In 2023, in-store and online shoppers spent $9B in Australia alone on BFCM weekend, which was a 22% increase from 2022. For ecommerce brands, Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) means navigating how their retail ops will handle a huge spike in demand—but it also means a ton of new data to inform their growth strategies. Peak season is a prime opportunity to gather valuable insights that can fuel your success year-round.
More customer engagement and buying activity means a lot more data—creating a better chance for you to understand customer behaviour, product performance, and market trends. But to turn these insights into a strategic advantage, you need to lay the groundwork and plan for how you’ll implement them throughout the year.
Set up analytics tracking early
To make data-driven decisions, you need time to gather the right insights—but BFCM gives you an advantage by generating a bunch of data in a short period. It gives you the opportunity to dive deep and see quickly what’s working and what’s not, from which marketing channels perform best to which ads resonate with different audiences.
By setting up robust analytics tracking well ahead of BFCM, you’ll be ready to capture data needed for valuable insights in real time. By analysing that data, you can focus your marketing spend on what drives results, helping you fine-tune your strategy not just during the peak season, but all year round. With an all-in-one POS system, gathering these detailed insights across your entire retail operation is simple, and the data collection process is a seamless part of your growth strategy.
Use insights from BFCM to shape your ongoing strategy
Once the chaos of BFCM is behind you, you’ll have a ton of data that you can sift through to inform strategies for lasting success. Here’s how to make the most of all that data:
Measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts
If you’ve followed our advice, you have already begun to put a decent amount of time and planning into your marketing efforts ahead of BFCM. Having meticulously planned out those strategies ahead of time, you’ll have a ton of insights to gain. Here’s what you should look at:
Channel analysis
Take a look at which marketing channels delivered the best results during BFCM. You undoubtedly put a lot of effort into your email campaigns—did those earn the most traffic? Or were your social media ads the most effective in converting browsers into buyers?
Identifying the channels with the highest ROI for your BFCM campaigns gives you more data points so you can continue testing performance on those channels beyond BFCM. Maybe it’s the case that your email campaigns were a huge revenue driver during the holidays, but other channels are where you’ll allocate resources for the rest of the year. Let the data you generate on BFCM inspire creative ways to test your hypotheses about each channel’s performance.
Message optimization
The messages and content that resonated with your audience during BFCM are a goldmine for shaping future campaigns. To uncover which elements drove the highest engagement and conversions, make use of A/B testing across your emails and ads. Implement tracking tools like UTMs to see which messages are pulling customers in. For in-store visits, leverage loyalty programs to identify which promotions or communications customers have received. Did a particular offer create a sense of urgency, or did a specific value proposition hit home? Use these insights to fine-tune your messaging strategy, ensuring future campaigns continue to engage your audience effectively
Audience segmentation
Understanding who responded to your marketing efforts is just as crucial as knowing which channels performed best. Segment your audience based on their behaviour during BFCM—who made repeat purchases, who responded to specific promotions, and who engaged most with your content. Tailor your future campaigns to these segments by delivering personalised messages and offers that speak directly to their preferences and buying habits. Personalised marketing always works better, and tailoring your communications to your customers’ wants and needs is a fast track to gaining loyal customers.
Campaign timing and frequency
The influx of demand on BFCM gives you a ton of opportunity to fine-tune your campaign timing and frequency. The data you gather—whether your audience is more responsive to early-bird deals, last-minute offers, or event-day reminders—can be a game-changer. Use those insights to craft a more strategic campaign schedule, meeting your audience right when they’re ready to engage with your brand, and ultimately make a purchase. Over time, you can get really detailed as you optimise campaign timing for each customer segment. Every brand wants their piece of the pie, and your goal should be to take the biggest slice you can get.
Creative and visual appeal
Even though it can be hard to quantify, you shouldn’t overlook the power of creative and visual elements in your marketing campaigns. To understand which visuals, designs, and formats were most effective during BFCM, consider using A/B testing to compare different types of content, like video versus carousel ads. Tools like heatmaps can show you where users are clicking or engaging the most. And if customers are coming in-store, loyalty programs can help you track which creatives brought them in.
Beyond these methods, you can analyse which SKUs were most popular, how products were bundled, and which channels drove the most sales. All these insights will help you refine your creative approach by segment. If you’ve done it right, by the end of BFCM, you’ll have a ton of data available to help you build smarter marketing strategies.
Retail Express by Maropost was built by retailers for retailers to bring every piece of your retail ops in one place. Want to see how Retail Express makes it easy to collect real-time data during peak periods? Get a demo.
