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GET YOUR HOUSE

IN ORDER FOR

BLACKFRIDAY

5STRATEGIESFOR SUCCESS

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What is Black Friday?Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Since the early 2000s, it has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season for Americans and it has now made its way to the UK.

When is it? 27th November 2015

Killer stats• £810m spent by UK shoppers in 2014

• Onlinetrafficwasup60%year-on-yearaccordingtodatafromExperian and IMRG

• SalesforeBayonBlackFriday2014wereupby76.32%

• Amazonattractedaround173mvisitsonBlackFriday2014,an83%increase on the same period last year

• Barclaycardreportedafour-foldincreaseinelectronicsspendingcomparedtoanaveragedayasconsumersrushedtograbitemslikediscountedTVs

• SomeretailersbuckledunderthestrainlastyearwithshoppersatM&Stoldthatnextdaydeliveriescouldtakeuptofourdaysandstandarddeliverieswouldtaketendaysratherthanthethreetofivedays originally promised

FACT5AT A GLANCE

ForalongtimeslatedasanunwantedAmericanism,BlackFridayis

now,withoutadoubt,apermanentfixtureinUKconsumers’shopping

calendars.Newanalystestimates,releasedjustlastmonth,predict

that fourtimesasmanyshopperswilltakepart in the event this

November—andit’sfastbecomingpopularforeBaysellerstoget

involved too.

Infact,2014’ssalesfiguresforeBayonBlackFridaywereup76.32% on

theyearbefore,andAmazonsaleswereup76.91%.

With £810m spent by UK shoppers on that one day alone and the

numberofparcelsshippedbeingwellintothemillions,thepressure

onsupplychainandlogisticsfirmstomeettheexponentialspikein

demandishigh.It’sallverywellholdinguponyoursideofthebargain,

butifyourcourierfailstogettheparcelfromAtoBintime,it’syour

store’spreciousfeedbackratingthat’satstake.

Lastyear’seventwasmarredbyanumberofhighprofileonline

failuresfromretailerswhosimplyweren’tpreparedenoughforthe

onslaughtofshoppers.Tescofailedtomeetclickandcollectand

nextdaydeliverypromises,whileM&Sfrustrateditscustomerswith

shippingdelaysofuptotwoweeks.

ButifyoudecidetotakepartinBlackFriday,whatcan

youdotoeasethepressure?HereareMyParcelDelivery’s

topfivetipsonwhatsellerscandotoensuretheyprepare

for Black Friday and get it right.

AndrewStarkey,headofe-logisticsatIMRG,said:

‘ThehugesurgeindemandonBlackFriday2014wasunprecedentedandcaughteveryoneintheindustrybysurprise.Atleastthistimewehaveaprecedent

andtimetodevelopstrategiestoensuretheChristmaspeakrunsasefficientlyaspossible.‘It’sfairtosaythatBlackFridaysplitsopinion,buttheimpactofitisso

vastthatitaffectsallretailerswhethertheyruncampaignsornot.’

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ChooseyourSKUscarefullyIt’sthosesellerswhoconcentrateondeliveringsignificant

savingsonasmallersetofSKUswhowillseebetterresults.

Amazon,forexample,doesn’tdiscounteverythingonits

site,butarangeoflimitedtimeoffersonspecificlines.It

shouldbenodifferentformarketplacesellers,whoshould

nowbestartingtoidentifywhichproductscustomersare

seekingandwhichtheycanaffordtodiscountmorethan

their competitors.

Youneedtothinkabouthowyou’regoingtomarketyour

deals.AreyougoingtobeusingeBay’semailmarketing

topromoteyourofferstopreviouscustomers?Willyour

onlinestorebetakingonanewmarketingimagethrough

customisedbanners,listingframesandheaderstylesto

highlightthefactyou’regettinginvolvedwiththetrenda

weekortwobeforetheevent?Andwillyoubeincluding

yourlistingsinatemporaryBlackFridaycategoryinyour

eBayshoporonyourwebsitetopiggybackthetraffic

generatedfrombargain-hungryshoppers?

1 Getyourcarrierrelationships in place nowHaveyougotyournetworkoftrustedcarrierssortedandnegotiatedthebest

pricesforthevolumeofordersyou’llbeshippingovertheweekend?Sellerswho

arestillusingthePostOfficeshouldputsomeseriousconsiderationintousingan

onlinedeliverybroker,suchasMy Parcel Delivery,whichoffersdiscountedprices

witharangeofcarriersanddeliveryoptions,includinghomeorofficecollection,

pick-upanddrop-offandinternationaldelivery.

MyParcelDeliveryoffersbusinessaccountstogivesellersaccesstoaneven

widerrangeofcouriersandfunctions.ThisincludesRapidBook,atooltospeed

uptheprocessofbookingmultipleorders—freeingyoufromtheneedtoinput

thesameinformationoverandover.Wealsohaveadedicatedaccountteamfor

businesscustomers,whoarehappytohelpwithaccountset-up.Usingadelivery

comparisonwebsitenotonlymakesthebookingprocesseasierbutalsohelps

youtoofferbetterdeliverychoicestoyourcustomers—thisisimportantifone

particularcourier’sperformancelevelsdrop,aswesawwithYodelandthen

CityLink closing down in the 2014 peak season.

2

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Thinkcarefullyaboutyourdelivery choices Youneedtocarefullyconsiderwhichdelivery

optionsyou’llbeofferingtoyourcustomers.Many

retailershavealreadyopenlydiscussedhowoffering

next-daydeliveryisahugerisk,provedbylastyear’s

deliveryfailures.

Whilesomesellersmightconsiderrunningdelivery-

basedpromotions-suchasAmazon’spricesavings

for Prime members who opt for standard shipping

ratherthantheincludednextdayshipping—weigh

upfirstwhetheryoushouldevenbeofferinga

premiumserviceatabargainprice.Taketherisk

intoaccountandconsiderhowmuchtimeand

moneyfacilitatingnextdaydeliveryactually

costsyouasaseller.

Crucially,manypurchaseswon’tbeurgently

requiredthenextdaysothemajorityofconsumers

will be happy to wait for their delivery, especially if

theyhavepickedupabargain.

Andhowaboutinternationaldelivery?Ifthisis

somethingyouofferanywayforsomeorallofyour

shipments—eitherthrougheBay’sGlobalShipping

Programme,FulfilmentbyAmazon(FBA),ornot—

lookathowshippingyourparcelsabroadcould

beaffectedbythesurgeindemandonUKlogistics.

Again,ifit’sgoingtohaveanimpactonyour

internationalcustomers’deliverydates,behonest

with them.

Essentially,youneedtocommunicatewithyour

customersclearlywhattheycanandcan’texpect

andbeupfrontwiththemfromthebeginningthat

delivery is likely to take longer than normal.

3

HOW TO CHOOSE A COURIER

Where are you sending to?

UK MAINLANDINTERNATIONAL

Do you have a printer?

SAME DAY NEXT DAY 2 DAY TIMED SATURDAY2 DAYS 3 DAYS

NEXT DAY 3 DAYS ECONOMY

DELIVERY TIME

DELIVERY TIMEDELIVERY TIME

DELIVERY TIME

DROP OFF

COLLECTION

DROP OFF

COLLECTION

COLLECTION COLLECTION

SAME DAY NEXT DAY 2 DAYS ECONOMY TIME SATURDAY

NO

YES

Do you have a printer?

NO

YES

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Ifyou’renowatthestagewhereyou’vestreamlinedyourpre-orderprepand

arrangedtheshippingfromyoutothecustomer,yournextstepistoslash

thetimetakenfromthecustomerplacingtheordertotheparcel

beinghandedtothecourier.

Forsmallsellers,whonormallydealwiththeirownfulfilment,drafting

infamily,friendsorevenpayingseasonalworkerscouldbeabighelptofreeup

timeinmanagingalltheotherinevitablestressesduringtheday.

Ifyou’realargeroutfit,haveyougotintouchwithyourthird-partylogistics

provider(3PL)tofindoutwhatpreparationsthey’vemadetohandletheextra

capacityissues?Willtheybetakingonseasonalstafftocopewiththeextra

demandsontheirbusiness?Ensuretheyhavealltheirpreparationsinhand,so

youcantickthatoffyourlist!

Pick and pack preparations4

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5 ManagingreturnsfortheseasonalperiodOftencitedassellers’biggestheadache,peopletendtoforgetaboutthe

amountoftimetakenpost-salebycustomersreturningunwantedorfaulty

goods.Youneedtobepreparedtocopewiththeprospectofdealingwith

BlackFridayreturnswhiledealingwiththepre-Christmaspeak.

WithBlackFridayjustfourweeksbeforeChristmas,manyofyourbuyers’

purchaseswillbemadewiththefestiveseasoninmind.Soareyougoingto

offeranextendedreturnsperiodtocoverChristmas?LastyeareBayremoved

andthenreinstatedtheTopRatedSellerDiscountforthosevendorsnot

optingintotheirextendedreturnsprogramme.Noneofusreallyknowifthey

willmakethesamemoveagainthisyear,butsellersshouldconsiderwhether

they’reabletopracticallyofferamoregenerousreturnspolicyandclearly

communicateittocustomers.

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Tosummarise…Retailerslargeandsmallhavebeenplanning—andtalkingabout—

Black Friday since the American retail event exploded in the UK last

yearwithunfulfilledorders,thecollapseofCityLinkandYodel’s

suspensionofcollections.

There were a lot of lessons learned for everyone across the retail

spectrum,butwithconsumerconfidenceanddemandforBlack

Fridaydealsuntouchedbylastyear’snegativepublicity,the

pressureisonforsmallerindependentretailerstouptheirgame.

Inshort,don’tmakepromisesyoucan’tkeepanddon’trelyonjust

onecarrierrelationship.Behonestinyourcommunicationwith

customersfromtheoutset,clearlyputtingacrossthemessagethat

you’reofferingamazingdealsbutthattheyneedtobepatient.

AndwhileBlackFridaywillbefarfromastress-freeday,you’vegot

achancetotapintoagreatopportunityforyourbusiness.

6 About the authorDavid Grimes is the managing director

of My Parcel Delivery.Helaunchedthe

companyin2010afterbeingfedup

ofspendinghoursqueuinginthePost

Officeeverydaytosendoutsamplesfor

apreviousbusinessventure.

Hethoughttheremustbeabetterway—andtherewas!

MyParcelDeliverynowoffersahugerangeofoptions,

suchaspick-up,drop-offandcollectionlockersacrossnine

differentcarriersfornext-daydelivery,economydelivery

and international delivery.

The multi-awardwinning My Parcel Delivery saw over a

milliondeliveriesbookedthroughitswebsitein2014alone,

typicallysavingcustomers53%ontheirdeliveryfees.

MyParcelDeliveryoffersbusinessaccountstoeBayand

Amazonsellers,whichincludesfurtherdiscountsonrates,

CSVuploading,arapidbooktoolandaccountsupport.

Excellentcustomerserviceisingrainedwithinthewhole

business,sothesupportteamistheretohelpsellerswithany

deliveryqueriestheyhaveandsolvetheirproblemsquickly.

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