Always one of the most impactful retail days of the year, Black Friday sales numbers have nonetheless dropped in recent years—store traffic in 2021 was down 21.7% compared to 2019.
Although the promotion is still profitable—2020 sales data suggests Black Friday raked in $188.2 billion in sales—COVID-19 has helped to push the shopping experience out of packed stores and onto the web.
Retailers who want to win big this year will recognize an even bigger need to stand out in a crowded field by adopting exciting and eye-catching marketing techniques. And adding gamification to eCommerce customer experiences is a surefire way to grab your target market’s attention this Black Friday!
Here six favorite Black Friday promotion ideas to help YOU increase sales and engagement:
Create Interactive Black Friday Social Media Posts to Build Hype
If Black Friday is one of biggest days for your business, it’s worth taking the extra effort to build hype for it on your social media channels.
While just posting about Black Friday is a great way to raise awareness, getting a little more creative with gamification can add some impact to your strategy. And you can start with a simple tactic like sharing links in your Instagram Stories!
Create a post in your Stories that reads, “Swipe Up to See Our Black Friday Deals.” This adds a layer of interactivity that can help your customers discover more of your products. Consider working with influencers in your sphere and have them share these links in their Stories as well.
Other ways to use gamification in Instagram Stories include posting Black Friday polls and quizzes. These can remind your customers of the upcoming sales while you gain valuable insight into their opinions and preferences, like what products they want to see on sale.
Send SMS Campaigns for VIPs
Do you have a list of customers’ phone numbers attached to a rewards or loyalty program? It’s time to leverage that database to improve customer retention.
Aside from basic alerts, SMS campaigns can deliver exclusive deals and discounts to your reward members. This is an effective way to encourage repeat buyers to participate in the Black Friday fun and reignite a fire under consumers who haven’t bought in a while.
Offer Deals Through Digital Scratch-Off Games
Make your deals and offers even more enticing through a digital scratch-off game! These gamified tactics subtly give the power of the discount to your customers. And the amount the save depends on their luck, which makes the experience more fun and exciting.
Forever 21’s idea for Black Friday used digital scratch-offs to great advantage. The company sent a link to their email subscribers, along with a GIF explaining how the scratch-off game worked. Once they went to the website, they had one chance to scratch a 15% or 25% discount. No matter what amount they landed on, each player still left the experience feeling like they “won.”
Create Urgency to Encourage Quick Sales
Black Friday is all about a scarcity mindset, as customers don’t want to miss out on a great deal. So, one of the most effective ways to boost your Black Friday sales is to leverage that scarcity to your advantage.
Countdown timers can work wonders in this department. As customers browse your website, a countdown clock reminds them of the limited-time nature of Black Friday discounts, encouraging them to act quickly to fill that shopping cart and check out stat!
You can also implement these timers on social media, email, and your shopping cart. The more touch points people see your timer, the more opportunities to ensure a scarcity mindset takes hold.
You can also shorten sales times to create even more scarcity. Consider offering deals by the hour for specific products, so customers only have a few minutes to purch that merch.
Implement Gamification to Reduce Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment is a huge issue, even during the year’s busiest shopping day. Some estimates find that 77.79% of shoppers abandon items in their cart on Black Friday.
Because some consumers forget to check out, you may need to give them a little extra push to complete their purchase. This is where gamification can become the perfect Black Friday promotion idea.
Implement a spin-to-win game as a pop-up when someone tries to leave their cart. It will entice your customer to finish checking out by offering a selection of one-time discounts. But always include a deal—that way your customer will still feel valued and rewarded.
Create Contests for Future Discounts
The best Black Friday marketing ideas are the ones that keep people engaged beyond sale day. While promoting Black Friday, encourage customers to participate in a contest that makes them eligible for discounts later during the holiday season.
For example, one contest idea could feature customers posting photos of themselves using their Black Friday purchases. You can randomly select a few consumers who meet your criteria and offer them a special discount.
Black Friday Made Easy
If pulling together an extensive campaign is beyond your timing and budget, don’t despair! It’s never too late to launch a gamified campaign with one of CataBoom’s Black Friday Cyber Monday Gamification Bundles. And adding gamification in emails can double click-throughs, and increase redemption rates by over 3x!
This is why we’re offering accessible, affordable pre-designed theme options that are simple to link to your email campaign target list. Choose your theme, send us your logo and links, and watch your Black Friday results grow.
Get Ready for Black Friday Today!
No matter how your company implements gamification for Black Friday this year, it’s best to work with an expert in the industry. CataBoom’s experience with gamification can help you get the most out of your online advertising during tentpole shopping moment—and on every other day of the year.
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