75% fearful of a prolonged recession.
- A drop in consumption of up to 18%.
- Average spend per consumer in Spain estimated 13% below 2021.
We were therefore facing a shopper determined to avoid unnecessary purchases, hungrier for discounts than ever and even willing to give up favourite brands in exchange for more striking offers.
One more figure, also negative, allowed a more optimistic reading, because it meant plenty of room for improvement: only 32% of consumers were satisfied with Black Friday 2021. The causes of that dissatisfaction were the ones to work on:
- Lack of stock.
- Slow-loading websites.
- Poorly optimised checkout processes.
- Badly identified products.
- Delivery delays.
What actually happened
With the first results in, we see once again that reality beats any forecast. The Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022 campaign was very positive, even record-breaking in countries such as the United States, with a 2.3% increase in sales (9.12 billion dollars).
In Spain the figures were also good and very revealing:
- Almost 3 out of 4 consumers shopped during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.
- Traffic up 20% (11% for the whole week).
- Average spend up 35%, slightly below Germany, the UK, France or Italy.
What Christmas holds
In 2022, Black Friday and Cyber Monday cemented their place as major sales peaks, but there is life after them. Although 95% of consumers used them to start buying their gifts, there is plenty of Christmas campaign left to make the most of, and it should be done by applying what we learned.
What people search for most
According to Shopify, “cheap and cheerful” is losing ground. 76% of its consumers say they are committed to quality and look for durable products. 84% say they will compare before buying, and they will do so mainly on mobile (75% mobile versus 27% desktop).
Among the most searched products, pet care stands out, as does the sales growth of certain fashion sites (Zara reports a 230% increase on Black Friday versus the previous week). By segment:
- Toys (+285%).
- Smart home (+271%).
- Audio (+230%).
- Electronics (+221%).
- Fitness (+218%).
Where people buy most
In absolute terms, Amazon remains the leader: on Black Friday its number of users grew 30% versus the previous Friday. In percentage terms, other retailers grew even more: Carrefour (+40%), MediaMarkt (+70%) and PC Componentes (+60%).
Recommendations
The importance of being competitive
The market is an increasingly complicated environment. Consumers know what they want and will search until they find it. You have to be competitive, and for that you cannot neglect your competitors, lose sight of your product prices across sites or waste the advantages of your catalogue. Relying on a tool that lets you control prices and catalogue, yours and others’, is essential.
Real-time monitoring during sales peaks
Sales peaks are here to stay. Changes happen every day, even every hour, and during these high-intensity periods monitoring must be reinforced. The Data Seekers platform lets you track your prices and your competitors’ hour by hour, set automatic alerts for any relevant change and define business rules for dynamic repricing: when a change matches your rule, the price adjusts itself.
Keep an eye on marketplaces
Amazon, eBay, Rakuten, AliExpress, Walmart. They own the market and their information is worth its weight in gold. Intensive tracking of their catalogue, prices, availability and sellers is essential. You will not only fine-tune your pricing strategy: you will spot gaps or advantages in your catalogue and identify unauthorised sellers and counterfeit products.
Optimise your points of sale at every level
Retailer sites must be optimised for loading speed and user experience, on desktop and on mobile. It sounds obvious, but if we review the causes of dissatisfaction in 2021, perhaps it is not.
Take care of catalogue and stock: knowing the state of demand lets you adjust the assortment and reinforce inventory in time. And ensure consistency across points of sale: the same product cannot be shown differently depending on the site. Digital shelf control solutions help keep names, descriptions and images consistent across every channel, and also show how much prominence each product has and where it ranks in search results.
Reviews give us extra data
Monitoring what consumers think of our product, in quantity (ratings) and quality (reviews), is an efficient way to collect consumer data without complex market research.
Conclusions
We expected little from this Black Friday and, once again, reality beat the forecasts. There is Christmas campaign left and we must apply what we learned: be competitive, monitor in real time, track marketplaces, keep consistency across points of sale and listen to reviews.
If you want to reach the next campaign with prices and catalogue under control, discover our pricing intelligence and stock control solutions.