Are you ready for Black Friday?
Black Friday is one of the most pivotal events in the retailer’s calendar, kicking off the start of the festive shopping campaign in the UK. This year, Black Friday is on 24th November, and retailers are expecting bigger sales than ever.
In 2016 UK shoppers spent over £1.2 billion on Black Friday, with an estimated £6.5 billion spent in the week of the event, showcasing how essential it is that retailers get the Black Friday retail experience right for consumers.
Mystery shopping agency Tern works with well-known retail brands such as Fossil, to create a retail experience that shoppers will love all year round, including monitoring the effect of events such as Black Friday on the customer experience.
How to maintain your Customer Service Experience on Black Friday
As customers become increasingly more diligent about their product research and how they make their purchases, it is clear that customers demand the highest level of customer service all year round, throughout every step of the shopping experience.
Our experience and research has shown the following areas are some of the most common pressure points for retailers on Black Friday and throughout the festive season, or indeed at their own events such as Amazon’s Prime Day.
Providing clear information – Customers research their purchases well ahead of Black Friday, comparing multiple retailers for prices, descriptions, availability.
With such a limited time to make a purchase, insufficient, misleading or difficult to find information only leads shoppers to buy from a competitor – losing a sale before it has even begun.
It is also important that your in-store team are clearly aware of your offers – enabling them to provide the key information on the day to customers promptly and efficiently – making the buying experience as easy and enjoyable as possible.
Shopping Tactics – promotions designed to create a huge buzz can bring in the crowds, but if they are unrealistically limited, there can be many disappointed buyers.
Some sales, such as the Amazon Prime Day (only available to paid Prime members) drive huge demand – but with a premium price for Prime – consumers expect some amazing deals that are worth their investment. It is essential that your deals match customer expectation.
Online Shopping Experience – the online experience is growing – particularly on mobiles. Shoppers also now frequently browse in store, but purchase online whilst there to benefit from additional services such as delivery direct to their home, or cheaper prices. It is important to marry these up to provide an all-around positive experience.
In-store Shopping Experience – we all know that retailers have huge pressure on their teams during Black Friday and the following Christmas shopping rush. Hiring extra staff can and will bring unknown challenges in terms of customer service – but the preparations made in providing staff training and ultimately maintaining customer service throughout can’t be underestimated.
Learn More About Tern
Tern is a leading mystery shopping agency in the UK, providing mystery shopping experience, research, reporting, video reporting and more – why not read more about our retail mystery shopping services here, or if you would like to speak to a member of our team email enquiries@tern.co.uk or call 01939 235555.