However, like most other things in the world, this year, things will be different.
But that forecast has been raised up, not down. Globally, eCommerce has boomed throughout the pandemic. So, as we head into the Christmas selling season this year, spare a thought for all of those online businesses that have been fighting the good fight in recent times. This year (2020) might just be the biggest quarter of online trading that the world has ever seen.
When it comes to online shopping, Amazon is #1 worldwide. It pays to watch what they’re doing so you can give yourself the best possible chance of success.
This year Amazon is going to start offering Black Friday deals from as early as October 26. That’s a month before Black Friday occurs on November 27.
This year their Black Friday promotion will offer the consumer a range of deals from a variety of products up until November 19. After that, Amazon will undoubtedly offer other discounts in the run-up to Black Friday.
They’ve also hinted that they’ll run their annual Prime Day sales event in early October, which will give the online retail giant a significant sales presence throughout the final quarter this year.
Historically, Prime Day runs in July, but this year Amazon has pushed it back due to the pandemic. Rumours have it taking place on October 5, although nothing official has been released by Amazon yet.
- This year Amazon is going to start offering Black Friday deals from as early as October 26.
- That’s a month before Black Friday occurs on November 27.
- Historically, Prime Day runs in July, but this year Amazon has pushed it back due to the pandemic. Rumours have it taking place on October 5.
- And how do you accomplish all this while also catering to a fundamental human desire to look and feel good?
But look at their strategy.
If they run their Prime Day early in October, they will give consumers a chance to breathe and recoup (their budgets) before launching into early Black Friday promotions late October. By doing so, they’re flagging that getting in early on the Black Friday rush with your marketing communications could be a good idea.
Starting your campaigns, a month out from Black Friday, targeting your core customers, give you a fighting chance to get a cut of their spend when the frenzy hits in late November.
If you leave your run too late, the cost of those communications will only go up (think marketplace dynamics), and the potency of them will only go down (think brand cut through).
Amazon knows what they’re doing, keeping their brand and customer relationships fresh and top of mind heading into the primary selling season.
So, if you’ve built an email list, loyalty program (or better yet developed your custom audience with Facebook), you can target your core customers cheaply, and with great accuracy. So you can let them know that you’ll be there come spending time in November.
After the year we’ve all had, not only could this final quarter be the biggest one we’ve ever seen online, year on year every dollar earned in 2020 is going to feel like ten.