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REPORT

SEE HOW PEOPLE ARE SHOPPING THIS BLACK FRIDAY + CYBER MONDAY

Discover data-backed evidence of BFCM mobile commerce shopping trends—and how your Shopify store can maximize revenue during this year's peak holiday shopping season.

It’s safe to say 2022 has kept us on our toes. Seismic cultural shifts, looming economic uncertainty, unprecedented use of the word unprecedented—we’re all feeling the heat, and ecommerce brands are far from immune. Between inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, and IRL shopping reopening, we’re entering the upcoming holiday season with a healthy dose of uncertainty.

But it’s not all storm clouds ahead. Statista reports that nearly 20% of all retail sales around the globe happened online in 2021, amounting to more than five trillion dollars. And it’s showing no signs of slowing down—that number is expected to reach seven trillion by 2025.

If that sounds fast, hold onto your hats: a whopping 72.9% of that $5 trillion happened on mobile devices, up almost 40% since 2016. That’s $3.96 trillion of potential walking around in your customers’ pockets. (We did the math for dramatic effect.)

At Tapcart, we help Shopify brands reach their mobile commerce potential with our code-free mobile app builder. In fact, we’ve helped thousands of them, and we’re seeing these changes play out before our eyes, with stores seeing an average 40%+ conversion rate increase and a 2.4x lift in customer lifetime value.

In this report, we wanted to eliminate all the guesswork, misconceptions, empty predictions, and insecurities about mobile shopping during BFCM this year. So, we conducted a survey and recruited 1,155 mobile shoppers to participate. The result? A jam-packed report that reveals the truth about the state of mobile commerce during BFCM this year—plus a boatload of recommendations on how your store can turn these insights into action.

So, as the heavy-handed Fresh Prince once said: Let's get jiggy with it. (Too soon?)

The Methodology

First, let's take a look at the folks we surveyed. We wanted a true picture of mobile shoppers, so we made sure that we surveyed shoppers that represent all generations, ethnicities, incomes, gender identities, relationship statuses, and education. We're thorough like that.

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We also had some rules about who could participate. Criteria included:

Must be 18 or older
Must have purchased an item online in the past three months or more recently
Must have purchased an item in at least one of the following categories: Fashion & Apparel; Beauty & Cosmetics; Home Goods; Health & Wellness; or Food & Drinks.
Had to indicate they preferred to shop online using their smartphone OR a combination of smartphone and computer.
Must have made either a Black Friday or a Cyber Monday purchase last November.

So, now that you've seen the receipts, let's dive into the trends.

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CH 1: MOBILE PREFERENCES

CH 1: Mobile Preferences

The Trend

The more mobile the merrier

If one thing is clear, consumers will be shopping BFCM on mobile. Whether they are shopping directly on mobile websites, third-party shop providers like Instagram, or mobile apps, mobile dominates all expected online transactions during BFCM. When asked how consumers would shop this year, they noted their phone's browser (71%) and mobile apps (65%)—both of which trumped laptop or desktop purchases (59%).

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Interestingly, purchasing online via a mobile app appears to be an emerging favored method for shopping in all product categories, including the fashion, beauty, home goods, health, and food & beverages industries. While some folks plan to shop both online and in stores, those who typically shop by only one method identify apps as their preferred method in all five product categories. So naturally, we asked why.

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Respondents said checkout speed is among their favorite aspects of a mobile app. In fact, they identified this feature more than any other when asked what drew them to prefer mobile app shopping. Exclusive access to discounts and load-free browsing were runners-up.

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The need to amplify your presence on mobile doesn't stop at your sales channels—it also means your marketing channels should primarily lean on mobile-first strategies. 31% of shoppers noted that they had made a BFCM purchase via SMS—a particularly popular option amongst Millennial shoppers. While 31% is definitely significant, 40% of respondents reported they had made a BFCM purchase directly from a mobile app push notification, emphasizing the importance of having an app as a dual-purpose sales and marketing channel.

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FIG 1/4

Question

What aspect(s) about shopping with a mobile app do you like the most?

FIG 2/4

Question

How do you plan to do your online holiday shopping this year?

FIG 3/4

FIG 4/4

Shopping Source by Generation

The Takeaway

The more your brand markets on mobile, the more your brand will sell. Shoppers are turning to mobile as the place to transact, meaning your BFCM strategies need to be mobile first. That means incorporating both marketing and sales channels into your omnichannel mix so that you can meet your customers' shopping preferences. Here’s how:

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be strategic when sending your sms messsages

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SMS is a truly effective tool for driving awareness and traffic to your mobile store, and has consistently impressive open rates and conversion rates. Keep in mind, SMS can be pricy to send as they increase in cost when you increase reach, so make sure you deploy your SMS messages at strategic times to make the most out of them. We have evidence from years past that sending notifications and messages as late as 2am on Black Friday has higher conversion rates than those sent at a more reasonable hour.

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OFFER A MOBILE APP

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According to our survey, mobile apps are the preferred mobile shopping method for BFCM. In the past, launching an app was no easy feat and required entire developer teams. Now, with Tapcart, you can launch one in as little as two weeks with no coding. The best part is you get access to free and unlimited push notifications—which have similar revenue performance as SMS, without the high costs.

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ASSESS YOUR BFCM CAMPAIGNS ON MOBILE BEFORE DESKTOP

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View everything on mobile first when looking at creative. From email to your website to your product pages, have a mobile-first lens when assessing layout, messaging, and design. Mobile is how most of your shoppers will be consuming your content and shopping your site, so desktop should be the second view, not the other way around.

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THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

How are you planning to shop on BFCM?

Mobile for the win

100

Desktop4ever

100

Mobile for the win

Desktop4ever

CH 2: SPENDING & INFLATION

The Trend

Your shoppers are ready to spend $$$ this holiday season—despite inflation.

Last year, many US shoppers spent their COVID stimulus checks on mobile shopping. (Funny story, on the days that the stimulus checks were issued in 2021, our data dashboards showed a sharp increase in transactions on Tapcart-powered mobile apps.)

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The easy assumption is that we'll see slower BFCM sales in 2022. Stimulus checks weren’t issued this year, and inflation has skyrocketed to levels not seen since 1981. That assumption isn’t entirely off; 48% of respondents indicated that they spent more than usual last year because of their COVID stimulus checks.

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However, 75% of respondents expect their budget this year to be the same or higher than in 2021. So, how can it be that despite inflation and economic changes, folks expect to spend the same or even more than last year?

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We hypothesize that people are waiting for deals to shop. Everything is more expensive—from gas to rent to groceries. People are being more strategic on when, how, and where they spend their money and waiting for BFCM discounts to pull the trigger on those purchases.

FIG 1/3

Question

I spent more money last year on Black Friday or Cyber Monday because of the COVID stimulus check I received.

FIG 2/3

Question

Do you expect your Black Friday/Cyber Monday budget this year to be higher, lower, or the same as last year?

FIG 3/3

Question

What is the main reason your Black Friday/Cyber Monday budget is going to be lower this year?

The Takeaway

If you were banking on predictions of a less-impressive revenue performance during BFCM this year compared to last year, scrap them. Here’s how to promote BFCM in light of this unexpected trend:

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start to Market your sales weeks in advance

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Your shoppers are ready to spend. Giving them an idea on when your sales will happen and what discounts will be available can seed ideas on what they will buy. If you market your sales too late, you can expect to be drowned out by your competitors. The early bird gets the worm.

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Disseminate budget and time across all channels

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This year, lean into your omnichannel marketing strategies when messaging your deals. Email, SMS, paid ads, mobile app push notifications, and organic social will all play a role together in driving awareness of your sales and traffic to your stores.

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Use urgency in your messaging

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Make it clear your best deal of the year is available for a limited times.

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Spend efficiently with owned marketing

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Now, it's important to note that there has been a serious year-over-year increase in costs to reach your audience across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google, and other popular channels. The pay-to-play model is no joke, and reaching audiences is becoming significantly more difficult for Shopify stores. We suggest investing in more owned marketing channels, like push notifications, to help offset costs. We'll dive into more of that later in the report and show you how you can save on your marketing budget this year—while driving more revenue. (Yes, really.)

THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

Did you expect that shoppers would spend more or less during BFCM, compared to last year?

Honestly? Less

100

More for sure

100

Honestly? Less

More for sure

CH 3: Budgets & Planning

The Trend

Your shoppers are making a game plan.

Not only are your shoppers ready to spend money this holiday season, but they're suiting up and preparing. About three-quarters of respondents spend at least a few days planning for BFCM, while only one in 8 doesn't plan at all.

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Their planning doesn't stop at picking out products they want in advance. It also involves budgeting. About 85% of respondents report that they typically set budgets for Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday. Of those, 6 in 10 have budgets in the $100-$500 range, while one-third are aiming even higher.

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Now, you may be thinking shoppers are pretty Type A these days. Nah. Just because your shoppers are planners doesn't mean they aren't adventurous, flexible, or even impulsive. (More on that later.) Our survey found that shopping habits vary on BFCM, with some people staying loyal to their favorite, tried-and-true brands, while others branch out to new horizons. More than two-thirds of shoppers are willing to try new brands for the first time this BFCM—giving DTC brands on Shopify the opportunity to entice those on-the-fence shoppers who’ve been browsing your online store for months with your sweet deals.

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FIG 1/6

Question

How far in advance do you plan for BFCM shopping?

FIG 2/6

Question

Do you typically have a budget (or dollar limit) in mind when you shop on Black Friday/Cyber Monday?

FIG 3/6

Question

What was your Black Friday/Cyber Monday budget last year (0r the last time you shopped on Black Friday/Cyber Monday)?

FIG 4/6

Question

Do you expect your Black Friday/Cyber Monday budget this year to be higher, lower, or the same as last year?

FIG 5/6

Question

Thinking only about the shopping you do on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, do you find that you...

FIG 6/6

Question

Which of the following statements most closely describes your approach to Black Friday shopping?

The Takeaway

A good portion of shoppers are likely to show up with a proper BFCM shopping plan. It's up to you as a merchant to help them plan effectively. Here's how:

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Offer wishlist features

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Offer features on your mobile website or app that make planning easy, like a Wishlist or SWYM integration. This lets your shoppers save items for later while on the go—a helpful tool when they want to see if items of interest have dropped in price.

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Set expectations

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Give your shoppers a sense of what kind of deals they can expect for BFCM well ahead of the sale—even if it's just a loose idea. Providing insight on how much they can expect to spend on the items they want can also help them understand what their budget allows so that they can plan ahead.

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Grow your owned marketing lists

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It’s never too early to start growing your email, SMS, and push notification subscriber lists in preparation for your BFCM marketing blasts. Dedicate some real estate on your website and social media to plug your other channels—even a giveaway for subscribers only will go a long way in padding out your list ahead of the big day.

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Allocate marketing spend to acquisition efforts

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BFCM is not just a retention gimmick. Many shoppers will also make trying out new brands for the first time a part of their BFCM game plan. Take advantage of the opportunity to convert more on-the-fence shoppers through messaging targeted specifically to them. Try putting some budget toward a social ad that targets folks who’ve visited your store but never made a purchase, reminding them that they can try your goods for a great deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

Does your Shopify store currently have features that help your shoppers plan ahead?

Yup

100

Nope

100

Yup

Nope

ch 4: emotional mindset

The Trend

Your shoppers are stressed TF out about BFCM.

You mean to tell us bum-rushing and stampeding storefront doors for a TV isn't a spa day for shoppers? Shocker. Spoiler alert: BFCM isn't everyone's cup of tea. One in four shoppers claim that BFCM stresses them out, and we don't blame them. With so many brands bombarding them with suspiciously on-point targeted ads, email subject lines more desperate than their Tinder matches, and too-good-to-beat discounts, shoppers are totally valid in feeling overwhelmed. But—there's good news.

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On the same coin, 48% of Gen Z and 44% of both Millennials and Gen X responded they're very excited about BFCM. Because, duality. In the end, shoppers are feeling two things at once: stress and excitement. It's basically their mobile shopping wedding day.

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You can either be the unflappable wedding planner who keeps the peace, or the drunk uncle who kills the vibe. Your call.

FIG 1/2

Question

To what extent does shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday make you feel...

FIG 2/2

Question

To what extent does shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday make you feel...

The Takeaway

Your shoppers are both stressed and excited to shop BFCM. Your best bet is to lean into both emotions when promoting your BFCM sales this year—relieve stress to make more space for excitement. Here are a few ways to strike the right balance:

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Finesse your shopping experience

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Ease your customers' stress by making their shopping experience easier, more approachable, and pressure-free with a mobile app. Mobile apps require zero page load time, making shopping and checkout quicker and easier. In fact, respondents identify checkout speed more than any other feature when asked what they like about mobile apps. The runner-up feature? Exclusive access to discounts.

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Send push notifications

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Utilize the power of push to give shoppers exclusive early access to deals—taking off the pressure and stress associated with "flying off the shelf" shopping and making subscribers feel extra special.

THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

In your current role on the merchant side, are you stressed about BFCM?

Stressing

100

Chilling

100

Stressing

Chilling

CH 5: shopping habits

The Trend

Your shoppers admit they’re a liiiittle impulsive.

If our survey left us with one truth, it's that no one is above the impulse purchase. 9 in 10 shoppers confessed to making impulse purchases during BFCM, with 32% selecting "regularly" and 56% choosing "sometimes." This isn't mind-blowing, considering 98% of respondents expect to make a purchase during BFCM this year. They're in the money-spending mindset, to begin with. Unsurprisingly, Baby Boomers are significantly less likely than others to make impulse purchases regularly. So responsible, those guys.

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Now, we know how this looks—two trends ago, we were telling you that your shoppers are planners. But here’s the good part. A planned shopping trip means feet in your store, or in our case, eyeballs on your mobile website or app. And once you’ve caught their eyes, you’re in a prime position to seal those impulse deals.

FIG 1/2

Question

How often do you end up making unexpected impulse purchases on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

FIG 2/2

The Takeaway

Your shoppers are down to shop impulsively here and there. Give them an outlet where they can let their spontaneity thrive. Here are some ideas:

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Diversify payment options

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Offer features that make shopping a breeze, like one-click checkout or buy-now-pay-later payment options. A 2019 survey found that 50% of US shoppers indicated they were less likely to buy something online if the entire checkout process took more than 30 seconds, so make the process as seamless as possible to cut down on cart abandonment.

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Offer free shipping

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Maintaining low shipping costs should be a top priority for your store. About 7 in 10 respondents in all product categories report they are most likely to abandon a purchase during checkout when shipping costs are high. For context, the actual product cost is the second most frequently identified issue at 50%.

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Offer compounding discounts

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Give your shoppers discounts that increase as they shop—for instance, 10% off a $50 purchase or 20% off $100. This will help nudge shoppers to add more items to their carts and watch their discounts grow.

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Send a last call push notification

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Try sending a push notification or SMS an hour before your BFCM deals are up, giving shoppers one last chance to make that purchase they may have been mulling over all day.

THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

Do you offer pay-later options at checkout?

Working on it

100

Sure do

100

Working on it

Sure do

CH 6: holiday gifting

The Trend

Your shoppers' love language is gift giving.

This BFCM, shoppers are gearing up for the holiday gift-giving season. On average, almost two-thirds of respondents plan to make BFCM purchases as gifts for others, with only 35% of purchases for themselves. Altruism. How sweet.

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It’s worth pointing out that the results skew pretty drastically from generation to generation. Only a quarter of Baby Boomers plan on shopping for themselves, while almost half of Gen Z-ers plan to do a bit of retail therapy this BFCM. Something to note if your brand is tailored more toward one generation or the other.

FIG 1/2

Question

When shopping during the holiday season, what percentage of your purchases are items for yourself versus gifts for others?

FIG 2/2

The Takeaway

Given the current state of the economy, capitalizing on deals in preparation for the holiday season is top of mind for shoppers. Here's how your brand can help your shoppers give like they’re Oprah on a favorite things giveaway episode.

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Offer a gift-wrap option at checkout

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If the majority of purchases this holiday season are for others, help your customers by offering gift wrapping options. You can even offer this as a free gift with purchase if the cart value warrants free wrapping.

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Create gifting-centric messaging

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When promoting your BFCM deals, remind shoppers that this is their chance to get ahead with gift-giving. Solely centering your messaging on self-shopping is missing the mark on where your customers’ heads are at. Weave in narratives that include giving to others.

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Offer gift guides

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Most brands wait to release gift guides until December—the tail end of the peak shopping season. We suggest releasing them ahead of BFCM, specifically with a discount-anticipatory lens. This will give your planners, budgeters, and gift-givers purchase inspiration ahead of your sales.

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Leverage wishlist features

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Wishlist features even allow folder systems, so your shoppers can create individual folders for the friends and family members they are shopping for. As they browse ahead of BFCM, shoppers can build gift ideas, then revisit them at go-time when the sale goes live.

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THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

Are you considering messaging about gift shopping for BFCM?

I'll think about it

100

I am now

100

I'll think about it

I am now

CH 7: attitudes towards advertising

The Trend

Your shoppers are pretty ambivalent toward ads these days.

If we could compare our respondents’ feelings towards mobile ads to one celebrity, we'd say Larry David. Some feel preeetty, pretty good about it; others are more "meh." For example, about seven in ten respondents across all generations report that ads surrounding BFCM are "at least somewhat appealing." Not exactly a standing ovation, but better than the alternative.

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Their ambivalence is also reflected in their likelihood to unsubscribe from a brand's marketing. For half of the respondents, BFCM messaging doesn't impact their likelihood to unsubscribe or unfollow their favorite brands. And for another 34%, BFCM messaging actually makes them less likely to unsubscribe, likely due to FOMO on your killer deals.

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This doesn't mean that brands should go full ham on the messaging. Respondents are most likely to unsubscribe because they are getting too many messages; this is consistent across all generations. Striking the right balance will look different for every brand.

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FIG 1/4

Question

Would you say you are more or less likely to unsubscribe from a brand’s marketing messages around BFCM?

FIG 2/4

FIG 3/4

FIG 4/4

Question

To what extent does shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday make you feel...

The Takeaway

At this point, your customers have given in to all the ads. People realize that constant advertising is "part of the program" when engaging in everyday life, whether on TV or mobile devices. Lucky for you, that ambivalence isn't such a bad thing—you can rest assured that you are not overstepping by sending frequent messages, ads, and emails to your customers. Still, there is a happy medium to strike. Here's how to get it right:

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Don't send SMS messages every day of your sale

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This is the fast road to getting customers to churn from your hard-earned owned marketing lists. Be selective of when you send your messages: at the start of the sale, a reminder and a last call SMS are totally warranted. Make sure to say when the sale ends for transparency.

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Offer gift guides

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Mobile app push notifications are not an afterthought. Again, 40% of shoppers report making a BFCM purchase from one. Stagger sending them along with SMS as a companion strategy for high conversion results—being sure not to deploy them simultaneously.

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Leverage wishlist features

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If you have a marketing budget in mind for BFCM, avoid dumping it all into FB advertising. FB ad performance is fickle, increasingly underpromising, and isn't the most efficient way to spend your money. That's not to say don't leverage ads at all—the key is to find a balance between paid and owned marketing, so you can use your budget wisely. (More on that in Chapter 10.)

THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

As a shopper, are you over targeted ads?

They’re actually kinda convenient, tbh

100

I feel personally attacked.

100

They’re actually kinda convenient, tbh

I feel personally attacked

CH 8: consumer expectations

The Trend

Your shoppers are mad impatient.

Across all generations, almost 9 in 10 respondents indicate a likelihood to leave an online store if the mobile web experience is slow or poorly designed. Having a slow-to-load website experience is one of the most significant contributing factors to session abandonment. Your shoppers have a lot on their plate, with several stores of interest delivering high-urgency, high-discount sales simultaneously. If you are not able to keep your shoppers engaged on your site, you risk losing them to another faster-loading shopping experience, and your return rate decreases as a result.

FIG 1/1

Question

When shopping on your phone’s browser, how likely are you to leave an online store if the mobile web experience is slow or poorly designed?

The Takeaway

Avoiding abandonment—whether it is session-related or cart-related should be top of mind for all Shopify stores during BFCM. Even if you were able to scramble and decrease your website's load time, we suggest you offer alternative shopping methods.

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Offer a mobile app for VIP shoppers

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With a mobile app, your shoppers can breeze through shopping without loading delays and a seamless experience, increasing session length and average order value.

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Revive sessions with cart-abandonment messages

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SMS, email, and mobile app push notifications are all effective tools in reminding shoppers to return to the left-behind items in their cart. Using integrations like Klaviyo’s Message Flows can help you automate cart abandonment messaging on a personalized level.

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THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT * THAT * THIS OR THAT * THIS OR THAT *

In your opinion, which is worse?

Xtra long checkout experience

100

Super slow page loading

100

Xtra long checkout experience

Super slow page loading

CH 9: quick recap

High-level report takeaways

We get it. You're a skimmer. So are we. Here's the gist/skinny of the report, recapped quickly for the TikTok-influenced attention span in all of us.

TREND

The more mobile, the merrier.

Most peak season transactions will happen on mobile, with purchasing via a mobile app as an emerging favored shopping method. We suggest making sure you are creating your campaigns with a mobile-first lens and have a strategy that includes a variety of marketing and sales channels optimized for mobile, like SMS and mobile apps.

TREND

Your shoppers are ready to spend $$$ this holiday season—despite inflation.

75% of respondents this year expect their budget to be the same or higher than in 2021. People are waiting for deals to shop, so if you were anticipating a less-impressive shopper turnout, we suggest you change course by teasing your sales in advance, investing in a generous marketing budget, and spending wisely with owned-marketing activations.

TREND

Your shoppers are making a game plan.

About three-quarters of respondents said they plan their spending ahead of when sales actually happen. Help your shoppers plan with wishlist features, discount hints, and exclusive access to "shop first" sales. This is also a great time to get curious planners to convert for the first time, so don't forget t o lev erage BFCM in your acquisition strategies.

TREND

Your shoppers are stressed TF out about BFCM.

The good news? They are also excited. Make sure you are putting their minds at ease during this emotionally-conflicting time by making shopping more accessible and approachable. Invest in reducing site page-load speed or spring for entirely load-free shopping by adding a mobile app to your sales channel options. Don't forget to offer your top shoppers the chance to shop sales first—they deserve it.

TREND

Your shoppers admit they're a liiiittle impulsive

9 in 10 shoppers confessed to making impulse purchases during BFCM. We don't blame them—they are already in the spending mindset, and there's tons of urgency to take advantage of one-a-year sales. Giving shoppers options like one-click checkout or now-or-later payment plans will help them take advantage of fleeting products and low prices.

TREND

Your shoppers' love language is gift giving.

On average, almost two-thirds of respondents plan to make BFCM purchases as gifts for others, with only 35% of purchases for themselves. That means a significant portion of peak season shopping is shopping for others. We suggest leaning into gifting messaging, offering gift guides, and giving your customers the option to add free gift wrapping at checkout.

TREND

Your shoppers are pretty ambivalent toward ads these days.

People have given in to the fact the BFCM is chock-full of ads. Many find ads during BFCM helpful when figuring out where they want to shop, and others are turned off when they feel over inundated with messages. Strike the right balance when marketing to your audience by staggering message deployment, being clear when sales begin and end, and being strategic on what time of day you send them.

TREND

Your shoppers are mad impatient.

9 in 10 respondents indicate a likelihood to leave an online store if the mobile web experience is slow or poorly designed. This leads to session and cart abandonments and significant revenue losses for your brand. Offer load-free shopping options like mobile apps to help keep shopping breezy and increase session length and order value as a result.

CH 10: FINAL TAKEAWAY

A case for launching a mobile app for BFCM

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Your brand absolutely needs a mobile app during BFCM. Why? Because a mobile app reduces wasteful marketing spend while allowing you to reach your audience directly. Obviously, efficient spending is a relevant business goal year-round, but in this section, we are going to break down why reducing wasteful spending is even more critical during the most significant sales season of the year—and how an app solves the issue.

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First, let’s talk about good ol' reach. It's no mystery that it's become increasingly difficult for Shopify stores to access their audiences. The bottom line is that previous tried-and-true reach methods have become less effective and more expensive. Since 2020, Facebook ROAS post-iOS 14.5 has gone down -30.85%, and email performance has also decreased. As far as interest and performance are concerned, reaching your customers is not the same as it used to be.

The cost to reach your customers is another battle on its own. The year-over-year price increase to reach customers on Facebook and Instagram is up an average of +89%. Fun. This number fluctuates throughout the year and becomes even more expensive during BFCM.

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"The more advertisers that compete in an auction, the higher your Facebook ad costs will be... Ad costs historically skyrocket throughout the latter months of the year. Black Friday and Christmas-induced online shoppers lead more advertisers to the platform, increasing the number of competitors in an ad auction."

According to Shopify:

THE BOTTOM LINE

Channels you rely on for reach are getting more expensive and not performing like they used to. Mobile apps never change in price and drive instant revenue.

Here's the thing: allocating a ton of your marketing spend on ads during BFCM is even more financially risky when you consider the fact that your audience might not even see your ads. The pay-to-play Facebook advertising auction model is based on cost-per-click and cost per 1000 impressions. Sounds fair, but there's a catch. Impressions describe the total number of times your content has been viewed by users or served by the platform.

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During BFCM, paying a ton of money to deliver ads that your customers may not even see is an expensive gamble in a hyper-competitive attention economy—and a risk that doesn't guarantee your message will efficiently get across to your customers.

THE BOTTOM LINE

It’s time to stop paying to reach your customers. Mobile app push notifications are free to send and guarantee visibility on your shoppers’ home screen.

So—how does a mobile app alleviate all of this? Two words: owned marketing. With a mobile app, you have an opportunity to build an audience list that you own via push notification subscribers. When you pay a third party like Facebook or Instagram to get your message out, it's because they own your audience. You are simply paying for access to reach them.

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With an owned marketing channel like push notifications, you cut out the middlemen and directly access your audience. No more allocating tons of your budget to a "maybe shoppers will see it" auction model that relies on mysterious algorithmic distribution. Instead, you control your message, from when it is sent to who sees it. And the best part? You save a ton of money.

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How much do push notifications cost to send? Zero dolla billz. That's right. Zilch. Nada. With Tapcart, push notifications are unlimited and free to send—unlike other owned marketing channels like SMS messages, which increase in cost when you increase reach, or Facebook ads which fluctuate in price with fickle visibility.

When shoppers were asked where they typically hear about BFCM sales, respondents indicated email (64%) followed closely by online ads (60%) as the most common. SMS (29%) and mobile push notifications (21%) were both markedly less common ways for shoppers to hear about a sale.

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However, when we asked shoppers which channels they had made a Black Friday/Cyber Monday purchase from, 44% indicated they’d made a purchase from a marketing email or online ad, 40% indicated they’d purchased directly from a push notification, and 31% from SMS.

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What really stands out here is that push notifications in particular—and to a lesser extent SMS text messages—drive shoppers to purchase much more efficiently than email and online ads.

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As brands have been steadily building email subscriber lists over the last 25+ years, and nearly all consumers are regularly targeted with some form of digital advertising, it's not particularly surprising that consumers acknowledge they are being served promotions on fully penetrated and saturated channels like email and digital ads more than on newer, less penetrated channels like push and SMS.

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What’s surprising is the proportional difference in the effectiveness of promotions delivered through these channels (AKA revenue conversion). The data indicates that email delivers promotional awareness at 205% broader scale than push notifications today, with digital ads out-scaling push by 185%.

Proportionally, however, customers indicate the Pu$h Notification$ they do receive are

177%

more likely to elicit a purchase

compared to Email

159%

more likely to elicit a purchase

compared to Digital ads

78%

more likely to elicit a purchase

compared to SMS

Point blank: push notifications convert like crazy. By investing in a mobile app in time for BFCM, you are given a chance to build an owned marketing channel of high-interest shoppers—these are people who want to hear from you. They have opted in to receive messages directly on their home screens—the most valuable real estate on their devices. These notifications drive instant spikes in traffic and conversions. The average revenue for a single push notification sent on the Enterprise plan drove $12,870 when sent during the week of BFCM.

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65% of the shoppers we surveyed stated they plan to do their holiday shopping on mobile apps, but beyond the holiday, mobile apps are a consistently lucrative platform that should not be left out of your omnichannel sales mix. Shopify stores have been able to triple their sales within the first month of launching, achieve 2.3x more revenue per session than on their mobile websites, and grow their overall revenue 45% with the introduction of an app. Best part? BFCM has the highest mobile app adoption rate of the year. 40% higher to be exact. That means shoppers are more willing to download (and keep) your mobile app during peak season. Bottom line: the time is now.

A mobile app gives your customers a premium shopping experience, increasing their retention and loyalty as a result. Take it from Shopify's 2022 The Future of Commerce report:

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"Brands should focus on customer retention and lifetime value, especially as advertising costs and uncertainty continue to climb. Prepare to invest more in your customer experience and build a community that keeps customers coming back."